Bananas Foster French Toast

This past Mother’s Day saw the Core Team hosting a family brunch. Three phases of motherhood were represented in Sara, the beautiful mother of my beautiful children, my own mother, and my sister-in-law, Ursula who is a mother-to-be. To honor our guests, maternal and otherwise, I tried a fancy new recipe for Bananas Foster French Toast. Bananas Foster is a decadent New Orleans dessert crafted from butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, dark rum, banana liqueur, and of course bananas. This delicacy is often ignited in front of eager diners and served over ice cream. For breakfast, I dispensed with the liquor, flames, and ice cream, yet this luscious dish went over extremely well, so well in fact that I want to share it. The original recipe comes by way of Kehoe House, a B&B in Savannah, Georgia. However, I made some modest adjustments based on my experience:

Bananas Foster French Toast

Whisk together:
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Mix:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Other ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter for Bananas Foster, 2 tablespoons for french toast skillet
4 ripe bananas sliced lengthwise then in half
8-10 slices bread 3/4 inch thick (I recommend challah for extra egginess)

To make french toast, dip bread into egg-milk mixture and cook on a hot, buttered skillet. Turn once, making sure toast is golden brown on both sides. Undercooked french toast is very soggy in the middle.

To make Bananas Foster, melt butter in a saute pan. Add the brown sugar to form a creamy paste. Let this mixture caramelize over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add bananas, and cook for a few minutes more.

Plate French toast, top with bananas and sauce. Serve with maple syrup. Enjoy!