Daily Loaf

Coconut is divine. It is so flavorful and versatile, at home as a crust on giant prawns or a decadent dessert to end a meal. When it is flaked, sweetened, and toasted it leaves such a distinct mark on any dish it’s become one of my favorite ingredients to use.

When I set out to make my first coconut cream pie several years ago, I struggled with the idea of the baking method it would involve. It seemed that blind baking a crust and cooking the filling separately would be such a task, but that filling and then baking the pie would never result in the creamy goodness I was after. So I researched a lot of different recipes, and created this version which really is so simple and yields a confection worthy of the case in any fine bake shop.

At its most basic level, this dessert is rich vanilla custard with real coconut and a flaky, traditional hand-made crust. If you can get past the initial fear of making your own pastry and just nail down the technique, it will be well worth it, so take this extra step and you won’t be sorry. Cold is the key — cold work surface, clean cold hands (your best tools!), and most of all, very cold butter.

Here’s the recipe:

Toasted Coconut Cream Pie

Simple butter pie crust:
(makes one bottom crust)
1 and 1/4 cups all purposes flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cubed
1/4 cup ice water

Coconut cream filling:
3 cups half & half
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked- recipe follows

1. For the pie shell: place the flour, sugar, and butter in a large bowl and work with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles small peas. Add the water, a little bit at a time, until the crust comes together into a soft dough. Shape into a disc, place into a zip top bag and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.

2. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll the dough out into a large circle and transfer to a 9” pie pan, folding over and fluting the edges. Prick the inside several times with a fork and/or line with tin foil and use pie weights, dried beans, or uncooked rice to weigh the inside. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

3. As the pie crust cools, prepare the filling. Place the half & half, eggs, sugar, flour and salt in a medium saucepan and whisk to combine. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until it just boils, whisking often. When it boils and begins to thicken, remove from the heat and add the butter, 1 cup of the coconut and the vanilla, stirring well.

4. Pour the filling into the prepared crust and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until set. Toast the remaining ½ cup of coconut in a dry pan until it begins to brown, watching carefully and stirring often to prevent burning. Remove and set aside to cool before using as a garnish on the top of the pie.

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