Coconut (cream?) pie

The Story

This is my mom’s absolute #1 favorite pie, and maybe even dessert altogether. Technically this is a coconut cream pie without the cream topping because the custard comes together on the stovetop and is poured into a fully baked pie crust (cream pie) vs. only par-baking the pie crust and baking the custard ingredients from raw inside the crust in the oven (custard pie). My mom insists it’s a coconut custard pie since it doesn’t have the cream topping, but either way, it’s a festival of coconut for the true coconut aficionado.

Whenever I go to my parent’s house around the holidays, I ask each of my parents to request a dessert I can make special for them. Because at the end of the day, for me making food for someone is my ultimate love language. And this dish’s history in my family is no different. It’s something that takes a lot of time to make (although a majority is inactive) and requires some effort, but seeing the joy it brings my mom with every bite she takes makes it all worth it. And it’s a joy to eat in the dead of winter with the coconut flavor transporting me straight to the beach with the ocean breeze and the heat of the sun. But really, it’s great no matter what time of year you make it.

It’s hard to say exactly when and where the coconut cream pie came from, but there are recipes from the 19th century referencing coconut desserts that opened the door to what would later be this iconic dessert.

And don’t get me wrong, it’s not super hard to make. Plus it teaches some fundamental baking skills: how to make an extremely flakey all-butter pie dough and how to cook a custard (or if we’re going to be fancy and French about it - a crème pâtissière). So, once you get the core elements down, it’s simple to put this dessert together. As a bonus, knowing these baking techniques will allow you to make any kind of custard pie you like….keep the pie dough and the process the same, just alter the ingredients in the custard and the topping to make a different version.

Difficulty: 2.5 on a scale of 1-5

Active time to prepare: 1 hour

Total time to prepare: 9 hours including chilling, baking, and resting

Serves: 8-10

The Ingredients

For the dough:

1 3/4 cup/220 g all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp./12 g granulated white sugar

3/4 tsp./4 g salt

3/4 cup/170 g (1.5 sticks) chilled unsalted butter cut into cubes (*NOTE: I like to cut the butter into cubes and put it back into the freezer for 10 minutes before I use it)

1/4 cup/60 g ice water

1 Tbsp./15 g apple cider vinegar

9-inch/23cm diameter pie plate

For the coconut custard filling:

1 cup/200 g granulated white sugar

2/3 cup/107 g cornstarch sifted

1/2 tsp./3 g salt

2 cups/490 g whole milk

2 cans 14 oz/400 g coconut milk

*NOTE: Make sure it’s a nice coconut milk (NOT CREAM) that has as few thickeners and unnatural ingredients as possible

8 large egg yolks

*NOTE: You can put the unused whites in a tightly sealed Tupperware and store them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

For the assembly:

1/2 cup/40 g shredded sweetened coconut

The Recipe

Dough:

1. In a food processor, add the flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse to combine.

2. Add the cubed butter to the food processor and pulse until the butter pieces are the size of a pea.

3. In the measuring cup with the ice water add the apple cider vinegar. Mix to combine.

4. While running the food processor in long pulses, add the water-vinegar mixture. The mixture should start to come together to form a shaggy dough (it will clump by clumpy in some places with some loose dry bits).

   *NOTE: If the dough is still dry, add more cold water 1 tablespoon at a time. Remember that the dough will hydrate as it rests, so it’s okay if it’s a bit dry in spots.

   *NOTE: You can make this dough by hand. Just use your fingers to break up the butter into pea-size pieces. Then drizzle the liquid evenly over the top of the dough and using a fork manually mix it until a shaggy dough forms.

5. Turn the dough out onto a cutting board. Press it together to form a somewhat rectangular disk.

6. Cut the dough into 4 quadrants and stack each one on top of each other. Smoosh the dough to form a rectangular disk.

7. Repeat, step 6 cutting the dough and pressing it back together into a rounded disk around 1 1/2 inch/3.8cm thick. Pinch all the way around the disk on the edges of the dough to help the dough not crack when you’re rolling it out.

   *NOTE: The cutting and stacking of the dough is what creates all the amazing layers in this dough.

8. Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 205° C/400° F, place a rack in the middle of the oven, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes or so.

3. Unwrap the dough and dust both sides of it as well as your work surface and rolling pin with flour.

4. Working from the middle out to the edges, turn the dough as you roll it to around 1/4 inch/.65 cm thickness.

5. Roll the dough around your rolling pin and drape it inside the pie plate.

6. Using the pads of your fingers gently nudge the dough into the edges of the plate.

7. Trim the edges of the dough so that you have around 1 inch/2.5 cm of overhang. Ball up the dough and use it to ensure the dough is flush with the edges of the dish lightly pressing it around the perimeter.

8. Fold the overhang underneath and crimp as desired. With a fork poke small holes all over the base and walls of the dough. Cover and chill until very cold (I leave it in the freezer for an hour).

9. Lay 2 sheets of parchment paper over the dough. Fill with dried beans or pie weights, ensuring they are pressed into the edges of the dough. Place the dough on the foil-lined baking sheet you prepared.

10. Bake until the edges are lightly golden brown (40-45 minutes).

11. Take it out of the oven and remove the parchment paper and pie weights (if you’ve used dried beans, you can save them and use them again).

12. Lower the oven temperature to 150° C/300° F. Bake the crust until it is an even deep golden brown and the bottom has no soggy spots, looking underneath the pie plate to check (20-30 minutes).

Coconut custard filling:

1. While baking the crust at the lower temperature, add the sugar, sifted cornstarch, and salt to a medium saucepan and whisk to combine (off heat).

2. Add the whole milk and coconut milk. Whisk thoroughly, ensuring the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the egg yolks and whisk again until homogeneous.

3. Over medium heat, whisk the mixture constantly until large bubbles appear (around 10-12 minutes).

4. Reduce the heat to low and whisk constantly for 1 minute.

5. Immediately strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.

6. If the crust is done, pour it directly into the crust. If the crust isn’t done, set aside until the crust is cooked. Vigorously whisk the custard and pour it into the cooked crust.

Assembly:

1. Chill the pie for at least 4 hours until the custard has fully set.

2. In a dry sauté pan, add the shredded coconut and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the coconut flakes are toasted (5-6 minutes).

3. When ready to serve, let the pie come to room temperature for 20 minutes. Top with the toasted coconut.

   *NOTE: If you’re not planning to eat the whole pie in one sitting, top each individual slice with coconut so that it stays crunchy.

DO AHEAD: You can make the dough up to 5 days ahead keeping it in the fridge or 1 month ahead kept in the freezer. If using frozen dough, let the dough defrost overnight in the refrigerator.

LEFTOVERS: Loosely cover the pie with aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.