These Coconut Cake Easter Basket Pudding Shots are in honor of the coconut cake my mom made every Easter when I was a kid.

Every Easter growing up my mom made a coconut cake.

It had a little circle of green coconut in the middle with jelly beans in it.

It must have been in a magazine somewhere because a lot of moms made that cake.

I remember the first time my mom made one.

Man, I was soooo excited that there was candy on the cake. 😀

These Coconut Cake Easter Basket Pudding Shots are in honor of my mom and that cake.

When my mom got dementia one of the first things that she forgot were recipes.

My mother and I talked about food almost daily to each other up until a few years ago.

And then she just stopped.

My mom was one of those people who had the recipes mostly in her head.

Sadly because of how rapid the dementia came on, I did not get a chance to write down her recipes.

I worked on trying to get out of her what I could.

But now, I’m on a quest to figure out those recipes by memory.

This isn’t meant to bum you out.

It’s meant to encourage you to gather any family recipes you want NOW.

Because you don’t know what the future holds.

These Coconut Cake Easter Basket Pudding Shots have been a concept in my head for quite some time.

They turned out like I had hoped.

These are a sweet pudding shot.

They are meant to be sweet.

Coconut cake is sweet.

I’m trying to recreate that in pudding shot form.

I think I came pretty close.

Plus, how fun are these?

You can use whatever candy you want in your basket but ours always just had jelly beans.

I was a rebel and added the mini chocolate bunnies. 😛

Ingredient Highlights:

• Instant Pudding – You must use INSTANT pudding. Cook and serve will NOT work. While my store had the coconut cream pudding, I usually do buy it on Amazon because it’s cheaper that way.
• Whole Milk – Make sure it’s COLD so it can react with the instant pudding mix. You need to use whole milk for this recipe. The pudding needs to be extra creamy and skim or 2% just won’t do it.
• Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk – This you can find at most stores, if not you can find it on Amazon.
• Rumchata Coconut Cream – You can use whatever coconut cream liqueur you like, I like this one.
• Cool Whip – People groan at this usually. But Cool Whip is what works best. I have tried making pudding shots with real whipped cream (even stabilized) and they just don’t work out.
• Sweetened Coconut – You are going for a cake flavor so you need to use sweetened coconut for your Easter grass.
• Itty Bitty Chocolate Bunnies – They make a lot of small chocolate bunnies. But when I saw the Russell Stover itty bitty ones I knew that’s what I wanted for these.
• Mini Jelly Beans – Feel free to use whatever mini jelly bean is your favorite. I used Brach’s but Jelly Belly works fine too.
• Sour Patch Straws – You can use Red Vines or Twizzlers but I prefer the straws because they are thin and more the right size for a pudding shot.

Can I Make These Kid Friendly?

Absolutely. All pudding shots can be made kid friendly by just subbing out the alcohol with milk.

Do I have to use the sweetened condensed coconut milk?

If you can’t find or don’t want to use the sweetened condensed coconut milk you can just sub 1/2 cup whole milk. But I highly suggest you use it because it helps the shots have a more coconut cake flavor.

Pudding Shot Recipe FAQs

Can You Make Them Ahead Of Time?

Yes! I usually make mine the day before. But I have made them as early as three days ahead (I would not go more than that). Store them in the refrigerator after making them.

Can They Be Frozen?
You can freeze them for up to 2 months, but don’t fill them all the way to the top so they have room to expand. And don’t put any garnishes on until you are ready to serve. In this case, the meringues.

Can They Be Made Sugar Free?

I have never tested the recipe with sugar-free pudding so I can’t say for sure, but I believe it will work. Though it is a Easter basket, so sugar is kind of a given. 🙂

How Many Servings?

This depends on how full you fill your cups and how much cool whip you use (half or whole tub) but you should get between 20 and 25 pudding shots with this recipe.

Tips For Making Pudding Shots:

• Remember when using any alcohol that is more than 80 proof can make your pudding shots runny. Most vodkas run at 80 proof and that is usually the highest alcohol content booze I use so you should be fine.
  But always good to check.
• Don’t skip the Cool Whip.
  Many people ask can they use whipped cream instead. Yes, you can.
  However, make sure that you do not use the kind out of a can. That will not hold up.
  I’ve always made mine with Cool Whip just because I feel it holds it shape better in pudding shots.
• Be sure to chill them for at least 30 minutes.
  While I say to chill them for at least 30 minutes I usually end up chilling them for much longer.
• Often I make up the pudding the night before and place it into an airtight container and then scoop the day of the party.
  Saves time on the day of the party.

P.S. It’s a great day to buy my cookbook Holy Sweet!

Want More Pudding Shots?

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Circus Animal Cookie Pudding Shots

Drumstick Ice Cream Pudding Shots

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Pudding Shots

Chocolate Frosty Pudding Shots