Coconut Cream Bliss...er...I Mean Pie....

I received an issue of Saveur Magazine in the mail a while ago, and it had me salivating. A coconut cream pie graced the cover. My first thought was "I must make this pie" my second thought was "thank you little Sis for getting me a gift subscription" my third thought was...well, I won't bore you with my lengthy thought process. The pie recipe is from the Agawam Diner in Rowley, Massachusetts. I have always loved a good cream pie, and coconut is my favorite of that particular type of pie (with chocolate cream being my second favorite, and banana cream following..someday I will combine the three into a super cream pie... and then I will take over the world).
The only change that I have made to this recipe is to use real heavy whipping cream instead of the recommended Dream Whip topping mix (the real whipped cream won't hold as long, but I don't care much for the mouth feel of the Dream Whip). This should make for a lovely cooling pie on a warm spring or summer day.

Coconut Cream Pie (from Saveur Magazine):

the crust:

1 cup pastry flour
1 Tbsp powdered milk
1 tsp salt
2/3 cups vegetable shortening (I'm using butter because that's the way I am)
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-Heat oven to 400f.
-Whisk together flour, powdered milk and salt in a bowl. Mix in cold shortening/butter until lumps the size of marbles form. Make a well in the center and add 3 Tbsp cold water. Mix gently until a soft dough forms. Pat dough into a 5" disk and set on a lightly floured surface.
-Roll the dough into an 11" circle and transfer to a 10" aluminum pie tin (the only pie tins of this type I could find were 8 3/4", this just made for a much fuller pie). Trim the edges of the dough and place another 10" pie tin on top sandwiching the dough, press down gently. Bake the pie shell upside down on a sheet pan until it is golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool, invert, and set aside.

Custard filling:

4 1/3 cups milk
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
6 eggs
Pinch of salt
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 tsp vanilla extract of paste (this is my addition, just thought it would round it out nicely)
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-Bring the milk to a boil over medium high heat. While that is heating, in a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, cornstarch and pinch of salt. Slowly pour the milk in a thin stream into the egg mixture while continually whisking (this will temper the eggs and keep them from curdling on you). Pour the mixture back in the pot and cook over medium heat,
stirring constantly, until very thick (about 10 to 15 minutes). Stir in the coconut and pour (well, scrape, it's very thick) the mixture into a large bowl (or I used a 9x13" pan for quicker cooling). Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the filling to prevent a skin from forming, and allow to cool to room temperature (this took about an hour in the 9x13" pan).
-Transfer the filling to the crust, smooth out the top, and if it's cool enough, Pipe with sweetened or unsweetened whipped cream and sprinkle on the coconut. I found mine to be a bit warm yet to pipe on the cream, so I covered it with plastic wrap and chilled it for an hour before topping. You may use "Dream Whip" topping instead if you wish.

This was a wonderful, rich, but not too sweet pie. Next time I make it, I may find a way to add a little more coconut flavor, but really this was fabulous as is.

Happy Baking, and Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all the Americans reading!

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