Coconut Cream Pie

    Growing up, my family rarely would eat pie. The only pies we really had were pumpkin, apple, and pecan and that was only around Thanksgiving. Every once in a while we would go to an event where pie was served like a church potluck or a graduation party. Since I live in the midwest, the pies served at these events were rhubarb more often or not. So all in all, that is a very small amount of pies that I am familiar with.That was until I graduated and started to explore the world of cooking and baking. One of the things I have started to test out recently, are cream pies. Over the summer I made my first banana cream pie, the first I had ever even tasted actually, and it was amazing! So recently when I found myself with a ridiculous amount of forgotten shredded coconut in my pantry, I decided it was time to tackle the coconut cream pie! 

    Every cream pie shares the same basics, a graham cracker crust (you can use a normal pie crust but I think graham cracker is better for a cream pie because they don't get as soggy), a custard like filling, and some kind of fluffy topping like merengue or flavored whipped cream. For a coconut cream pie, I just make a simple graham cracker crust with a sleeve of graham crackers and some butter. I have also seen some people add toasted shredded coconut to their crust for a little extra coconut flavor but I wasn't sure how that would be received by the crowd I was making this for. I used the bottom of a cup to press the graham cracker concoction onto the bottom and sides of my pie pan. I have not perfected this technique and always end up making quite a bit of a mess so if you have any tricks when it comes to graham cracker crusts, let me know in the comment section below! 

    Once my crust was pressed down as smooth as I could get it, I popped my pie plate into the fridge and got going on my filling. There are several ways to tackle this filling but I find this way offers the best real coconut flavor and is the hardest to fail. To start, I put my butter, full fat coconut milk (canned works great) and whole milk into a saucepan to heat up. I stir it periodically until it boils. My stove is super slow to heat up so I am able to multitask while this is heating. However, if you stove is fast to heat up, wait until you can focus on the milk mixture a little better because you really do not want to burn it. 

    While my milk mixture was heating (or before if you can't multitask) I mixed together my egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. This will be a little clumpy and dry but as long as there aren't any large yolk pockets you're good. By the time I was done combining my sugar mixture, my milks were boiling. I pulled the pot off of the stove and slowly poured a little bit of it into my sugar mixture before mixing this in. Once the first little bit was poured in, I continued to add in the rest of the hot milk mixture until it was all combined. The trick is to take your time adding it in, otherwise you will cook your eggs too fast and you'll end up with scrambled egg in your pie. 

    When everything was smooth, I added it all back to my saucepan and turned the heat to medium. I made sure to keep stirring every once in a while, scraping the bottom of the pot, to make sure nothing was sticking and burning while it simmered. I let it simmer like that until my mixture started to thicken. When the texture was pudding-like I took the pot off of the heat again and stirred my custard vigorously to try and release as much heat as I could. When It was still hot but not to the point where it's going to burn me, I add in my coconut flakes and vanilla, and stirred that in also until the coconut flakes were evenly dispersed. 

    As soon as my filling wasn't steaming anymore, I took my pie plate with the prepped crust out of the fridge and carefully poured all of the filling in. I tapped it on the counter a couple times in case there were some bubbles on top of the custard and returned everything to the fridge for a few hours. This needs 3-4 hours to totally set but usually I just let it sit in there overnight to be safe. 

    Right before my pie is ready to take out of the fridge, I start preparing my topping. This will have two toppings; whipped cream and toasted coconut. You can buy your coconut from the store, but usually when I make this I only have plain shredded coconut on hand. To toast it, I preheat my oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spread my shredded coconut out on a baking sheet to bake for 5-8 minutes. I pull them out when they just start to turn golden brown and before any of the flakes start to blacken. 

    While my coconut is toasting, I add my heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to a bowl and beat with my mixer until stiff peaks form. You can also add a little coconut extract to your whipped cream if you want a slightly stronger flavor but be very careful to only add a few drops because it can run away with you and end up way too strong. I prefer plain whipped cream to offset all of the sweet coconut surrounding it.

    With all of my toppings ready, I pull my set pie out of the fridge and spread all of my whipped cream on top before I top it all with a layer of crunchy toasted coconut. You can either eat it right away or keep it in the fridge until it is ready to serve. The final pie is absolutely amazing. It has the perfect rich and creamy coconut filling topped with light whipped cream, sandwiched between the crunch of graham cracker crust and toasted coconut! If you are looking for a super easy dessert that will stun your family and/or guests this is the one for you !

    What did you think of this recipe? Use the comment section below!