Classic coconut
cream pie. Really, there may not be a better pie-for-all-occasions.
Unless you are a coconut hater. In that case, you might want to look
away.
I happen to love the
stuff. And this silky, creamy, decadent pie is just about all that my
coconut pie dreams are made of. I’ve been making this pie for a
few years now and we enjoy it with either a graham cracker crust or a
traditional pie crust.
One thing I’ve
changed as I’ve made it over and over is that I prefer not
adding the toasted coconut to the custard filling. I like the smooth
richness of the custard without the texture of the coconut and
instead smother the top of the pie with the delicious toasted
coconut. Follow your instincts and do what you like best. Either way,
this pie is an absolute coconut knock-out!
Old-Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie Yield: Makes one 9 or 10-inch pie
Ingredients
Coconut Cream Pie:
1 can coconut milk (can be found in the Asian foods section)
Half-and-half or heavy cream (enough to add to the coconut milk to make 3 cups)
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked coconut, toasted*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 recipe graham cracker crust (below) or traditional pie crust
Fresh Whipped Cream, lightly sweetened
Graham Cracker Crust:
12 whole rectangular graham crackers
1 stick butter, melted and slightly cooled
3 tablespoons sugar
Directions
For the pie: In a medium saucepan,
combine half and half, coconut milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch
and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.
Mixture will become very thick. Remove from heat, and stir in
coconut extract and the vanilla extract (at this point you can also
stir in 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut, although I prefer to use it
all to garnish the top of the pie). Pour the custard into the baked
and cooled pie shell and chill 2-4 hours or until firm. Top with
whipped cream and the toasted coconut.
For the crust: Preheat oven to 325
degrees. Finely crush graham crackers in a food processor or in a
zipper bag with a rolling pin. Pour crumbs into a bowl and add
sugar, stirring to combine. Drizzle butter over the top and mix with
a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the crumbs
evenly in the bottom and up the sides of a 9- or 10-inch pie plate.
Bake for 13-15 minutes until the crust is just barely beginning to
brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before filling.
Notes
*To toast coconut, spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake at
325 degrees, tossing often, until lightly toasted, about 12-15
minutes.
Pie Recipe Source: Aunt Marilyn Crust Recipe Source: adapted from ATK’s Family Baking Handbook
Melanie Gunnell is a food-loving, chocolate-obsessed mom who has a desperate need to share
her favorite tried-and-true recipes with the world. In a past life she graduated from Brigham
Young University with a degree in public health, but for the past ten years, stay-at-home
motherhood has been her job along with blogging-from-home for the past five.
She resides in the brilliantly cold tundra of Northern Minnesota with her husband and their brood
of five children: four boys and one tiny, bossy girl. Dark chocolate (particularly the act of
shoving chocolate chips in her mouth whilst hiding in the pantry) is her coping skill of choice for
both the never-ending winters and the never-ending wrestling matches in her front room.