Coconut Cream Pie
For me, one of the greatest joys in life is cooking or baking for other people. I love to make their favorite things, or as in the case of this Coconut Cream Pie, create a new recipe to satisfy what people love. Recently we had my brother-in-law Pat and sister-in-law Jane over for dinner. It had been way too long since our last dinner together and we just wanted to visit and catch up with one another. I was trying to recall some of their favorite foods and I remembered a story Pat once told about birthday desserts.
It seems his mom, my dear, late mother-in-law, always baked him a pie for his birthday each year. She once asked him what dessert he would like and he told her his favorite was Coconut Cream Pie. But he also loves cherry pie. She remembered that he loved cherry pie, but seemed to forget that Coconut Cream Pie was his favorite. So every year, she would bake him a cherry pie, as she believed this to be his favorite flavor. Pat is such a great guy that he never corrected his mom about the pie flavor. He went on to enjoy many years of cherry pie lovingly made by his mother, whose first love was not cooking or baking, but having four boys.
Our next dinner together, I will research Jane’s favorite dessert and develop a recipe she will love as much as Pat loves Coconut Cream Pie.
Coconut Cream Pie
Ingredients
- 1 baked pie shell (8"- 9") (see recipe below)
- â…” cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 can coconut milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup whole milk (can substitute 2 percent or half & half)
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Whipped Cream
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Toasted Coconut
- ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
Baked Pie Crust for One-Crust Pie (8"- 9" crust)
- â…“ cup butter flavored shortening
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2-3 tablespoons ice cold water
Instructions
- In medium saucepan with high sides, add sugar, corn starch, salt, and coconut milk. (Coconut milk is mostly solid until heated.)
- Whisk together. Next add egg yolks, heavy cream, and milk to a small bowl or 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Whisk to blend.
- Add egg mixture to the sugar mixture in the saucepan and heat over medium high heat, whisking constantly.
- Keep whisking as mixture begins to bubble and boil. Continue whisking as it boils for one full minute. Be careful, as the bubbles will be large and will pop the thick mixture pretty high!
- Remove from heat and whisk in butter, vanilla, and coconut extract, stirring until butter if fully melted. Stir in coconut.
- Pour into baked 8" or 9" pie shell.
- Immediately cover surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate to cool completely. Chill for at least 4 hours and up tp 24 hours.
- To serve, top with whipped cream and sprinkle with toasted, flaked coconut.
Whipped Cream
- Use either a stand mixer or a hand mixer to make whipped cream. Use whisk attachment if using a stand mixer. Add heavy cream to large bowl and beat until starting to hold its shape. Add powdered sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread on cooled pie, covering the entire surface. Sprinkle to top with toasted coconut.
Toasting Coconut
- Add coconut to small skillet over low to medium heat. Cook and stir until coconut is browned to desired color and fragrant, about one to two minutes. Watch closely, as the sugar in the coconut will burn if left unattended.
Baked Pie Crust for One-Crust Pie (8"- 9" crust)
- In medium bowl, whisk flour and salt together.
- Cut shortening into small cubes. It helps to chill shortening ahead of time, but is not necessary. Add to flour and salt mixture.
- Using a pastry blender, fork, or dough hook, mix flour and shortening until it resembles small peas.
- Add ice water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture holds together. Shape into a disk.
- Roll out on floured surface until crust is about 2 inches larger than the inverted 8" or 9" pie plate.
- Gently fold crust in half and then in half again to create triangle.
- Place crust in pie plate before unfolding.
- Unfold crust and press gently into pie plate. Avoid stretching the crust, as stretching will cause it to shrink when baking. Tuck excess crust under to create a thicker edge. If edge is too thick, trim the excess dough.
- Pierce the entire surface of the crust with a fork. This prevents the crust from bubbling up when baking.
- Bake in 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until set and barely browned. Let cool completely before filling.
