What’s dinner without dessert? Caribbean desserts are greatly inspired by the abundance of tropical fruits in the islands. And the sugarcane! Rum finds it’s way into many desserts. Plantains aren’t just a side dish for the main meal. When a plantain hits it’s peak ripeness, it is sweet and tastes similar to a ripe banana. And like a ripe banana, the skin needs to turn a blackish brown before it gets sweet. Not pretty, but oh so sweet and tasty. Sounds like dessert to me! As we wrap up our tour of the Islands, we leave the Caribbean on a sweet note!
There is a distinct Creole influence to the food and language in the Caribbean. When visions of black, ripe plantains and rum floated through my head I immediately thought of Bananas Foster. The recipe with bananas in cinnamon, sugar and rum was originally created in 1951 by Paul Blangé at Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ah ha, the Creole influence! So why not Plantains Foster?
All the yummy ingredients except for the ice cream. This is a perfect plantain! Nice black spots with some yellow remaining. It’s gonna be so sweet!
To peel the plantains, cut off the end opposite the stem (contrary to the way we usually peel a banana) and discard. Peel them like a banana. Cut the plantains in diagonal rounds. Notice the yellowish orange color of the plantain? They are different from bananas in several ways.
Heat 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet and place over medium low heat (plantains have a high sugar content and will burn if the heat is too high.) Fry the plantains in a single layer, until golden on the bottom then turn over with a spatula. Cook until golden on both sides.
Remove plantains from the skillet an set aside. Because of the fibers in the plantains, once cooked, they will have a “bread-like” texture to them. So instead of a soft banana, it’s really more like a slice of soft banana bread and puts a unique spin on this traditional dish.
Add the cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar and let it cook a few seconds, just to begin caramelizing the sugar. Oh, this smells so good!
TURN OFF THE GAS BURNER!! and pour in the rum. You don’t want to flambe yourself! Turn the burner back on and cook off some of the rum. It just keeps getting better and better!
Just before serving, melt remaining tablespoon of butter to finish the sauce and stir to combine the butter and rum sauce. Add the plantains back into the rum sugar mixture to heat through and coat in the sauce. One minute more!
Layer the plantains in the bottom of a shallow dessert dish. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to the side of the plantains and drizzle with warm brown sugar rum sauce.
- 1 large ripe plantain
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Rum
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- To peel the plantains, cut off the end opposite the stem (contrary to the way we usually peel a banana) and discard. Peel them like a banana. Cut the plantains in diagonal rounds.
- Heat 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet and place over medium low heat (plantains have a high sugar content and will burn if the heat is too high.) Fry the plantains in a single layer, until golden on the bottom then turn over with a spatula. Cook until golden on both sides.
- Remove plantains from the skillet an set aside.
- Add the cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar and let it cook a few seconds, just to begin caramelizing the sugar.
- TURN OFF THE GAS BURNER!! and pour in the rum. You don't want to flambe yourself! Turn the burner back on and cook off some of the rum.
- Just before serving, melt remaining tablespoon of butter to finish the sauce. Add the plantains back into the rum sugar mixture to heat through and coat in the sauce.
- Layer the plantains in the bottom of a shallow dessert dish. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to the side of the plantains and drizzle with warm brown sugar rum sauce.
