Coconut Surprise Pie

I can't believe it's been over a week since I updated here.

I have done some cooking but I've also been eating out a lot lately.  

I let my inner child out Easter Weekend though.

We were invited to a friends house for dinner and I offered to bring dessert. My DH loves Banana Cream Pie and doesn't get it often.

I bought enough Bananas to make two pies and then we proceeded to eat half of them.

They were so good. But it meant I needed to go to the store and buy some more.

Well... Guess what? They were out of Bananas. Not one single banana was left in the store.

NADA, nothing, zilch.

A lack of something at the store has never stopped me from making something. I changed gears, and decided on a Coconut Cream Pie.

It just so happens to be one of my favourite pies.

I knew I had some shredded coconut at home, so I picked up a vanilla pudding mix, some whipping cream for topping both pies and as I was checking out I happened to glance over at the candy display and picked up a couple of Mounds candy bars.

I thought maybe chopping them up a little and adding them to the filling might be an idea.

After I got home I put the Banana Cream pie together, but that's an easy thing to do. I buy the commercial banana cream and layer it with bananas in a prebaked pie shell. Just sayin... I then put it in the fridge to rest up til dinner.

I hurried up and made the vanilla pudding, but instead of using 3 cups of milk, I only used two. I wanted it thick enough to cut.

When I went over to check and see if it had thickened enough I discovered I'd accidentally bought the cook and serve pudding.

It wasn't thick at all. In fact it looked just like milk, with flavouring.

So.

I proceeded to add a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch to a half cup of milk, stirred that into my unset pudding and cooked it.

Cooled it down, and then I added a surprise, some chopped up Mounds bars. Along with 3/4 cups of flake coconut.

I was in the spirit of Easter I tell you, I was hiding goodies in the pie.

I then dumped placed the thickened coconut filling into a pre-baked pie shell, and mounded it lightly, then changed my mind and smoothed it out a little. And put it into the fridge to rest up for a couple of hours.

After both pies had a chance to rest up, I whipped up a pint of heavy whipping cream, with a scant 1/2 cup of icing or confectioners sugar. I wanted it stiff enough to pipe, but not too stiff.

That was when I had fun.

I placed some of the whipped cream into a piping bag with a star tip and proceeded to decorate the pies.
As I said, my inner child got loose on Easter.

I did toast a little of the flake coconut in a pan, and I had a little of the green tinted coconut left as well.

I also had a few malted milk mini eggs, so...

I made a nest and put the eggs in it.

Recipe for Coconut Surprise Pie

1 large package cook and serve Vanilla Pudding

2 1/2 cups milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 to 3/4 cup Flake Coconut

1 Mounds Bar, chopped up

1/2 pint whipping cream, whipped with 1/4 cup confectioners sugar.

Mix together until smooth and then cook until thickened. Set aside to cool.

When it's cooled, add the coconut and the Mounds bar and stir together. Pile into a pre-baked pie shell and then have fun decorating it.