Coconut Cream Pie
My mom has always loved coconut cream pie. Her birthday was last week and we met for lunch at a local deli and, lo and behold, there was coconut cream pie in the dessert case. We talked about getting a slice for dessert in honor of her birthday, but ran out of time. I decided to take a stab at it for Mother's Day and it was delicious (even though there was no chocolate involved!).
Ingredients
1 baked pie crust, cooled, such as Pillsbury prepared pie crust or your favorite pie crust recipe
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the topping:
- 1 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Preparation
For the filling:
Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, the eggs, egg yolk, and flour in medium size bowl. Bring the milk, half and half and coconut to simmer in medium size saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return to the same saucepan; cook until the pastry cream thickens and boils, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat. Mix in the vanilla. Transfer the pastry cream to a medium size bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent formation of skin. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Transfer the filling to the pie crust. Cover; chill overnight.
For the topping:
Using an electric mixer, beat the whipping cream and sugar in a medium size bowl until peaks form. Spread the whipped cream all over top of the filling. (The topping can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Serve cold.
