Easy Coconut Cream Pie
There’s a restaurant on 4th & Lenora in downtown Seattle called the Dahlia Lounge. It’s a local institution run by our very own celebrity chef, Tom Douglas (he beat Morimoto in Iron Chef!). When you come visit me, I’ll take you there to eat the Dungeness Crabcakes and “Bang in a Bag” a.k.a. beignets with vanilla marscapone. And if you’re really nice, I’ll get you a slice of his Triple Coconut Cream Pie. It’s world famous.
A while back ago my friend Nurit adapted Tom’s coconut cream pie recipe for her blog. Since then, I’ve made her version of the pie no less than 5 times … THIS MONTH. It’s surprisingly easy to make – just coconut and some pantry items. And if you forgo the coconut infused pie crust for a store bought one (she didn’t, I did), it makes whipping it up easy as … PIE! Har! Har! Har!
Coconut Cream Pie
Modified from the recipe on Nurit Asnash’s blog “1 Family Friendly Food” who in turn modified Tom Douglas’ original recipe for Triple Coconut Cream Pie.
Pie shell
Git ‘er done quick & easy with one pre-baked Marie Callendar’s Deep Dish Pie Crust. Just follow the manufacturer’s direction, which basically calls for popping the pie shell out of the freezer and baking it until it’s golden brown.
Coconut Pastry Cream
2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Whipped Cream
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla extract
Garnish
2 ounces unsweetened “chip” or large-shred coconut (about 1 1/2 cups) toasted in a 350°F for 7-8 minutes (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand)
Chunks of white chocolate (4 to 6 ounces, to make 2 ounces of curls)
Coconut Pastry Cream
Combine the vanilla, milk and coconut in a medium saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and stir occasionally until the mixture almost comes to a boil.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and flour until well combined. Temper the eggs (to keep them from scrambling) by pouring about 1/3 cup of the scalded milk into the egg mixture while whisking. Then add the warmed egg mixture to the saucepan of milk and coconut. Whisk over medium-high heat until the pastry cream thickens and begins to bubble. Keep whisking until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes more.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until it melts. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and place it over a bowl of ice water (I actually did not do this – I put the custard in a tupperware container and popped it in the fridge). Stir occasionally until it is cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a crust from forming and refrigerate until completely cold. The pastry cream will thicken as it cools. When the pastry cream is cold, fill the prebaked pie shell with it, smoothing the surface.
Whipped Cream
In an electric mixer with the whisk, whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla on medium speed. Gradually increase the speed to high and whip to peaks that are firm enough to hold their shape. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with the whipped cream and pipe it all over the surface of the pie, or spoon it over.
Garnish
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the coconut chips on a baking sheet and toast in the oven, watching carefully and stirring once or twice, since coconut burns easily, until lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes.
Use a vegetable peeler to scrape about 2 ounces of the white chocolate into curls or follow the directions posted here on how to create the curls the old school way. Though, my curls really turn out looking like flakes.
Sprinkle the pie with coconut and chocolate.
18 Responses to “Easy Coconut Cream Pie”
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Okay, I really liked you before. (And not just because of the AWESOME laptop.) Now, you will forever hold a special place in my heart. And my thighs thank you so very much.
.-= Nicki´s last blog ..*sniffle* I’m broken? =-.
Oh my goodness, I’m so glad you posted this. I will need to bookmark this recipe into my recipe bookmarks for future reference. Thank you for sharing!
It IS easy to make. Your pie looks gorgeous!
(soon)
Oh, I would love you to take me out for some crabcakes and dognuts.
And maybe we can also visit Serious Pie?! Have you tried it? It IS seriously good!
And, funny ‘cos I thought of posting a “Happy” post about great conversations with friends
Thank you for posting this ~ my husband would give you a kiss right now if he could.
I would very much like to make out with this pie.
.-= Jen L.´s last blog ..Weird Week =-.
Why would you do this to me. With the compelling title and vivid picture. It makes me want to reach through my computer screen and eat it right now. Why??
~ humps
Ok, the picture makes me WANT ONE. Like, an entire one. But, it seems a little involved. I wouldn’t say “easy.”
It is eight in the morning. I am pregnat and hungry. If you’d like my mailing address you can feel free to mail me an already made pie… you can consider it Gods work!
.-= Jasmine´s last blog ..What a stupid idea- Waxing =-.
Dumb Question, but I do have to ask since I LOVE your blog and read it all the time (as I hope you know)!
How is your New Years Resolution coming from last year? Lat time I checked, you were close to all your goals.
I’m pretty sure I just gained 25 lbs reading your post and
Coconut Cream Pie has just made it’s way onto the Christmas Menu.
.-= Jennifer June´s last blog ..The landing strip =-.
Oh yum, so trying this, thanks!
.-= Aimee Greeblemonkey´s last blog ..I Am Sick of Stormy-Weather Friends =-.
Oh, my, this makes me homesick. Then again, I may be fixing up a little piece of Seattle more often — thanks for the quick fix!
Molly
.-= molly´s last blog ..thumbs and variations =-.
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Oh wow, this looks good! I like that the ingredients are pretty straight forward – you’re right, it’s basically made with pantry items. Yummy!!!
.-= Julie @ Organic Virgin Coconut Oil´s last blog ..Contact and DoFollow, Keywordluv Info =-.
Thanks for this information. Was doing a Google search and stumbled across this post. I liked it so much that I bookmarked it. To Boot, I will be coming back for more so be sure to keep posting!
Hey, please could you tell me how to integrate your news in my rss feed reader, i can
I just made this today and Holy crap this pie is awesome!!!
Sorry for the huge review, but I’m really loving the water filter, and hope this, as well as the excellent reviews some other people have written, will help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.