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1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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2
Put the vanilla wafers in a food processor and pulse until the cookies are finely crushed.
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3
Reserve 1/2 cup to layer in and to top the pie.
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4
Pour the remaining crumbs in a 9-inch pie plate.
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5
Pour the melted butter over the top and, using a spoon or your hands, combine the ingredients.
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6
Press the mixture in the bottom and up the sides and onto the lip of the pie plate.
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7
Bake until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
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8
Remove to a wire rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.
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9
Peel and slice the bananas, adding them to a bowl.
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10
Stir the salt into the caramel sauce and toss the banana slices with the salted caramel.
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11
Arrange some banana slices evenly over the bottom of the crust.
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12
Spread half of the warm Vanilla Pudding over the bananas, top with some more crushed vanilla wafers (reserving some for garnish) and more caramel-coated bananas.
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13
Spread the remaining Vanilla Pudding over the top.
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14
In a large bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks are just about to form.
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15
Add the almond extract and sugar and beat until peaks form.
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16
Make sure not to overbeat, or the cream will become lumpy and butter-like.
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17
Spread the whipped cream over the pie.
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18
Just before serving, garnish with a caramel swirl and the rest of the crushed vanilla wafers.
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19
Combine the sugar and 1/3 cup water in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan.
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20
This is the only time you can stir the sugar.
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21
If you stir it while it's cooking, it turns to rock candy.
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22
Place the saucepan over medium to low heat until the sugars start to dissolve, 5 to 10 minutes.
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23
Then turn the heat up to medium-high and cook until the sugar starts to caramelize, 5 to 7 minutes.
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24
Do not stir while this is happening.
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25
You've got to watch the pot, because it goes from caramel to burnt really quickly.
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26
And be careful, the mixture is extremely hot!
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27
Turn off the heat and stand back to avoid splattering.
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28
Slowly add the cream.
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29
Don't panic - the cream will bubble violently, and the caramel will solidify.
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30
Just give it more time to liquefy again-trust me!
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31
Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes.
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32
Allow the sauce to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours.
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33
It will thicken as it sits.
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34
In a bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour until all of the lumps are gone.
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35
Once it is a fine powder, whisk in the egg yolks and whole eggs and continue whisking until a smooth paste is formed.
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36
Slowly whisk in 1 cup milk, and once this is incorporated add the remaining 1 cup milk.
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37
Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it reaches the thickness of chilled pudding, 10 to 15 minutes.
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38
(Mixture will just begin to bubble and will be thick enough to hold soft peaks when the whisk is lifted.)
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39
Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
