Coconut Banana Cream Pie

Do you ever look at the calendar and think, "Where did this month go?" I'm currently thinking that about this month. It is nearly over and I've barely been on here. I've been so busy the last few weeks that I had about thirty minutes of ME time everyday and I devoted it to reading the Hunger Games. Which by the way.... So great! In love with this series. Can't wait to see the movie. I'm hoping things will be slowly down a little bit soon.

When I was 15 I got my first job. I was a bakery assistant at the local sit down burger restaurant, the one with the 1 lb. burgers the size of your head. While I was working there I fell in love with coconut cream pie. I was quite faithful to my love, until one day I put a sliver of banana cream pie next to my giant piece of coconut cream and took a bite of both of them at the same time. This combination was love at first bite.

I literally day dreamt of that pie combination whenever I'd see one of the two anywhere I went. Yet it never occurred to me to combine the two into a single pie. Gosh what was I thinking. Thank goodness I found this.

This is so good. If I was you I'd make it for dessert for the right around the corner holiday that is Easter. You won't be disappointed. I promise.

Coconut Banana Cream Pie
(Recipe from Jan Can Cook)

Coconut Pie Shell:
1/2 cup butter
3 cups sweetened coconut

Pie Filling:
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar, divided
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup flour
3 cups half-and-half, divided
Yellow food coloring
2 tsp. vanilla
2 bananas
1 cup whipping cream
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Coconut Pie Shell Directions:
Lightly spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and brown the coconut, stirring often to keep coconut from burning for about 5 minutes. Coconut should be a nice golden brown after this time. Press the coconut firmly and evenly in prepared pie plate. Chill for 30 minutes before filling.

Pie Filling Directions:
Combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and flour in a small bowl. Slowly add 1 cup of the half-and-half, stir until well combined.

Combine the remaining 2 cups of half-and-half and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat and bring just to a boil. Add egg mixture, stirring until entire mixture returns to a boil and thickens, about 1 minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in 2 drops of food coloring and vanilla. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming while cooling. Let cool completely.

Slice the bananas into the pie shell.

Pour cooled pie filling into banana lined coconut pie shell.

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar until stiff. Spoon whipped cream over pie making sure to reach the edges. Chill at least 2 hours before slicing.

A quick note: I let my browned coconut cool for too long before I pressed it into my pie plate. Make sure to press into your pie plate as soon as possible to ensure your crust comes together and it's crumbly like mine was. Mind you it still tasted amazing.