Cake of the Day: Bananas Foster Crepe Cake
They taste good, they look good, and they’re made by good people — talented bakers from around the world. Today Southern food blogger Amber Wilson shares a recipe inspired by bayou roots and banana foster from her blog For the Love of the South.
(Photo: Amber Wilson)
Bananas Foster Crepe Cake
Makes 1 crepe cake
Traditionally, this delectable dessert is spooned over ice cream, but I decided to do a spin on this New Orleans classic. Once the bananas have browned in the sugar and butter, I mash the whole mixture together and use it as a filling for a crêpe cake, delicately adored with whipped cream spiced with rum and caramelized bananas.
Filling
1 stick of butter
2 cup of brown sugar
2 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 teaspoon of vanilla
7 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced on a diagonal
½ cup of good, dark rum (optional)
In a sauté pan over medium-low heat, melt butter in the pan. Once the butter has melted, add the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla to the pan. Stir until dissolved and add bananas. Whenever the slices begin to brown and soften, carefully add the rum (if using). Light the pan with a long match or a torch. Allow the flames to subside. Let cool and mash with the back of a fork or a potato masher until thick and almost a puréed consistency.
Crêpes
(Adapted from Tyler Florence)
½ cup of water
2 cups of milk
4 eggs
2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of vanilla
4 tablespoons of sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons of butter, melted, plus more for greasing pan
Combine water, milk, eggs, flour, vanilla, sugar and salt in a blender. Blend until all of the ingredients are well incorporated and the mixture is no longer lumpy. Scrape down the sides and blend again. Add the butter to the mixture and blend for just a few more seconds. Let the mixture rest in the fridge for an hour.
Place a nonstick skillet on medium to medium-low heat. Brush butter onto the pan. With the batter in one hand and the hot skillet in the other, slowly pour the batter into the pan and twirl the skillet in the other so that there is enough batter to purely coat the bottom of the pan. Let the crêpe cook just until brown at the edges, flip with a spatula and brown on the other side. Flip onto a plate and continue with the remaining batter.
Rum Whipped Cream
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of rum
Whisk all of the ingredients in a stand mixer until soft peaks form. The whipped cream should be able to hold a peak if inverted.
Creating the Layers
Banana Foster Purée
Prepared Crêpes
Rum Whipped Cream
Caramelized Bananas*
*Note: For the caramelized bananas, sprinkle sugar onto 1” slices of banana. Using a torch, carefully caramelize the top of the banana like you would a crème brûlée.
On a cake stand, place one crepe on the bottom of the stand. Spread a thin layer of the bananas foster purée onto the crêpe. Repeat with remaining layers until you add the last crêpe (or run out of filling! Whichever comes first). Finish the last crêpe with a topping of the rum whipped cream and adorn with caramelized bananas.
More recipes to go bananas over:
