Coconut Cream Pie Recipe

Rich, creamy, coconut. I love coconut cream pie! I will eventually post my grandma’s recipe (when I can find it), but this is one that I put together after doing a little research trying to find my grandma’s recipe. I prefer whipped cream on top, my grandma used the whites and did a baked meringue topping. Delicious? Yes, but nothing beats fresh whipped cream.

Coconut Cream Pie

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Serves	8
Prep time	20 minutes
By author	Dish Ditty

Rich, creamy, coconut. I love coconut cream pie! I will eventually post my grandma's recipe (when I can find it), but this is one that I put together after doing a little research trying to find my grandma's recipe. I prefer whipped cream on top, my grandma used the whites and did a baked meringue topping. Delicious? Yes, but nothing beats fresh whipped cream.

Ingredients

2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
3/4 cups Sugar
3 Egg Yolks
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 cups Toasted Coconut
1 tablespoon Butter
1 Pre-baked (blind baked) Pie Crust (try Never Fail Pie Crust)
Stabilized Whipped Cream (for topping)
1/4 cup Toasted Coconut (for topping)

Note

Note: The stabilized whipped cream is extremely important if you want to store this pie. If you don't want to make the whipped cream, store without the cream and serve the cream with the pie instead of topping the pie with the cream.

Make it lighter: If you want to make this pie with milk instead of cream, increase the egg yolks by one and the cornstarch/milk mixture will likely need to be increased to 1/3. Probably next year I'll make a light version of this pie.

Directions

Toast Coconut First
Step 1
Toast about 2 cups of coconut in the oven. To toast, spread coconut out onto cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet in middle of the oven and place oven on broil (if you have different temperatures, try the low broil). Watch it! Coconut will go from pretty brown to black in seconds. When it has a nice color, immediately remove it from the oven. Using a spatula, flip the coconut and broil again. Continue to do this until the coconut has the color you desire. I usually only flip one or two times, but it depends on how much coconut you are making.
Make the custard
Step 2
In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup milk with 1/4 cup cornstarch and set aside. In another medium sized bowl, whisk together egg yolks and set aside. In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the cream and sugar, place on medium heat and bring to a simmer. Keep on low simmer. Using the whisked egg yolks above, temper the yolks by adding a spoonful of the hot liquid into the eggs and whisking immediately. (The goal of "tempering" the yolks is so that you don't make scrambled eggs. If you just dumped the yolks directly into the hot liquid, you would have a bunch of clumpy eggs. ick!) Continue to add hot liquid and whisking into the egg yolks for about 5-6 tablespoons. Whisk the tempered egg yolk mixture into the hot cream mixture and whisk together. Whisk in the cornstarch and milk mixture into hot liquid. Increase the temperature to medium and cook whisking constantly until the filling is bubbly and thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and fold in butter and 3/4 cup toasted coconut. You can more or less coconut to taste.
Cool pie
Step 3
Pour coconut custard into pie crusts. Leave on counter for about 30-45 minutes to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to cool.
Finish Pie
Step 4
When pie is completely cooled, about 2 hours, top with stabilized whipped cream and toasted coconut. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 days.