Bananas Foster from Disney's Port Orleans Resort

After a delicious dinner of burgers and (homemade) baked beans, Cady and I tried our hand at Banana Foster (with Angel Food Cake & Vanilla Ice Cream) from Disney's Port Orlean's Resort - Riverside.  This yummy dish is served in Boatwright's Dining Hall.  (From Resort of the Week post: "[Riverside & French Quarter] share a table-service restaurant, Boatwright's Dining Hall, which is located at Riverside.  It features American southern cuisine and is modeled after a wooden shipyard.  It is only open for dinner from 5:00 to 10:00.")

It's pretty easy to make if you buy Angel Food Cake, which we did and which the recipe suggests.  (Although I know Disney does not do that!)  I messed up on the first round of the Foster sauce, burning the brown sugar because it wasn't hot enough.  But the second round was a success.  I did make candy in round one, though!

I found this recipe in Delicous Disney Desserts, of course.  I need to try something from my other Disney cookbook!

• Angel food cake, for serving
• Vanilla ice cream, for serving
• 6 fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

Bananas Foster Sauce

• 4 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons water
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons banana liqueur
• 1/4 cup dark rum

Cut bananas in 1-inch pieces.  Top with 2 tablespoons water and set aside.  Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add sugar and cinnamon and cook, stirring until sugar is almost dissolved, about 2 minutes.  Add banana liqueur (mixture will bubble).  Carefully add the rum; the alcohol will flame on its own, then die down.  Add bananas and water to skillet, turning bananas with a spoon as the liquid caramelizes.  Remove from heat and keep warm.

For mint simple syrup:

• 3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar

Puree the mint in the blender.  Bring water to a boil in a small, heavy-bottomed pot.  Add mint and steep for 10 minutes.  Pour liquid through a fine mesh strainer.  Keep the water, discard the mint.  Bring the mint water back to a boil and add the sugar, boiling about 3 minutes until clear and reduced to a thin syrup.

To serve: 

Place 2 slices of angel food cake in a generous serving bowl.  Add a scoop of wanilla ice cream to the side.  Pour bananas Foster sauce over the angel food cake.  Drizzle mint syrup over ice cream; garnish ice cream with a sprig of mint.

Cook's Note: Store-bought angel food cake makes this a super-easy way to impress dinner guests.  The hot, sugary bananas Foster gets an extra kick from the fresh mint simple syrup that is drizzled on the ice cream.

Cady and I cheated on the mint simple syrup.  We used 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar and made the syrup and then added chopped mint leaves and let it steep for 10 minutes. 

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