The 2 Ingredients Bobby Flay Uses For A More Luxurious Banana Split

Bobby Flay's favorite dessert may be a twelve-layer coconut cake, but the celebrity chef has a sweet tooth that extends to banana splits. In a video posted on his official Facebook account, Flay highlighted the importance of the dessert's standard nuts and cherries but suggested two better-quality upgrades. Specifically, Flay utilizes chopped Marcona almonds and Amarena cherries — the combination of which takes his banana split to the next level.

This dynamic duo works so well because both Amarena cherries and Marcona almonds put an artisanal twist on the otherwise simple dessert. Marcona almonds, in particular, switch gears from a banana split's chopped or crushed nuts, whether peanuts, pecans, almonds, or another variation. Available on Amazon, Marcona almonds, like these Roasted Sea Salt Marcona Almonds from Yupik, are Spanish in origin and known to be the absolute best kind of almond. As for how that translates to your dessert? They're typically sweeter and softer than your standard grocery store almonds, and therefore up the ante in flavor.

Meanwhile, Amarena cherries are made with high-quality Italian fruits and are brighter, tangier, and more natural than the more common maraschinos. You can also find them on Amazon, like these from Fabbri, so you can easily obtain the necessary ingredients for a Flay-inspired banana split.

Although Flay utilizes the almonds and cherry variations, he doesn't stop with just those toppings. Rather, a few other key ingredients will help transform your banana split into a luxurious dessert.

Bobby Flay may be a top-tier chef, but he got his start in the cooking world as a teenager working at Baskin Robbins — and his banana split recommendations reflect both his cooking prowess and this starting point. That's because Flay's ideal banana split makes minor tweaks to the classic ingredients. In addition to Marcona almonds and Amarena cherries, for instance, Flay suggests using freshly whipped cream rather than the canned version. Whipping your own heavy cream yields a better-tasting topping than the canned stuff — without straying far from the integrity of a classic banana split.

When it comes to the dessert's dairy base, Flay also singles out high-quality ice cream made by Graeter's — the Midwest ice cream brand behind Tasting Table's favorite-ever peppermint ice cream. For the sake of your banana split, opt for vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, or some combination of the three. 

Beyond Flay's suggestions, there are a multitude of other ways to update your banana split. If you're tired of plain bananas, for instance, you can try grilling or deep-frying the fruit instead. The latter in particular will result in a state fair-esque dessert — and add a new layer complementary to both chopped almonds and tart cherries.