Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Coconut Cream Pie


Coconut Cream Pie....Well, you either love it or hate it. I have a friend that has complete textural issues with coconut. I will not go into her description of this, but she's a coconut hater, obviously. But, not me. Coconut makes me think of tropical escapes. Fruity drinks and lounging on the beach. Though, interestingly enough, I read somewhere that about 150 people die each year from coconuts falling on their heads. So, I'm thinking I might lounge with my fruity drink away from the coconuts. Well, you never know :)
Back to my point...so, I like coconut. No doubt. Yet, I'm so hesitant to make anything containing coconut for others due to the overwhelming number of coconut adversaries out there. But, last week, I decided to step out of the norm. I decided to throw caution to the wind. Ok, ok... so not really. My in-laws, whom I knew to be coconut lovers, were coming over for dinner. So, I decided to try my hand at a homemade coconut cream pie. Oh, I was so glad I did!! And, since I enjoy adding excess stress to my day when I have company coming over, I also decided to attempt to make my own pie crust. Well, this worked out to my advantage in the end, since the recipe made 3 pie crusts. I was able to make 2 more pies for Easter dinner. Multi-tasking in disguise!
I have to say, I was very pleased with every aspect of this pie. It was super creamy and incredibly flavorful. The pie crust was flaky and perfect (not that I would expect anything else from a recipe that the Pioneer Woman has posted on her blog!).  If you are a coconut enthusiast, like me, you will not be sorry you tried this recipe!! Enjoy!


Coconut Cream Pie 
via Allrecipes
 Ingredients
  • 1 can of Cream of Coconut added to enough half & half to make 3 cups
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cups white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 c corn starch
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup flaked coconut, toasted*
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
  • 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked-recipe to follow
  • whipped cream- recipe to follow
Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine half and half/cream of coconut, eggs, sugar, corn starch and salt. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in 3/4 c of the coconut and the vanilla. Cool to room temperature. Pour into pie shell. Top with whipped cream and remaining coconut. Chill atleast 2 to 4 hours, or until firm. Store in the refrigerator.

*To toast coconut: Spread coconut on an ungreased pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust
via Pioneer Woman Cooks
Ingredients
  • 1-½ cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
  • 3 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 1 whole Egg
  • 5 Tablespoons Cold Water
  • 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
Preparation Instructions:
In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)
When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.
With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge. Bake according to pie recipe directions or if pre-baking, bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. *You will follow the pre-baking method for this pie

Stabilized Whipped Cream
via TasminCakes
Ingredients U.S. Metric Imperial Instructions for Ingredients
heavy whipping cream 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
3 tablespoons of hot water
1 tsp Gelatine
1 tablespoon of confectioner's sugar
orange marmalade (see recipe above) 1 tablespoon
In a small bowl, add the gelatine and hot water, stirring well until the gelatine dissolves. Let the gelatine cool to room temperature while you make the whipped cream. Combine the cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer on low speed until the cream starts to thicken for about one minute. Add the confectioner sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the cream until the beaters leave visible (but not lasting) trails in the cream, then add the cooled gelatine slowly while beating continuously. Continue whipping until the cream is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and fold in the orange marmalade.
[Tip: Use an ice cold bowl to make the whipped cream in. You can do this by putting your mixing bowl, cream and beater in the fridge for 20 minutes prior to whipping the cream.]

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21 comments:

Kim said...

Count me in! I love coconut and I also love cream pies. Your in-laws are very lucky to have such a wonderful baker in the family.

cookies and cups said...

Awesome! I am the same way when I have company coming over...I always do strange and unusual tasks..just because.
The pie looks delicious!

Fork1 said...

You read my mind! I was thinking of making a coconut cream pie this weekend,lol. Now that I have your recipe post, I will def try yours. YUM!

Michel-lee said...

I love everything about coconut. My goodness you put lots of love into that pie. It looks sinful. Thanks for visiting my site.

Miss Meat and Potatoes said...

I don't understand coconut hate. I love this recipe because it doesn't call for coconut extract which is hard to find. Thanks for posting!

http://meatandpotatoesfoodie.blogspot.com/

Tree said...

OMG...that does look sinful! LOL And scrumptious. I happen to love coconut as well....you said it all here: "Coconut makes me think of tropical escapes. Fruity drinks and lounging on the beach." I have to agree...I love the scent and taste of coconut. I will have to make this soon, and I can eat it all myself, because noone in my household likes coconut. LOL

Thanks!

Lazaro Cooks said...

You really are true to your name here. Sinful and sweet. Great post.

This Wife Cooks said...

Wow - that pie really does look good!

iga@thedelishdish said...

this pie is making my mouth water!! im on such a coconut kick these days i can't get enough of it...this week alone ive gone through coconut ice cream and coconut chocolate. this recipe looks like it can make up for some dissapointing coconut cupcakes i made last week!

A GAL NEEDS... said...

Oiy! That looks absolutely delish! I'm going to make that one of these days this summer! Thanks for the beautiful tutorial!

Virginia Taylors said...

How I love coconut pie!! I am on a perpetual journey to find perfect pie crust recipes. Thanks for sharing this one.

Krista said...

That would be my luck...a coconut falling on my head. Good call to lounge away from such trees. : )

I have NO issues with the texture of coconut. Love it and love this pie! It looks and sounds amazing. Great recipes.

faithy said...

I like coconuts on its own and on certain local asian dishes but not so much in baked goods..*shrugs*..i don't know why. But looking at your pie..it's making me change my mind..look so good and it's calling my name! :)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

This look tempting and good!

grace said...

and i drool. :)
my brother hates coconut and i love it, so i often deviously made coconut desserts so he won't hog the whole thing. is that wrong?
this pie looks and sounds completely amazing--great post!

Tickled Red said...

Would you just look at that...wow! I'll send my step mom right over :)

Velva said...

I absolutely love coconut! I could easily have my slice and still manage to stand in front of the refrigerator and nibble at it, until it was gone. Delicious!

Leslie said...

I am on the "I love coconut Pie" side of the fence!!! YUM

Julie said...

You can make this for me any old day! Just had some at Marie Callender's last night, but homemade is always better :)

Diana's Cocina said...

Coconut anything is my Daddy's fave! Besides me, hehe! This pie looks Delicious!

Anonymous said...

I've had some canned light Coconut Milk and picked up some regular whipping cream the other day and I'd wanted to find a Coconut Cream Pie recipe that I could use both ingredients in, to get a more genuine coconut flavor and used real whipped cream, either in it or on it. After looking at many pictures this one stood out! I was thrilled to see it used coconut cream (I hope coconut milk is ok!), I don't have the extract anyway, and I have enough whipping cream to make my milk more like half n half. I had wanted to use toasted coconut and you use it too! So I couldn't believe how lucky I was to find exactly what looks like the Perfect match! I'm single & disabled but I have to try this as I've been craving coconut cream pie for serveral months now! I'm making it tonight as I can't wait any longer and will enjoy it for days and treat a friend or two! I'm a seasoned pie baker & know a good recipe when I see it! Thank you for your posting this Indulging recipe!