I’m sorry to do this to you on the first day of Lent…

Maybe, by some chance, some of you don’t do the whole diet thing for Lent. Or you just don’t happen to do Lent, which I know is completely normal. So people on special diets and stuff right now…close your eyes. Come back Friday.

Back to this pie…I made it for my Dad’s birthday, which was last Thursday. As some of you may know from reading earlier posts, both of my parents happen to be big coconut fans and love the candy bar, Almond Joys.

In honor of my Dad’s big day, I decided to make him an ice cream pie similar to an Almond Joy. Also in honor of my dad’s birthday we broke out “the birthday crown”. Would you like to see? Of course you would! Here you go, heheee. Sorry dad, your eyes are closed in pretty much all of them!

I made a coconut crust, which was basically all coconut and surprisingly delicious. My mom actually said it’s the best crust she has ever had, of course she could be a bit biased. I followed the coconut crust with a layer of chocolate ganache. Then, I spread Belgian chocolate ice cream on top and finished it off with whipped topping and swirls of chocolate syrup.

I was going to add toasted, chopped almonds on top to make them more of almond joys, but I guess the pie turned out to have a bit more of a Mounds flair. It tasted delicious anyhow, and I know my Dad enjoyed it, too

Almond Joy Ice Cream Pie

1 1/3 cups shredded coconut

3 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons chocolate chips

half of a 1.5 quart-sized container of chocolate ice cream, softened

container of whipped topping

chocolate syrup, optional

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Mix coconut and margarine in bowl until thoroughly combined. I recommend digging in there and using your hands.
3. Press mixture into 9-inch pie pan and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, edges should be golden. Take ice cream out of freezer to allow it to soften.
4. Place chocolate in heat proof bowl and set aside. Make ganache by heating cream in saucepan until boiling and it starts increasing in size. Pour hot cream over bowl of chocolate and stir until fully incorporated. Let cool for a couple minutes
5. Pour ganache in coconut crust and spread in thin layer. Pop in the fridge for a couple minutes, until ice cream is soft enough to spread in crust.
6. Once ice cream is ready to be spread, place it in the crust and spread evenly until filled to to desire height. Place in freezer for at least a half hour for ice cream to set.
7. When ready to serve spread whipped topping on top and top with chocolate syrup. I like to make mine pretty by making circles of chocolate syrup and dragging a toothpick through to create a swirl.

Related articles

• Deconstructing Christmas (Almond Joy Ice Cream) (eggton.com)
• Almond Joy Pie (for your Valentines) (thegourmandmom.com)
• Sweet Coconut Bliss: Mounds Brownies (blogher.com)