coconut cream pie

classics, rum, did i just fall out of a coconut tree

I’ll be relatively short and sweet here. Mainly because I’m late on this newsletter (oops), but also because I’m pretty sure this pie speaks for itself. I’m a coconut fiend, and I like my coconut cream pie to have rich, deep coconut flavor. We’re achieving that through toasted coconut in the graham crust and reduced coconut milk and coconut oil in the cream. Showering the whole thing with crispy toasted flakes is the metaphorical cherry on top. A dash of rum? What’s not to like.

We’re sliding into fall baking, folks. Get ready for something pumpkin (it’ll be good, I swear). Maybe something maple pecan? Toffee coffee? Cardamom? Chai? Caramel apple? There’s nowhere bad this road goes.

Okay that’s it from me. You are spared my rambling. Make a pie for a friend instead.

coconut cream pie
makes 1 9-inch pie

crust

1 1/4 cup flaked coconut

4 oz graham crackers

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled (75g)

filling

3 tablespoons coconut oil (45g)

1 tablespoon rum

1 can full-fat coconut milk, well shaken

1 cup half-and-half (or, half heavy cream half milk)

1 egg

4 egg yolks (save the whites!)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup sugar (100g)

topping

6 egg whites

1 1/3 cup sugar (262g)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 and 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

directions

for the crust:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Toast the coconut, tossing occasionally, until light golden brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

Put 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut in a food processor, add the graham crackers, sugar and salt and pulse until fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse until it looks like wet sand.

Grab a 9-inch pie plate. Pour about half the crumbs into the pie plate and push to the edges. Use a straight-sided 1-cup measure to press the mix up and into the sides of the plate. Dump the rest of the mix into the bottom of the pan and use the bottom of the cup to smush into an even layer. This can be a delicate process (it does not want to go up the sides of the plate). Just keep at it and try different tapping angles until something works!

Bake the pie crust in the preheated over until crust is set and edges brown, about 12-15 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

for the filling:

Place the coconut oil in a medium bowl with a fine-mesh strainer set over it. Place the coconut milk in a medium saucepan set over medium heat, and simmer until reduced to one cup, about 15 minutes.

Add the half-and-half and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk eggs, yolks, cornstarch and kosher salt until lightened and thickened. Add a ladleful of your hot milk mixture to the eggs while whisking, and stream the tempered eggs into the saucepan. Cook over medium, whisking constantly until custard is thickened and holds the marks of the whisk. Pour through the fine mesh strainer over the oil and push it through the sieve with a spatula. Whisk in the oil until well combined. Whisk in the rum. Pour into the prepared crust and smooth. Press a sheet of plastic wrap on it and chill until set, at least four hours.

for the topping:

Fill a medium pot with two inches of water and set over medium-low heat. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg whites, sugar, salt, cream of tartar and vanilla extract. Place over the steaming water, stirring constantly with a spatula, until thin, foamy and 175F, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on high until glossy, thick and quadrupled in volume, about 5 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap and dollop on top of the pie. Swirl decoratively as desired, and if you’ve got one, toast with a blow-torch (just be aware the coconut won’t stick as well to any toasted parts - I did some toasting and some sticking). Sprinkle generously with the rest of the toasted coconut.

side note

sunsets from our apartment are nice, to say the least.