If only eat your bananas on the way out the door in the morning or as a quick snack at your desk, you're missing out on a whole world of uses for this fruit. There are so many ways to get your banana fix in these desserts. With a sweet taste and a creamy texture, bananas lend themselves well to all sorts of sweet dishes. Caramelized, flambéed, or mashed and added to baked goods, these banana dessert recipes make a spectacular end to any meal. We still love them on their own, but there's no way we'd pass on a delicious banana dessert.
How to Make the Real Bananas Foster
Buttermilk Cookie Salad
The addition of buttermilk in this ultra-retro dessert keeps it from being too cloying and renders cookie salad totally appropriate for the adult palate. Get the recipe for Buttermilk Cookie Salad »
Hummingbird Cake »
This hummingbird cake honors the legacy of the Southern cook Edna Lewis. The luscious, fruit-and-nut-studded layer cake is served in Atlanta’s Watershed restaurant; the recipe first appeared in Christiane Lauterbach’s feature about the restaurant, which ran in our April 2009 issue. Get the recipe for Hummingbird Cake »
Chocolate-Hazelnuts and Banana Crêpes
Master pastry chef Jacques Torres likes to fill basic crêpes with this combination of bananas and homemade Nutella. Get the recipe for Chocolate-Hazelnuts and Banana Crêpes »
Banoffee Pie
An irresistible British dessert, banoffee pie has its share of fanatics on this side of the pond, too. Banana slices, sticky toffee, and whipped cream are arranged in layers over a cookie-like crust, resulting in a dense, cool treat. Get the recipe for Banoffee Pie »
Glacéed Bananas
Inspired by a dessert from Beijing’s China Club restaurant, chef and restaurateur Cecilia Chiang coats fried bananas in a thin, delicate shell of caramel. Get the recipe for Glacéed Bananas »
Banana and Cheese Pudding (Sombremesa de Banana com Queijo)
Fresh bananas layered with sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese combine in a sumptuous Brazilian dessert. Get the recipe for Banana and Cheese Pudding »
Banana Fritters with Cinnamon-Sugar and Rum
Use very ripe organic bananas for these silver-dollar-size fritters, as they will mash the best and create a smooth, sweet batter. Get the recipe for Banana Fritters with Cinnamon-Sugar and Rum »
Bananas Foster
Created in 1951 at the legendary Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans to honor Richard Foster, a friend of the restaurant and local businessman, this boozy, buttery concoction of caramelized bananas flambeed in rum sauce has since become a dining-out classic. Get the recipe for Bananas Foster »
Vanilla Banana Black & White Milkshake
This recipe for a chocolate and banana layered shake is based on one in Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes (Norton, 2009) by Adam Ried. Get the recipe for Vanilla Banana Black & White Milkshake »
Mom's Banana Bread
Bananas and pecans come together in an exceptionally moist quick-bread from food editor Ben Mim’s mom—it’s irresistible at any time of day. Get the recipe for Mom’s Banana Bread »
White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Bananas and Rum Sauce
This decadent take on an iconic dessert, from Mat & Naddie’s Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana, gilds the lily, pan-frying white chocolate-enriched bread pudding, and plating it with satiny caramel and sweet bananas.
Banana Tarte Tatin
Try using tart, apple-like Manzano bananas for this delicious take on the classic French dessert, which is traditionally made with apples. Get the recipe for Banana Tarte Tatin »
Banana Pudding
Custard, vanilla wafers, and bananas are layered and topped with whipped cream in our version of the classic Southern dessert. Get the recipe for Banana Pudding »
Brennan's Bananas Foster
Banana liqueur heightens the flavor of the bananas in this flambeed dessert from the New Orleans restaurant Brennan’s. Get the recipe for Brennan’s Bananas Foster »
Yogurt with Banana and Grated Coconut (Kela ka Raita)
At the Indian table, a variety of yogurt-based raitas mollify the tongue-searing effect of chiles. This version, made fruity and sweet with the addition of coconut and banana, is adapted from Foods of the World: The Cooking of India (Time Life, 1969). Get the recipe for Yogurt with Banana and Grated Coconut »
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