What can I say about coconut cream pie that you haven’t already heard? It’s freaking delicious! And it’s as easy as it is good. It’s also a very versatile dessert. On its own, it’s a crowd pleaser; when you add other flavors, it’s a show stopper!

Think of this recipe as your coconut pie starter kit. When you’re ready to bump it up a notch, add a layer of chocolate ganache before the filling. Or, sprinkle the top with toasted macadamia nuts and lime zest for a more tropical effect. When you’re really ready to go for broke, mix in dark chocolate shavings and dust the top with crushed graham crackers!

ingredients

• One par-baked and cooled pie shell, use my 3-2-1 Pie Dough recipe

Filling

• 500 g milk
• 60 g granulated sugar (#1)
• 60 g granulated sugar (#2)
• 60 g whole egg
• 45 g egg yolk
• 38 g cornstarch
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 4 g vanilla extract
• 4 g coconut extract
• 60 g unsweetened shredded coconut

Chantilly Cream

• 300 g heavy cream
• 30 g granulated sugar

Toppings

• 20 g unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted

equipment

• medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan
• whisk
• medium bowl
• wooden spoon or spatula
• half sheet pan
• small pan for toasting coconut
• 9″ pie pan

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MAKE THE PASTRY CREAM FILLING:

1. Combine the milk with sugar #1 in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Stir continuously until the sugar dissolves, and the milk comes to scalding. You’ll start to see tiny bubbles form around the outside edge of the milk; this is your indication that it’s almost ready.
3. While the milk is warming, whisk whole eggs, yolks, cornstarch, and sugar #2 in a separate bowl until well blended.

Once you add the sugar, it’s essential to maintain constant stirring. Sugar will draw moisture from the eggs, a process known as “burning.” What you end up with looks more like scrambled eggs, and there is no recovering once this happens.

4. When the milk is ready, slowly pour it into the egg mixture.

This is a tricky step; it requires pouring hot milk with one hand while whisking with the other. You must maintain constant whisking while you SLOWLY pour the milk. This is a process called tempering, and it’s the best way to bring the egg mixture up to the same temperature as the milk without curdling the eggs.

5. Once all of the milk has been added to the eggs, pour the whole thing back into the saucepan, turn the heat up to medium-low, and begin stirring.

NOTE: You’re heating a mixture that contains egg and cornstarch, which means thickening will ensue. You must maintain constant stirring while the pan is over the burner. I prefer a silicone spatula for this part of the process, and then I switch to a whisk when I see what is called “first boil.”

6. When you see the sauce start to thicken, continue stirring and cooking for about one minute to cook the cornstarch. You may have to adjust your heat to prevent the custard from boiling.
7. As soon as you see a couple of large bubbles rise to the surface, turn off the heat, and add the vanilla and butter.
8. Stir the custard until the butter is completely melted then fold in the coconut.
9. Immediately transfer the pastry cream to a sheet pan and spread it out. Lay a piece of plastic down onto the surface and put the whole thing into the refrigerator. You may put the pastry cream into the baked pie shell to cool but know that putting your baked crust into the fridge will soften it a little.

This video shows the process of making pastry cream

MAKE THE CHANTILLY CREAM & ASSEMBLE THE PIE:

1. Use a stand mixer (or handheld mixer) to whip the chilled heavy cream.
2. Gradually stream the sugar into the cream as it whips. Continue whipping until you see firm peaks.
3. Transfer the chantilly cream to a large pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.

NOTE: If you have a coupler, using two or three different size star tips is even more fun. You’ll be making a collage of rosettes; the different sizes give the eye more to look at.

5. Transfer the cooled pastry cream into the baked pie shell and smooth out the surface.

ADD THE TOPPINGS:

1. Pipe rosettes randomly around the surface of the pie. Start with the largest star tip, then switch to a smaller one. Layer the small on top of the large and fill in all the gaps as you move around the pie.
2. Sprinkle the pie with the toasted coconut and serve immediately.

This video shows how to make rosettes with chantilly cream.