Coconut Cream Pie

Here is a another fantastic summer dessert … Coconut Cream Pie! I had never actually tried this kind of pie until last summer. For some reason the sound of it never appealed to me to try to make, because I always thought it sounded heavy, and no one had ever served it at any gatherings I had been to. Last summer I went to our local farmer’s market to pick up a last minute pie, from one of the vendors who makes fabulous pie, for a gathering we going to that day. I got there a bit late and the only pie she had left was coconut cream pie. I decided to get that since I didn’t have time to make anything that day. I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it that night. It wasn’t heavy at all and I quite enjoyed the taste.

I happened to have a recipe for this kind of pie in my Cook’s Illustrated cookbook and tried making it for this first time last fall. This was even better! The addition of coconut milk to the filling made the coconut flavour even more pronounced and I loved the addition of a little bit of rum to the whipped cream. It complimented the filling so well, but there wasn’t so much rum that it made it boozy! When I first made it, I made it with a pastry crust as the woman I bought the pie from did, but I thought a graham cracker crust would be more appropriate after trying it, so that is what I’ve included here.

This pie is a great summer dessert. It has a bit of a tropical flavour from the coconut and rum and requires very little cooking time. Just 12 minutes in the oven for the crust and 10 minutes on the stove-top for the filling. It does need to chill and set for at least 4 hours for the best texture so plan your time accordingly.

Now the only issue is this that I have extra egg whites. What to bake next to use those up….

[recipe title=”Coconut Cream Pie” servings=”8-10″ cooktime=”5 hours including cooling the crust and chilling time” difficulty=”easy” description=”This coconut cream pie uses coconut milk as well as shredded coconut in the custard for ample coconut flavour. The rum in the whipped cream is a great compliment to the coconut filling. It requires little actual cooking so it is a perfect summer dessert! Don’t use low-fat coconut milk as it doesn’t have enough flavour.”]
[recipe-ingredients]

For the Crust
– 1 1/2 cups graham wafer crumbs
– 3 tbsp sugar
– 1/2 tsp cinnamon
– 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling
– 1 14-oz can coconut milk (not low-fat)
– 1 cup whole milk
– 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
– 2/3 cup sugar, divided
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 5 large egg yolks
– 1/4 cup cornstarch
– 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
– 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Whipped Cream
– 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
– 1 1/2 tbsp icing sugar
– 1 1/2 tsp dark rum
– 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 tbsp toasted shredded coconut
[/recipe-ingredients][recipe-directions]

For the Crust
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Combine graham wafer crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and butter in a medium bowl.
3. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
4. Bake until crust is starting to turn golden, about 12 minutes. Cool completely.

For the Filling
1. Bring the coconut milk, whole milk, shredded coconut, 1/3 cup sugar and the salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, remaining 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch together in a medium bowl.
3. Once milk has simmered, slowly whisk 1 cup of milk into the egg yolk mixture. Then slowly whisk the tempered egg yolks into the milk mixture in the saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and cook, whisking vigorously until the mixture is thickened, about 30 seconds.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
5. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the filling and chill in the fridge until filling is set, about 4 hours.

For the Topping
1. Before serving, whip the cream, sugar, rum and vanilla together on medium-low speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Increase the mixer speed to high and continue to whip until the cream forms soft peaks, 1 to 3 minutes. Spread or pipe the whipped cream over the filling and sprinkle with the toasted coconut.
[/recipe-directions][/recipe]

Combine graham wafer crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and butter in a medium bowl.

Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.

Bake until crust is starting to turn golden, about 12 minutes. Cool completely.

Bring the coconut milk, whole milk, shredded coconut, 1/3 cup sugar and the salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, remaining 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch together in a medium bowl.

Once milk has simmered, slowly whisk 1 cup of milk into the egg yolk mixture.

Then slowly whisk the tempered egg yolks into the milk mixture in the saucepan.

Reduce heat to medium and cook, whisking vigorously until the mixture is thickened, about 30 seconds.

Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

Pour the mixture over the cooled crust. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the filling and chill in the fridge until filling is set, about 4 hours.

Before serving, whip the cream, sugar, rum and vanilla together on medium-low speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Increase the mixer speed to high and continue to whip until the cream forms soft peaks, 1 to 3 minutes.

Spread or pipe the whipped cream over the filling and sprinkle with the toasted coconut.

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