INGREDIENTS

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 16firm ripe baby bananas (about 3 pounds)
  • 1/2 cup dulce de leche
  • 2 vanilla beans , split lengthwise, seeds scraped
  • 2 cinnamon sticks , broken in half (3-inch)
  • 1/2 cup dark rum
  • vanilla ice cream , for serving
  • toasted & chopped macadamia nuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F
  2. In a very large ovenproof skillet, melt the butter
  3. Add the bananas and cook over high heat until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Add the dulce de leche, vanilla beans and seeds and cinnamon sticks and cook over moderate heat just until the dulce de leche is melted.
  5. Remove skillet & carefully add the rum to the skillet and stir gently just until combined.
  6. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 5 minutes, or until the bananas are just tender and bubbling.
  7. Carefully pick out the cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans.
  8. Serve the bananas and sauce over vanilla ice cream with chopped & toasted macadamia nuts, if desired.
  9. Enjoy!