Coconut Cream Pie

RECIPE:

Coconut Cream Pie

Serves 8 | Time: 45 minutes, plus two hours to rest the dough

This Trinidadian-inspired coconut cream pie is part Southern cream pie, part custard and entirely refreshing since natural coconut flavor is emphasized over sweetness. That was the goal of Ramin Ganeshram, the author of “Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago,” who shared the recipe with Island and Spice Magazine.

Ms. Ganeshram created this recipe to honor her father, a Trinidadian who developed an affection for Entenmann's coconut custard pies after immigrating to New York.

“When I was growing up, it was very unusual to get fresh coconut,” Ms. Ganeshram said. “Anything with coconut felt extremely special.” In her adulthood she learned why her father enjoyed the Entenmann's treat. It reminded him of a pie back in Trinidad.

We made a slight alteration to the recipe, which in the book calls for 1 ½ cups of milk. Instead, Ms. Ganeshram suggested reducing the milk by half and adding ¾ cup of coconut milk. The meringue adds a nice kick of sweetness, but if you choose not to make the topping consider adding an additional ½ cup of sugar to the pie mixture.

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Ramin Ganeshram is a food journalist and cookbook author who lives in Connecticut. During the pandemic we will be publishing traditional and easy Caribbean-inspired recipes as part of our special Stay-at-Home Issue.

Ingredients:

For the Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup ice water, or more as needed

For the Filling
3 egg yolks
¾ cup milk
¾ cup canned coconut milk
¼ cup sugar
Pinch of grated nutmeg
Pinch of coarse salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp mixed essence
½ cup freshly grated coconut, unsweetened
(If using dried coconut flakes, you’ll need 1 cup of unsweetened flakes, plus 2 teaspoons of cornstarch.)

Meringue (optional)
3 egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar
½ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

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Feel free to substitute an ingredient with another item that fits a similar flavor profile. Here are the substitutions we made.

Freshly grated coconut: Dried unsweetened coconut flakes also work. You’ll need to double the amount (to 1 cup). Use a food processor to finely chop the flakes.

Coconut milk: Canned coconut milk brings out more coconut flavor, but you can use all milk in this recipe.

Cornstarch: We used 2 ½ teaspoons of potato starch.

Mixed essence: We didn’t have this ingredient. We skipped it, and the pie was still great.

Pie crust: Premade pie crust works fine.

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Preparation:

Make the crust: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter using a fork, pastry cutter or food processor fitted with a plastic blade until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Slowly drizzle the ice water into the mixture, adding just enough to bring the dough together into a loose ball.

Divide the dough into two balls and wrap each in plastic wrap. Flatten them into disks and refrigerate for at least two hours. The dough can also be frozen for later use, for up to two months. (Only one disk is used in this recipe.)

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Remove a dough disk from the refrigerator and roll it out ⅛-inch thick to fit an 8-inch pie plate. Line the pie plate with the crust or a packaged premade crust (or if using a frozen shell, remove unthawed from its package). Chill the crust in the refrigerator while preparing the filling.

Make the filling: Lightly beat the egg yolks with the milk, sugar, nutmeg, salt, vanilla and mixed essence. If using dried coconut flakes, finely chop 1 cup of flakes in a food processor or Nutribullet first and add the cornstarch. Once chopped, the flakes will measure ½ cup. Stir in the freshly grated or finely chopped coconut and pour into the pie shell.

Bake the pie for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 15 minutes. If you want to add meringue, this is the time to do it. Otherwise, allow the pie to continue baking for an additional 10 minutes or until the filling is firm when the pie is gently jiggled.

Make meringue (optional): Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar with a whisk or electric beater until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and vanilla and beat until the whites hold firm peaks. Remove the pie from the oven and mound the meringue over the filling, pulling up soft peaks with the spoon and making sure meringue touches the crust all around. Return the pie to the oven and bake until the edges of the meringue are lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool completely and serve.

*Editor’s Note: The image at the top has been edited to more accurately reflect the beauty of this pie.