KING K. ROOL - Royal Rum Bananas Foster with Key Lime Ice Cream

Complexity: ★★★★☆

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate finally added a long requested character: Donkey Kong's reptilian rival, the kremling kommander himself, King K. Rool! This cutthroat croc is the Bowser to DK's Mario - but rather than kidnapping a princess, King K. Rool’s villainous act which kicked off the events of Donkey Kong Country was stealing Donkey Kong’s horde of bananas!

I already made banana cream pie for DK, so I was thinking of other banana-centric dishes… which led me to Bananas Foster! I immediately realized that this was the perfect choice when I remembered that a core component of the dish is a rum-based sauce - which is pretty fitting considering that K. Rool is a pirate! He sails the seven seas with his crew of Kremlings on the Gangplank Galleon, fights with cannonballs and a blunderbuss, and spends his time pilfering and pillaging. In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, King K. Rool even donned full pirate garb. Rum is very much a fitting component of this dish, since it is a drink famously consumed by pirates, often diluted with water in a very boozy drink called “grog.” Another drink associated with the pirate's life is “bumbo,” a makeshift concoction wherein rum is mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg, and sometimes citrus juice or honey. So, I included all of these flavours in the sauce: cinnamon, nutmeg, a splash of orange juice, and just a hint of honey! The orange juice gives it a nice tropical edge, which nicely fits the aesthetic of the Donkey Kong Country series.

The swashbuckling Kaptain K. Rool from Donkey Kong Country 2. (image credit: mariowiki.com)

The dramatic showiness of a flambé is pretty fitting for the bombastic bravado of King K. Rool, and the firepower he packs in his blunderbuss. Also, Bananas Foster originated in a restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana, which is also pretty fitting for the crocodilian K. Rool – gators are an iconic animal found in the swamps, marshes, and bayous of Louisiana!

Bananas Foster is typically served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Well, in the spirit of keeping things “gourmet,” I decided to try my hand at making my own ice cream! This is an ice cream recipe you can make without a machine – you just mix condensed milk into whipped cream and chill it in the freezer until it solidifies! Sticking with the pirate theme, I went for lime-flavoured ice cream: limes were famously eaten by sailors due to their high Vitamin C content, which helped prevent scurvy. Fun fact, this practice is the origin of the slang term “limey,” a nickname which referred to a British sailor - and coincidentally, King K. Rool is one of the two Smash characters originating from the UK! The lime flavour works quite splendidly in this machine-less ice cream recipe - it tastes just like key lime pie, since condensed milk is used in most key lime pie recipes. Key lime pie was also invented by a sailor - if you had any doubts about the nautical theming of this dish! Not to mention, the green colour of this lime ice cream is perfect for King K. Rool.

Bananas Foster traditionally involves flambéing the rum sauce, which can be dangerous if not done safely. Make sure you know where the nearest fire extinguisher is in case something goes wrong! If you are nervous about flambéing, you can simply let the alcohol cook off normally in the pan.

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INGREDIENTS

Key Lime Ice Cream:

• 2 cups heavy cream, chilled

• 1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk

• If you’re using sweetened condensed milk, you won’t need to add any extra sugar. If you are using unsweetened, add ¼ cup of white sugar

• 1 cup full fat coconut milk

• 4 limes, juiced (plus the zest of two)

• 1 tbsp honey

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• A few drops green food dye

Bananas Foster:

• 3-4 bananas, sliced lengthwise and crosswise

• 2 tbsp butter or coconut oil

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

• ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg

• 2 tbsp orange juice (fresh or store-bought - if using fresh oranges, feel free to add a bit of the zest!)

• 2 tbsp honey

• A splash of rum (about 3 tbsp)

PREPARATION

For key lime ice cream:

1. Whip the heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks. Set mixer speed to low and incorporate condensed milk and coconut milk.

2. Add the vanilla, honey, lime zest and juice, and food dye. Mix until just combined.

3. Pour mixture into a rectangular loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface, making it as air-tight as possible. Place in the freezer for at least 6 hours until fully solidified.

For bananas foster:

1. Melt butter in a cast-iron pan. Add brown sugar and mix until combined. Cook over medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly, 3-5 minutes.

2. Add vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg, stir until combined. Add orange juice and honey and cook until the mixture reduces further.

3. Add banana pieces to the pan and gently stir to coat. Cook until bananas are nicely caramelized.

4. Remove from heat. Pour in a splash of rum - rather than pouring directly from the bottle, it is safer if you measure out the amount of alcohol you will be using into a measuring cup and transfer it to the pan from there - and stir until just incorporated. Standing a safe distance from the pan, light the rum with a barbeque/stick lighter. Wait until the alcohol is fully burned off and the flames go out - this should only take about 30 seconds.

5. Serve bananas and rum sauce with a scoop of lime ice cream.