Think of this coconut cream pie recipe from pastry chef and former BA staffer Claire Saffitz as aSamoa cookiein pie form. It’s crunchy, caramelly, creamy, and positively jam-packed with coconut in all its many forms. You’ll find toasted coconut in the quick-and-dirty homemade pie crust, coconut oil in the caramel, coconut milk in the custard, and of course, flaked coconut to top it all off. (Catch Claire making the pie here.)
This recipe takes time and is best approached in stages. Start with the graham cracker pie shell, which comes together with a quick blitz in a food processor, and gets a brief blind bake. Bundled in plastic wrap, it can be left out at room temperature for a day or frozen in the pie plate for up to two weeks. The coconut caramel, which adds that signature Samoa chew to the pie, can be made up to four days in advance.
Save the creamy coconut filling for the day of serving—or one day before, max. Claire swaps out vanilla extract for a whole vanilla bean to really amp up the flavor, and uses half-and-half instead of whole milk for a richer mouthfeel. Once the pie filling’s poured into the crust, cover with plastic wrap (it should touch the custard!) so it doesn’t form a film and refrigerate.
For the very last step, whipped cream goes perfectly with this coconut cream pie, but if you want to use up the extra egg whites,make a marshmallow topping. Bonus: You can torch it, for even more drama.
For more custard pies, check out ourrecipes for Banana Cream Pie,Extremadura Almond Pie,Key Lime Pie, orMilk and Honey Pie.
Think of this like a Samoa cookie in pie form. It’s perfect with whipped cream on top, but if you want to use up the extra egg whites,make a marshmallow topping. Bonus: You can torch it, for even more drama.
Ingredients
10 servings
Coconut Graham Crust:
Coconut Caramel:
Coconut Custard and Assembly:
Special Equipment:
Coconut Graham Crust:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange coconut in a thin, even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring halfway through, until golden brown, 5–8 minutes; let cool. Set aside ½ cup toasted coconut for the coconut caramel.
Step 2
脉冲全麦饼干,糖,盐,和剩余¾ cup toasted coconut in a food processor until crackers are coarsely ground. With the motor running, stream in butter, followed by yolk. Do not overprocess; you should have fine crumbs that are the texture of wet sand.
Step 3
Transfer mixture to pie dish and press firmly and evenly up sides and across the bottom. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is set and edges are brown, 12–18 minutes. Let cool.
Do Ahead:Crust can be baked 1 day ahead. Let cool, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature, or freeze up to 2 weeks.
Coconut Caramel:
Step 4
Sprinkle a thin, even layer of sugar into a small heavy saucepan. Cook, undisturbed, over medium heat until mostly melted, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle another layer of sugar over and cook, stirring to incorporate granular sugar into melted sugar with a heatproof spatula, until melted, another minute or so. Repeat until you’ve used all sugar. Continue to cook, swirling saucepan (do not stir), until caramel is dark amber, about 30 seconds longer. Remove from heat and carefully pour in cream, stirring to combine (caramel will sputter and seize up, but don’t worry).
Step 5
Return saucepan to low heat and cook, stirring, until any hardened bits of caramel are dissolved. Stir in oil until mixture is smooth, then fold in salt and reserved ½ cup toasted coconut. Let caramel cool in pan, then scrape into cooled crust and use an offset spatula to spread in an even layer. Cover with plastic and chill.
Do Ahead:Caramel can be made 4 days ahead. Transfer to an airtight container and chill. Rewarm over low heat before pouring into pie crust.
Coconut Custard and Assembly:
Step 6
石油在一个中等大小的碗里并设置一个细孔您ve over top; set aside. Scrape vanilla seeds into a heavy medium saucepan. Add vanilla pod and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until coconut milk is reduced to about 1 cup, 10–15 minutes. Add half-and-half and bring to a gentle simmer.
Step 7
Meanwhile, briskly whisk egg, yolks, cornstarch, salt, and ½ cup sugar in another medium bowl until pale and thick, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about ½ cup hot milk mixture into egg mixture. Go back to whisking milk mixture in saucepan, then slowly pour tempered egg mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until foam has subsided and custard holds the marks of the whisk, about 2 minutes.
Step 8
Immediately scrape custard into sieve and use a spatula to press mixture into bowl with oil; pluck out vanilla pod. Whisk strained custard until oil is incorporated and mixture is glossy and smooth.
Step 9
Set bowl inside another large bowl of ice water. Whisk occasionally until custard is cool, about 3 minutes. Scrape custard into chilled pie crust and smooth top. Press a piece of plastic directly onto surface of custard to prevent a skin from forming, and chill until set, at least 3 hours.
Step 10
Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
Step 11
Remove plastic from surface of pie and dollop cream over set custard. Top with coconut flakes.
Do Ahead:Pie can be filled with custard 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and chill. Top with whipped cream and toasted coconut just before serving.
Editor’s note:This recipe was originally published in May 2017 as part ofBA’s Best, a collection of our essential recipes. Head this way for more of our favoritecream pie recipes→
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