Banana Fritters: A Caribbean Favourite

By Chris De La Rosa
Culinary Specialist

With all the recent requests I’ve been getting for more dessert type recipes, I’ve decided to share a classic banana fritters recipes with you guys.

In all honesty I don’t like banana, as I once did as a child. I strongly believe I had too much growing up on the islands, as it’s common to have trees around your home, so we always had various varieties of ripe bananas to snack on.

I recall my mom making this treat for us, when the bananas were going a bit discolored (at its ripest) and she wanted to use them, before they got chucked into the rubbish bin. But back then there were no confectionery sugar topping.

You’ll Need…
3 ripe bananas
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 cup of sugar
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
3 cups of vegetable oil for frying
confectioner sugar (optional, but nice finishing touch)

Method….
In a fairly large bowl, peel and cut the ripe banana into chunks, then mash, into a smooth consistency, using a fork or potato masher. It will have the consistency of baby food … parents will know what I mean.

Whip the egg, then add the sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.. then whip some more until the sugar breaks down. Now add that to the bowl with the mashed bananas. You can certainly use an electric mixer if you wish, but I much prefer a wire whisk (burn some calories before replacing them with tasty ones).

The final step in preparing the batter is to slowly start adding in the flour and baking powder. Mix until you have a smooth batter, without any lumps. After that, all you have to do is heat the oil on a medium/high flame and add spoonfuls (tablespoon) of the batter into the hot oil.

It will take about 1 minute to get golden brown, then flip and cook for another minute until that side is also golden brown. Once cooked, you will notice that it will start floating in the oil. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Final step before eating is to dust with the confectionery sugar. Serve warm…good with vanilla ice cream on the side as well.

This recipe is courtesy of Gourmand Award-winning cookbook author and founder of CaribbeanPot.com, Chris De La Rosa. With over 450 printable recipes, with step by step cooking instructions and demo videos, PLUS over 1 million social/fan connections, globally, every month, CaribbeanPot.com is the world’s #1 resource for Caribbean Culinary Culture. Connect with Chis on Instagram: www.instagram.com/caribbeanpot/.