Have you ever had a baked banana? If you haven’t then you’re missing out! In Mexico, a very typical dessert is a baked ripe plantain, which is served with crema and queso cotija, so this recipe I’m sharing with you today is a variation of that one.
I found some gorgeous Manzano bananas at my local Caribbean grocer, so I picked them up for this recipe. The bananas must be ripe (manzano bananas need to be closer to black to be ripe), as plantains must also be for dessert.
This is one of the easiest desserts you can make, especially if you have commercial cajeta (dulce de leche). All you need to do is bake the bananas and toast some pecans (but this can be done ahead of time). If you want to make this even more special, brush the bananas with brown butter after they come out of the oven. If you prefer a less sweet version, then you can drizzle the baked bananas with crema and cotija cheese for a different but just as delicious dessert.
Please serve these bananas warm, a few minutes after they come out of the oven. If you want to make this even more decadent, add a scoop of your favourite ice cream.
Plátanos Manzanos al Horno con Cajeta y Nuez
Baked Manzano Bananas with Dulce de Leche and Pecans
4 ripe manzano bananas
2 tsp unsalted butter (or brown butter)
1/3 cup cajeta, warmed so it can be drizzled
1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans
Your favourite vanilla ice cream (optional)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Place bananas on parchment covered sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a knife. The banana skin will likely split as they bake, but that is OK.
Remove from oven and open them where skin split, then brush flesh and skin with melted butter.
Place on serving plates and drizzle with cajeta and sprinkle with pecans.
Serve immediately.
Serves 4.
** if making plantains, use very ripe (black) plantains and bake the same way, but plantains will take about 40 minutes to get nice and soft.