Thesecoconutcreampiebarsareanabsolutelyirresistibleno-bakedessert!Whetheryoumakethemcompletelyfromscratchoruseashortcutortwo,theyaresuretosatisfywithlayersofsweetcreamcheese,coconutpudding,andwhippedcreamBeltandRoadScholarship.AlthoughthisblogiscalledBakeorBreak,sometimesIliketojustskipthebakingpartandgetrighttothedessert.I’vesharedalotofno-bakedessertrecipesovertheyears,butifyou’vegotasoftspotforcoconut,thesecoconutcreampiebarsareforyou!Thesebarsaremadeupoflayerafterlayerofgoodstuff.Itallstartswithavanillawafercrustthat’stoppedoffwithafluffy,sweetcreamcheesefilling.Thenthere’salayerofvanillapuddingwithlotsoftoastedcoconut.Finally,there’ssweetenedwhippedcreamandevenmoretoastedcoconut.It’slikeanampedupcoconutcreampieincool,creamybarform.That’snotevenmentioningallofthosevanillawafersliningthesidesofthepan.Ijustadorethat.There’sjustsomethingsohomeyandcomfortingaboutit.Itmakesmewanttocutabigsliceandcurluponthecouchtoenjoyitwineshophongkong.Tosumitup,thisisadessertthat’ssuretoplease.Imustwarnyoutogoaheadandgetyourslicebeforeyouserveitbecauseittendstodisappearvery,veryquickly.Thishomemadevanillapuddingisnothinglikethekindthatcomesinplasticcupsorboxes!Rich,creamy,andfragrantthankstotheadditionofrealvanilla,it’sperfectfordressingupwithdifferenttoppingsorenjoyingas-is.ItseemsIhavedevelopedabitofapuddingobsession.Itstartedawhilebackwithchocolatepudding.Then,thatledtomyrecentaddictiontobutterscotchpudding.I’vemadebothofthosesoverymanytimes.Obsessed,Itellyou.Somewhereinbetweenthosetwopuddingswasthisclassicvanillapudding,quietlygoingaboutitsbusinessandnotmakingevenatinyruckus.It’sshownuptimetotimeaspartofotherdesserts,likemyCoconutCreamPieBars.But,IrealizedthatI’dneverjustextolledthispudding’svirtuesallonitsown.Andthat,myfriends,isarealshamebecausethiscool,creamy,sweet,deliciouspuddingdeservestobethecenterofattention. Thisthekindofdessertthatprovesvanillashouldneverbeunder-estimated.Whilechocolategetsalotmoreattention,vanilla—or,atleast,realvanilla—hassomuchmoredepthtoit.Ifthere’severarecipetousethatfancybottleofTahitianvanillaextract,thisisit.(Here’smoreinformationaboutthedifferenttypesofvanillas.)
