I got this from a friend. I've eaten it but haven't made it yet.

Banana Cream Pie with Banana Crust and Caramel Sauce

Banana pie crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 very ripe banana, mashed

For crust: Cream all ingredients with hands. Press mixture into 9-inch pie pan and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until brown. Cool.


Banana cream filling:

3 cups heavy cream
1 small vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3/4 cup cornstarch
2-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 large egg yolks

For filling: Heat 2 cups of the cream in large saucepan over high heat. Stir in paste scraped from inside vanilla bean, and butter, and bring to a simmer.
In small bowl, combine remaining 1 cup cream with cornstarch; blend until smooth. When mixture in saucepan begins to boil, stream in cream-cornstarch mixture,whisking constantly until incorporated. Remove from heat.
In a bowl, combine sugar and salt; whisk vigorously into saucepan until cream is thick and dry ingredients are incorporated. Over low heat, whisk in egg yolks one at a time. Remove from heat; whisk until smooth and creamy.

Caramel Sauce:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream

For sauce: About 20 minutes before serving, combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Cook, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes or until mixture is a deep nutty brown color and the consistency of thin syrup. Turn off heat. Stir in cream, return heat to high, and boil sauce 2 minutes. Remove from heat. To assemble:

4 ripe bananas
2 cups heavy cream whipped with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 2 teaspoons sugar
Shaved chocolate Peel bananas and slice in 1/4-inch rounds. In pie crust, layer, in order: 1/3 of filling, 1/2 of banana slices, 1/3 of filling, remaining banana slices, remaining filling. Smooth top and refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.To serve pie drizzle on warm caramel sauce, top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate. Makes 12 servings.