I have never eaten or tasted a Coconut Cream Pie before, and baking in general isn't my strong suit in the kitchen... but... I was confident I could and would figure it out... and indeed I did!!! I used Julia Child's pastry dough recipe (it can be found in her famous "The Art of Mastering French Cooking" cookbook... I used the Coconut Cream Pie recipe from Emeril Lagasse that I found on foodnetwork.com. OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! This truly was the tasty-est pie I have ever put in my mouth! WOWZERS!!!!! It was FAB-U-LOUS!!!! I will add both recipes to the bottom of this blog for any of you who want to try this incredible delicious pie.
The pastry dough I made from Julia's recipe is the simplest and easiest dough to make and it is so easy to work with when rolling out. I used her version where you just throw all the ingredients in a food processor, pulse it a few times til well mixed, wrap it in plastic and let it set in the refrigerator for a 1/2 hour or more. I blind baked the pie on 400 degrees for 10 minutes, removed the foil and baking beads, placed back in the oven for another 10 minutes until slightly golden brown, then removed pie shell from oven and let it cool, and then added the coconut cream filling.
The coconut cream filling is a custard sauce made from scratch with toasted coconut added in at the end. After filling the pie shell with the coconut cream custard, I whipped up the meringue, piled it on top of the coconut cream and baked it for another 5 minutes til brown. My pie was so perfect and beautiful, it could have been a photo in a food magazine... and... it was so dang delicious too! I was quite proud... in fact... I think my feathers are still a bit puffed up with pride from my pie! I am re-making this recipe this weekend for another set of guests who are coming to visit. I set the bar so high with my first pie, I sure hope this one comes out as pretty and delish!
The pastry shell was a breeze to make and bake... but the coconut cream pie filling recipe is a bit time consuming... but definitely worth the trouble... I hope you give it a try and enjoy it as much as we did.
Here is the recipe for Julia Child's pastry dough.
PASTRY DOUGH
2 cups all-purpose flour (scooped and leveled... not sifted)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) chilled butter cut into 1/2" bits
4 Tbsp chilled shortening (I used Crisco)
A scant half cup of iced water, plus more droplets more as needed
Measure dry ingredients into food processor bowl (equipped with steel blade). Add chilled butter bits and chilled shortening to flour in bowl. Pulse 4 - 5 times, add a scant half cup of iced water, turn food processor to on, pouring water into mixture all at once, immediately pulse food processor several times and the dough should mass on the blade. If not, dribble in a little more water and repeat, repeating again if necessary. Dough is done when it has begun to mass on blade... DO NOT OVER MIX!!!! Scrape dough out of bowl, pat into disc shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and set in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but it may remain in refrigerator for 2-3 days, or it can be frozen at this point if wrapped in was paper and sealed tightly in a plastic bag.
To blind bake pastry shell... roll dough out on floured surface to a 1/8" thick circle, and about 2" larger than your pie pan. Crimp edges as desired and cut off excess dough from rim. Place pie shell in refrigerator for 20 minutes and let rest. Remove pie shell from refrigerator and line inside of shell with foil, then place dried beans or baking beads inside of shell and bake in 400 degree oven in the middle of oven. Bake for 10 minutes, or until slightly golden. Remove beans/baking beads and foil, prick bottom of pie shell with fork, and return pie shell to oven for another 10 minutes more.
Here is the recipe from Emeril Lagasse I used from foodnetwork.com
COCONUT CREAM PIE
1 blind-baked 9-inch pastry shell (Julia Child recipe for pasty shell)
- 2 1/4 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for the egg whites
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 3/4 cups toasted coconut
- 1 tablespoon butter
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a saucepan, whisk the 2 cups of the milk and 3/4 cup sugar together. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the liquid up to a simmer. Whisk the egg yolks together. Temper the hot milk into the egg yolks. Whisk the egg mixture into the hot milk mixture. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining milk, making a slurry. Whisk the slurry into the hot milk mixture. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until the filling is thick, about 4 to 6 minutes. Fold in the vanilla, coconut, and butter. Mix well. Pour the filling into the prepared pan and cool the pie completely. Using an electric mixer with a whip attachment, whip the egg white to soft peaks. Add the remaining sugar and whip the egg white to stiff peaks. Spread the egg whites over the top of the pie. Place the pie in the oven for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown.
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