Make This Special Sweet: A Delish Dessert Recipe for Coconut Cream Pie

Do you like coconuts and do you like pies? Then you will be delighted to know that somewhere in the world, some baker or somebody with a massive case of sweet tooth has a day dedicated to the creamy coconut pie. In most cases, the only baking you need to do for the cake is to toast the coconuts to a brilliant golden brown and just whisk and assemble the pie. Your fridge will do the rest to shape the pie into its luscious creamy form and make it an absolute delight to dig into.

Did You Know May 8 is Celebrated as Coconut Cream Pie Day?

Like most desserts that are pies, the coconut pie also traces its origin back to Europe, in some form. This was even though it were the Greeks and the Egyptians who came up with the world’s first pies, the handiwork of some brilliant chef of the ancient times. But when it comes to this day, it's clearly an American invention, who love their desserts as closely as they love their milkshakes and burgers. This particular pie, since it has coconuts, can be said to be an American adaptation of the classic pie that uses other autumnal fruits in them.

There’s a story behind the history of coconut use in America’s desserts, you see, coconut was never a native plant in the US. A ship carrying coconuts lost its cargo close to the coast of present-day Florida. Coconuts being buoyant, floated to the shore and started growing in Florida’s Palm Beach. This was how slowly coconut became more accessible in the country. But how the popularity of the fruit in desserts came to be, was another story.

In the 1800s, as Americans began enjoying tropical fruits like bananas and pineapples, coconuts also started gaining more access and popularity in the United States. The development of processes like shredding and drying coconut meat started to overcome issues with keeping the fruit fresh during shipping. The coconut trees were yet to become mainstream during this time so coconuts were being imported. In fact, coconuts were being transported rapidly and used more widely and recipes for Coconut Cream Pie then started appearing in American cookbooks in the early 1900s, and the pie's popularity only grew from there.

Coconut Cream Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 80 gm sweetened flaked coconut
• 350 ml cream
• 350 ml milk
• 170 gm white sugar
• 65 gm all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 23 cm pre-baked 9-inch pie shell [recipe below]
• 240 ml whipped topping (chilled)

Instructions

1. Arrange the sweet coconut flakes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Heat oven to 180°C, let it heat and pop the sheet inside for 5 minutes. You will need to stir in between. The coconut flakes will turn golden brown and fragrant.
2. Add the milk, cream, sugar, flour, eggs, and salt in a deep saucepan. Whisk and bring to a boil. Keep whisking and check after a while to see if it has thickened enough. The porridge-like mixture will coat the back of a spoon and won’t slide off. Once that happens, remove from heat.
3. Sprinkle ¾ of the toasted coconut flakes into the sticky mixture. Also, pour the vanilla essence and mix to incorporate.
4. Pour the coconut-flour custard into the prepared pie shell. Refrigerate for 4 hours.
5. Top the pie with whipped cream and the toasted coconuts. Slice into individual portions and serve to guests.

Pie Crust Recipe

Ingredients

• 200 gm gm all-purpose flour
• 15 gm granulated sugar (optional)
• 5 gm salt
• 115 gm unsalted butter, (cold, diced into small cubes)
• 60 ml ice water

Instructions

1. Use a mixing bowl, and whisk the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the diced cold butter and use two forks to cut it into the dry ingredients, reducing them into pea-sized pieces mixed with the det ingredients.
2. Drizzle the ice water over these buttery crumbs and use a spatula to work the water into it until the dough begins clumping together. If too dry, add more cold water. Add it one spoon at a time and knead. Form the dough into a disk about 2 cm thick.
3. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour before rolling out into half-inch thickness.