Tropical goodness comes in many shapes and forms but nothing is quite as wholesome as the classic pineapple dessert recipe - the Pina Colada Pie. This beautiful after-meal dessert brings together the tanginess of pineapple and the sweetness of cool coconut entrenched in a smooth pastry crust.
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
- 252 gm flour
- 127 gm chilled butter
- 65 ml ice-cold water
- A pinch of salt
For the Filling:
- 420 ml heavy cream
- 152 gm sugar
- 123 gm shredded coconut
- 255 gm pineapple juice
- 125 ml coconut cream
- 3 tbsps unsalted butter
- 1½ tsps vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
- ⅕ tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 egg yolks
- 125 gm toasted coconut flakes
- Fresh pineapple cubes
- 5 ml lime zest
Method:
For the crust:
- You first have to preheat your oven to 180°C.
- Then, in a big bowl, mix flour with small cubes of cold butter and add a pinch of salt.
- With a hand blender, combine the butter with the dry ingredients until you are left with a crumbly mixture.
- Pour ice-cold water over the mixture and gradually keep stirring everything together until it comes together as a dough.
- Then you will have to cover the dough with a plastic wrap and let it refrigerate for 45 minutes.
- Once the dough is chilled, start rolling out the dough until about 3 mm thick.
- Transfer this pastry to a tart pan that has been greased with butter. Here, you must make sure that the bottom of the pan is removable so that the tart can easily be plopped out of the mould. Then, cut the excess pastry that is hanging from the sides.
- To blind-bake the tart shell, line the shell with parchment paper and add pie weights or dried beans to it. The weights will ensure the shell remains flattened throughout the cooking process.
- Then, you have to let it bake for 20 minutes.
- Once the shell has become a biscuit brown color, carefully lift the parchment paper and the weights, and bake it for another 15 minutes.
- To make the filling, gently mix heavy cream, sugar, shredded coconut, pineapple juice, coconut cream, melted butter, vanilla extract, salt, and cinnamon, in a big bowl. Do not overwhip your coconut cream or heavy cream to avoid them from separating.
- After the mix is well combined, transfer it into a deep bottom dish, and put it on low heat.
- Boil the mixture while stirring it occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Take it off the heat and set it aside to cool down.
- Next, move on to whisking egg yolks in a small bowl.
- To the whisked yolks, pour in the warm, creamy mixture. Add a few flakes of sea salt to offset the heaviness and the sweetness.
- Carefully transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens.
- Once you take the mixture off the heat, immediately transfer it to the blast freezer to let it cool down. Then, cautiously pour this filling into the pie crust you baked earlier.
- You need to allow the pie to set in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours or overnight.
- Toast coconut flakes for garnishing by baking the coconut shreds in the oven for about 10 minutes.
- Take it out of the freezer, cut it into uniform slices and top them with toasted coconut shavings.
You may also choose to garnish it with freshly chopped pineapple cubes and lime zest. The texture of the Pina Colada Pie can be made even more light by crowning the pie with whipped cream or chopped fresh nuts.
Each bite of this sweet dish will ensure that everyone who tastes its scrumptious slices falls in love with pineapple desserts as a whole. If you're making this for a big batch of guests, you can prepare it a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator overnight.