Chocolate Cream Pie

Cheater Chocolate Cream Pie
1 prebaked pie shell - you can use a refrigerated or frozen pie crust, dock it, and bake it yourself; use a prepared graham crumb or chocolate wafer crust; or make your own crust of choice
scant 2 cups milk
1 package (4 serving size) instant chocolate pudding mix
prepared topping - you may use frozen thawed whipped topping, a can of whipped topping, a prepared package of whipped topping, real whipped cream, or prepared frosting

Place the milk in a bowl. I like to use a little less than the two full cups of milk called for to make a slightly thicker cream pie filling. Pour in the pudding mix and whisk for two-four minutes until thickened. Spoon into prepared and cooled crust. Use the cream or icing to pipe swirls onto the pie to decorate. Refrigerate until firm. 

I am usually not one to use prepared and convenience products, but this is a really easy and foolproof recipe for inexperienced bakers to make in a pinch, and it is easy to produce in large quantities as well. 

This pie recipe can easily be transformed to any flavor cream pie. Try any of the following combinations:

Crust: flaky pie dough, mealy pie dough, butter pie dough, shortbread, chocolate, chocolate wafer, graham crumb, cornflake crust, crisp rice crust, vanilla wafer, zwieback crust, phyllo crust, puff pastry crust, ground nuts, etc.

Filling: any pudding mix, chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, caramel, pistachio, lemon, lime.

Topping: Flavor the cream or icing with any extract (vanilla, lemon, almond, butter), or a little bit of alcohol, a sprinkle of ground spice, or cocoa powder.

Garnishes: nuts, chocolate, cookie pieces, candies, fresh fruit.