Do you ever find yourself thinking, “man, has this been a WEEK”, and it’s only Monday? That’s how my day has been. Things just seem to get crazier and crazier with everything going on in the world. I find myself often thinking about ways to escape from all of this. Can I move to Australia? Sweden perhaps? Maybe I’ll just stay indoors and not go anywhere. Maybe I’ll say “screw it” and do whatever I want. Unfortunately, none of these options are logical. My mind is just strongly craving normalcy. Is anyone else’s? How are you all coping with the world around us?
For me, when things seem to get a little chaotic, I like to enter my zen place. The kitchen. I find it very calming and a bit of an escape from reality. I bake and create whatever I feel at any given moment with no influence from anyone else. If you think about it, dessert is completely unnecessary to survive. It’s sole purpose is to bring joy to yourself and to others. I love that.
As I was flipping through my old recipes last week I came across this Coconut Cream Pie recipe. Guys, it has been YEARS since I’ve made this pie. Like, maybe even as far back as culinary school. (Yikes!) I was a little hesitant at first, but boy am I glad I took the leap.
Every bite is filled with creamy coconut filling, extra flakey crust, fluffy whipped cream, and crunchy toasted coconut. So GOOD. Don’t wait a minute longer on making this pie. I guarantee it’s been just the thing you’re summer has been missing.
Try it out and let me know what you think in the comments below. Happy baking!
Coconut Cream Pie
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 10 oz all purpose flour
- 3.5 oz shortening
- 3.5 oz butter, cold
- 3 oz water, cold
- 1 tsp salt
- .5 oz sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
Coconut Cream Pie filling
- 10 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- 2 cans coconut milk
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup finely shredded coconut (I like Bob's Red Mill)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 oz butter, cold, cubed
Chantilly Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 4 Tbsps powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Pie Crust:
- (This is a great step to do the night before because it take 6 hours to chill)
- In a medium sized bowl measure in flour. Add butter and shortening. Cut fats into flour until you reach pea-sized pieces.
- Disolve salt and sugar into cold water. Add to flour mixture.
- Mix dough by hand until just absorbed. DO NOT OVERWORK DOUGH. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 3 hours.
- Once chilled remove from plastic wrap and roll out dough to 1/8" thick. (Sprinkle counter and dough with a small amount of flour for this step) Place rolled out dough in pie dish. Fold access dough inward on sides and crimp for outer crust. Chill for another 3 hours.
- Once pie crust is chilled, blind bake (bake with pie weights or beans) at 400 degress for about 25-30 minutes. Remove weights and bake another 15-18 minutes or until crust is starting to reach a golden brown on bottom. Remove from oven.
- Place pie crust on cooling rack and immdiately brush with one egg white. (you may not use the entire white, this step is to ensure you are sealing the crust and it will not get soggy with filling) Once cooled, brush bottom with 1/3 cup melted white chocolate chips.
Coconut Filling:
- Whisk together egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, steep together coconut milk, whole milk, shredded coconut, and 1 cup of sugar. Whisking occasionaly, bring to boil.
- Once boiling, remove from heat and temper into egg yolks. I like to start with about a 1/2 cup of the milk mixture and, in a slow and steady stream, whisk into the egg yolks. Continue to do this 3 more times making sure to keep the egg yolks moving so they don't scramble. Pour egg yolk and milk mixture back into the pot with remaining milk. Return to heat.
- Whisk mixture on medium low heat until mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
- Pour mixture into baked and cooled pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap directly on top of coconut filling to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until cooled and set. This can take 3-4 hours minimum.
Chantilly Cream
- In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk together heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. If you are piping the chantilly cream like I did, I suggest whipping a little longer until stiff peaks form. Be sure not to over whip, you are looking for the cream to stand up straight on the attachment when you remove it without falling over.
- Top pie with chantilly cream and garnish with toasted coconut if desired. (I highly recomend using the brand "Dang" coconut chips. They are SO good)
- Serve immediately or store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
