Jamaican Rum and Caramel Cooking Banana Slices
Kennon-Green & Co. Global Asset Management, Wealth Management, Investment Advisory, and Value Investing

The front page of Reddit yesterday had a Gordon Ramsay recipe for Scotch Pancakes with Caramelized Banana.  For my fellow Americans, that translates into a dessert made of buttermilk pancakes drizzled in caramelized bananas that had been flambéed in a dark Jamaican rum topped with vanilla bean ice cream.  

[mainbodyad]Any time you combine fire with a drink made famous by pirates, I’m probably going to be down for whatever you have in mind.  Toss in my addiction to the television show Hell’s Kitchen, and you have a winner.  The fact that it was on Reddit?  Yeah, I’m trying this.

I had fifteen minutes to spare so I thought I’d make a test batch – there are always plenty of people around to eat whatever we have going on in the kitchen – so I got my iPad, went to the pantry, grabbed a Mauviel pan, and a camera to try my hand at it.  These are the results.  For those of you who want to try it yourself, read through and I posted the video and ingredient list further down the page.

Buttermilk Pancake Batter Mix Recipe

Buttermilk Pancake Batter Mix Recipe from Gordon Ramsay – This seriously made the best buttermilk pancake I’ve ever eaten.  It was so light and fluffy it was hard to believe; none of that greasy, over-wrought stuff you get from a cheap mix or pancake house.  It took only a few seconds to blend.

 

Buttermilk Pancakes Over Hot Copper Pan

Buttermilk Pancakes Over Hot Copper Pan – After the oil had heated in the pan over open flame, I used the ladle to scoop in a buttermilk pancake.  Using his recipe, each side cooks for exactly 1 minute and 30 seconds and turns out perfectly.

 

Jamaican Rum and Caramel Cooking Banana Slices

Jamaican Rum and Caramel Cooking Banana Slices – The sugar had caramelized in the pan and now it was time to add the alcohol.

 

Lighting the Alcohol on Fire

Lighting the Alcohol on Fire – The open flame wasn’t captured but I did get one of the process starting with a little bit of help.

 

Banana Rum Caramel Buttermilk Pancakes

Banana Rum Caramel Buttermilk Pancakes – Pile the buttermilk pancakes high on a plate, scoop some vanilla bean ice cream on top of it, stack the sugar-coated carmel bananas, and spoon the caramel syrup over the mixture.

The recipe is very, very good.  It is so easy, and so delicious, you should try it.  This is definitely my new buttermilk pancake recipe; I’d prefer it with fried apple slices, brown sugar, and cinnamon, though, but that is because the taste of the rum is still too strong for my preferences, even when burned off in a spectacular blaze of glory.  I’ll have to get around to trying that one of these days.

Here is the original source video to help you see how the master does it.

In the video Ramsay uses the following to make the buttermilk pancake mixture and caramelized banana topping:

  • 150 grams flour
  • A spoonful of baking powder
  • A bit of salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 75 ml water
  • 120 ml buttermilk
  • 50 grams of sugar
  • A splash of dark Jamaican rum
  • A few dollops of oil

Watch the video and note the recipe. Even if you only memorize the buttermilk pancake steps, you’ll be able to make an amazing breakfast, from scratch, on demand.

If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go buy all of his cookbooks now.

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