Coconut Cream Pie

By Trish Rapley - 26th August 2024

Servings 8 - 12

This beautiful coconut cream pie is a delightful dessert featuring a buttery, flaky crust filled with rich and creamy coconut custard.

This pie offers a perfect balance of sweetness and tropical flavour. It is topped with sweetened whipped cream and sprinkled with toasted coconut flakes.

Each slice is a heavenly treat, making it a favourite for coconut lovers. It's a classic dessert that brings a taste of the tropics to any gathering.

For the Crust:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and diced

4-5 tablespoons ice water

For the Coconut Custard:

400ml coconut milk

1 ½ cups whole milk

⅔ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

4 egg yolks

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Toasted coconut flakes for garnish

NOTES

All my pie crusts are made with the same ingredients! This is my favourite crust to use for all my pies both hot and cold!

You can use either pie weights or rice to prevent bubbling for the pie base to prevent bubbling!

Remember it's so important to allow the custard - filling to cool right down otherwise you pie base will become soggy!

For a richer coconut flavour, you can use coconut extract instead of vanilla extract in the filling.

For the Crust:

In a large bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in the chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Gradually add ice water, stirring until the mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface and fit it into a 9-inch pie pan. Crimp the edges as desired.
Pre-bake the crust at 190°C for about 20 minutes, using pie weights or rice to prevent bubbling.

For the Coconut Custard:

In a saucepan, whisk together coconut milk, whole milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
Heat over medium, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and boils.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks. Gradually whisk in some of the hot milk mixture to temper the yolks.
Pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in the shredded coconut and vanilla extract.
Pour the filling into the pre-baked crust and chill until set - about 4 - 6 hours.

For the Topping:

In a mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract until soft peaks form.

Assemble the Pie:

Spread the whipped cream over the chilled pie.
Garnish with toasted coconut flakes.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.