Brennan’s Restaurant turns iconic Bananas Foster dessert into king cake

NEW ORLEANS (NOLA WEEKEND) - With the comeback of king cake season, king cake makers are dreaming up interesting versions of the staple this season. One iconic New Orleans restaurant taps into its history for a new creation.

For the first time, Brennan’s Restaurant turns its famed Bananas Foster dessert into king cake form for Carnival 2022. The debut of the Bananas Foster King Cake arrives as the French Quarter restaurant celebrates its 75th anniversary.

Brennan’s Restaurant says its culinary team has been working for more than a year on developing the new Bananas Foster King Cake.

The king cake starts with a blend of brioche-dough rolled with cinnamon, brown sugar and honey, kissed with banana liqueur and vanilla extract. It is filled with a creamy banana-flavored filling and topped with a butter rum and brown sugar icing, a drizzle of milk chocolate icing and crispy golden sugar pebbles.

New Orleans and Bananas Foster share a delicious moment in history. Dating back to the turn of the century, the city was one of the first major ports of entry for bananas from Central and South America.

In the 1950s, Owen Brennan - the paternal uncle of current proprietor, Ralph Brennan - first presented Bananas Foster as a generous gift to the long-term patron, Richard Foster, a local New Orleans civic and business leader.

Now, as the most ordered item on the menu, Brennan’s flames 35,000 pounds of bananas each year for the famous dessert which is still prepared tableside, the restaurant said.

The restaurant also brings back its traditional and “Pink Parade” king cake flavors this year.

King cake lovers can order Brennan’s king cakes online for nationwide shipping or for local pick-up from Ralph’s on the Park and Brennan’s Restaurant.

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