Caramelized Banana Cream Pie

FILLING
1/4 c Unsalted butter
3/4 c Firmly packed brown sugar
1 ts Ground cinnamon
1 ts Ground ginger
1/2 ts Allspice
4 Bananas; peeled and sliced

-PASTRY CREAM-
3 c Half-and-half
1 Vanilla bean; split in half
; lengthwise
8 Egg yolks
1/2 c Granulated sugar
1/4 c Dark rum
3 tb Cornstarch
1 c Heavy whipping cream;
-whipped to soft
; peaks
Mint leaves; for garnish

To prepare the crust, butter a 10-inch springform pan. In a bowl,
combine the cookie crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon and mix well. Stir in
the butter. Press the mixture into the prepared pan and place it in
the refrigerator to chill.

To prepare the filling, put the butter and brown sugar in a large
saute pan over high heat and heat until bubbling, about 2 minutes.
Add the cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and bananas and saute until
tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and
spoon the bananas evenly over the bottom of the crust. Set aside.

To prepare the pastry cream, put the half-and-half in a saucepan with
the vanilla bean and bring to a boil. Remove and discard the vanilla
bean. Put the egg yolks, sugar, dark rum, and cornstarch in a bowl
and whisk together. When the half-and-half is hot, whisk about 1 cup
of it into the egg mixture to temper it. Add the egg mixture to the
remaining half-and-half and place the pan over medium heat, stirring
frequently, until thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the mixture over the
bananas in the crust and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or until well
chilled.

Whip the cream to soft peaks. To serve, remove the outer ring of the
pan, cut the pie into slices, and top each slice with whipped cream
and several mint leaves.