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fresh coconut cream pie
A few years ago, I team taught a Sunday School class of teenagers. One Sunday, the woman I taught with invited all the students and their families to have a little pie party at her house. I honestly have no idea how she got together all those pies—with homemade crusts—that afternoon, but there they were: two lemon meringues, two apples, and two coconut creams. There may have even been more.
Of all the pies she made, I fell in love with her coconut cream. It was made from fresh shredded coconut—one more thing to add to my amazement in how she got them together so fast—and it was absolute perfection.
Last week, I bought myself a fresh coconut and asked her how to make it. I’ve adapted her recipe a little, and I think you’ll love it. Thank you, Wylene!!
Oh, and one more thing, just in case any of you were wondering what I did over the weekend, I made some pumpkin cinnamon rolls and guest posted about them on MoonFrye. Yeah, I got to be on Punky Brewster’s website. My inner-10-year-old was giddy all day.
coconut cream pie
My friend made hers with a meringue, so you can do that, too. I’m a whipped cream kind of girl, so that’s what I used.
1 pie crust, baked (recipe follows)
3 cups milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
4 tablespoons corn starch
1 cup freshly grated coconut (instructions follow)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon all-natural coconut extract or coconut flavoring (optional)
1 tablespoon butter
whipped cream (recipe follows)
1. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, bring the milk almost to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk sugar and egg yolks in a large glass bowl until pale yellow, smooth, and falling in ribbons. Whisk in corn starch until smooth.
2. Whisk in hot milk, a half a cup at a time until mixture is warm to the touch. Pour entire mixture back into the saucepan and whisk constantly until pudding starts to get very thick and bubbly.
3. Pull off the heat and add in coconut, vanilla, coconut extract, if using, and butter. Pour into prepared pie shell. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Place whipped cream in a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip (Wilton 1M), and decorate.
one-crust pie crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold butter, cut in pieces
2-3 tablespoons ice cold water (all ice removed)
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add in butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Distribute the water over the mixture and pulse until the water is well-distributed and the mixture holds together like dry clay. Dump mixture onto a floured board, knead a time or two, form into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
2. Pound dough with a rolling pin a few times to soften the butter. On a well-floured board, roll into an 11 inch circle. Place the dough in a 9 inch pie plate. Roll up the edges and crimp with your fingers or a fork. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork a few times. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Place a large circle of parchment paper in the center of the chilled crust, and fill with a pound of dried beans (you can reuse them for this purpose again and again). Bake for 15 minutes with the beans in. Remove from the oven, take out the beans and parchment paper, and bake again for about 10 minutes, or until the center starts to turn golden brown.
how to make fresh shredded coconut
You will need:
1 fresh coconut (shake to make sure it sounds like it has lots of liquid inside)
a hard surface, like a cement sidewalk or a large rock
sturdy stainless steel bowl
flat-head screwdriver
1 glass
clean paper towel
vegetable peeler
box grater
Hold the coconut so that you can see the little “face,” or the three indentations. Firmly whack the coconut on the cement right between the “eyes.” Keep whacking until it starts to crack. When the cracks get bigger, use the bowl to catch the coconut milk (and if you have a strong enough bowl, you can keep whacking the coconut against the bottom of the bowl). When it is in pieces, use the screw driver to separate the flesh from the shell.
If you’d like to drink the coconut milk, fold paper towel and form into the shape of a bowl and place in a glass. Pour the milk through it to catch all the fibers and little bits of dirt. Throw out the paper towel, and enjoy. You’ll need it after all this exercise.
Take each piece of flesh and use a vegetable peeler to take off the brown skin (if desired. I usually leave on a little for color). Shred on a box grater.
whipped cream
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Beat all ingredients together until stiff peaks form. Do not over beat.
39 Responses to “fresh coconut cream pie”
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OMG! That looks fantastic. One of my favs, but I’ve never tried to make it. Going to have to give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration.
I think that pie is what heaven must look like. I’m SO trying it asap!
Es preciosa!, toda una tentación, imagino lo exquisita que debe de estar.
Un saludo
I always wondered what to do with a coconut. That doesn’t sound too difficult. I might have to try it!
I can just picture what my husband would say if he came home to find me bashing a coconut into the sidewalk. Looks AMAZING.
Oh my goodness, so stunning!
Thanks, girls!
I am a whipped cream kind of gal too. This pie looks wonderful!
Ohhhh I love coconut pie.
I once saw Gale Gand heat a coconut over her gas stove and then give it a few whacks on the counter and it opened right up! Easy! Love coconut everything! This looks delish.
Looks stunning and very delicate as well. Lovely
Coconut cream pie is a childhood favorite of mine. They never looked this good.
i love anything with coconut… this looks sooo goood
… will definitely try it out
Oh, thank you, Angela and foodie @pictureyourtaste!
This sounds lovely! A pie party sounds great, too
Hey!
Love the recipe but can you post her meringue recipe please!!!???
I just made one of these for my husband yesterday for his birthday. I use a cookie pie crust–1 stick butter, one cup flour, 3 1/2 Tbl powdered sugar–mix it up and bake 350 for 10 minutes. Let cool, then fill. It makes it even more divine, but I have never tired fresh coconut–next time! So yum! Thanks!!
love coconut. I pinned this recipe. must go back to it later on!
i tried this for a thanksgiving meal.. my whole family loved it! thanks
i love how you decorated the top, what type of piping tip did you use? beautiful!
Jandy—It’s a Wilton Star 1M tip.
This looks gorgeous. I’m going to have to attempt it. My grandfather’s favorite thing was coconut cream pie from a restaurant in Florida. We haven’t had it since he passed away, but this might just be the recipe I can make my mom one day soon as a memory of it. Wow. Thanks for posting this.
Thank you, Emma. I hope this pie can live up to the memory.
I really enjoyed the filling! This was hard work,but equally as fun! The crust did not work out as well as I hoped, it ended up being sticky, and almost didn’t fit in the pie pan. It still tasted good though!
[...] by Sophistimom.com…she has an amazing tutorial on how to make this pie so visit her site by clicking [...]
I drain my coconuts before opening by using a knife and making a hole in the “mouth” and turn it upside down over a glass and let it drain. As a child my Dad would crack it half scoop it clean and glue it back together. He would decorate it and call it a “Bank o nut” and we would fill it up with coins.
Cindy–That is so cool.
I just have to tell you that this is by far THE BEST recipe I have ever used In fact I have found that the custard in the middle is a great basic recipe that can easily be adapted and changed up to suite your needs. I made my son an orange pound cake and filled it with a light orange flavored custard in the middle, using this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing it. It is now staple in our house
That’s wonderful, Tammy! Thank you for telling me!
This recipe sounds and looks delicious. I’m curious though. Is there any reason not to substitute part of the milk used in the filling with the coconut milk?
Hi, Barb—Thanks for your question. I don’t see any reason at all not to substitute part or most of the milk with coconut milk. That’s a great idea, and it would definitely give the pie a stronger coconut flavor. Great question.
Please explain fresh coconut. The young green ones, the white fiberous ones or the brown husk type coconuts? I have the ones that look like white fiberous coconuts and the meat inside is very soft. It looks like it would be difficult to grate and not produce much.
Kim—What a great question. Where I live—in the Rocky Mountains—the only coconuts we get are the small brown ones that look like fuzzy bowling balls. Their skin is thick and hard and you have to beat the heck out of them to get them open. The flesh is tough and easy to grate. So, I guess I’m talking about the brown husk type. I hope that helps, and thank you so much for asking!
This looks and sounds absolutely sensational and I plan to make it very soon. Luuuuuuvvvvv coconut. I was thinking I might try putting mango on top of the pie before adding the piped cream. I will let you know how it works.
Kay—I love your idea of adding mango. Definitely tell us how it goes! Thanks for your comment!
Beautiful photos! I am not a big coconut fan, but you make it look so appealing!
Thank you, Nicole!!
Thank you for sharing this! Your pies look beautiful. I will have to give this a try!
Thank you so much, Shannon! I hope you will love it!