Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie

My first post, first 'order' and first pie.  Yes, the first pie I have ever attempted to make and I get stuck with a Coconut Cream Pie.  It wasn't a fun night needless to say.  I had to idea where to start, what recipes to go off of, or anything.  I like my cookies and cakes, but pies are not usually my area.  But, I had two orders for the same pie, so I had no other choice and I actually enjoyed it, once I finally got it right.

 

My first attempt was a complete flop.

I followed this recipe and I don't know what went wrong.  I couldn't get the cream to thicken at all after over half of an hour.  I tried turning up the heat, adding more flour, but nothing seemed to work.  They also wanted the traditional version, meaning whipped cream topping and not the meringue, which I ended up putting on too soon and it just completely melted.

 

Obviously I had to try something different.  I figured it was a good solid recipe, but maybe just needed some tweaking.  So I started over.

I started with the easy part.  Toasted some more coconut and baked my pie crust to the perfect shade since it will not need re-baked with the filling.  Now what to do with the cream recipe? 

 

I looked around the internet for a bit to discover some helpful hints.  The biggest one perhaps was cornstarch, not flour.  This would definitely help the cream set up quicker.  I also exchanged 1 1/2 cups of the half and half for Coconut Milk to give it a stronger flavor.

It took a while to set but this was definitely a success.  Since the recipe called for corn starch, don't cook it much longer after it comes to a boil.  The cream may not seem thick enough, but it will set up more in the fridge.  Now all I had to do was stick it in the fridge and let it chill over night.

 

Morning came and I pulled out the pies to finish them off.  I made my favorite batch of whipped cream (1 cup heavy cream, 2 t. vanilla, 2.5 T. powdered sugar) and sprinkled them with some fresh coconut.  You could also use toasted, but I thought the fresh would be a nice contrast.

 

Ingredients:

1 Cup + extra sweetened coconut flakes

1 1/2 Cups Half-and-Half

1 1/2 Cups (About 1 Can) Coconut Milk

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 Cup White Sugar

1/4 Cup Corn Starch

1/4 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

 

1 Blind Baked Pie Crust

(A pre-baked pie crust)

1 Batch of your favorite Whipped Cream

 

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake it, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

3. In a medium saucepan, combine the half-and-half, coconut milk, eggs, sugar, corn starch and salt and mix well. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut and the vanilla extract. Reserve the remaining coconut to top the pie.

4. Pour the filling into the pie shell and chill until firm, about 4 hours.

5. Top with your favorite whipped cream and with the reserved coconut.

 

Whipped Cream:

1 Cup Heavy Cream whipped to form soft peaks

Mix in 2t. Vanilla and 2.5T Powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.