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This Coconut Cream Pie is made with a coconut custard filling and a coconut whipped cream, all topped with toasted coconut! It’s a classic pie that is wonderfully delicious!
So pie is something I’ve developed more of a love and appreciation for in recent years. I grew up eating plenty of cake, cupcakes and ice cream, but not a ton of pie. It’s a bit surprising since my dad is such a pie guy, but with the exception of pumpkin pie (gimme, gimme!), we didn’t have it much when I was a kid.
But now that I know of my dad’s love for it and have been enjoying it more myself, it’s been fun to make various pies and share them with him. This is a pie he’s been waiting a while for now. He’s a lover of coconut cream pie, so when I made this, my mom took most of it (and the many trial versions) back home to him, which he loved.
And since my mom likes to freeze my desserts for later and hand them out, my grandmother also got to try it when she visited last week. She loved it and declared it to be delicious and rich!
So how to get started with making this pie? Well first up is the crust. This crust is blind baked, since the filling itself is cooked on the stove and not in the oven. You’ll want to have some pie weights handy to use to keep your pie crust from fluffing up during the baking process. I have two of the pie weight containers and use all of them to make sure the bottom and the sides stay in place.
Once the crust is baked, it’s time for the filling. It’s a classic custard cooked right on the stove. The sugar, cornstarch, milk and cream are all cooked over the stove so they start the thicken. Partway through the thickening process, some of the milk mixture is slowly added to the egg yolks. This process with the eggs is called “tempering” and it’s a way of heating the eggs slowly so that you don’t get scrambled eggs.
The eggs and cornstarch work to thicken the custard as it continues to cook. Once ready, it’s time to add some flaked coconut, butter, coconut extract and a bit of vanilla extract. Mix it all together and then pour it into your pie crust. Refrigerate it until it’s firm, then add the coconut whipped cream on top. The final touch is some toasted coconut!
This pie is SO good! It’s full of coconut flavor and the custard is creamy and delicious! Along with the buttery crust, it’s all just wonderful and a pie I can’t wait to make over and over again! I hope you enjoy it!
Coconut Cream Pie
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made with a simple custard, this coconut cream pie is a real prize winner. With whipped cream and coconut flakes, it’s coconut-y perfection.
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- Refrigerated pie crust
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup (73g) sweetened flaked coconut
- 2 tbsp (28g) salted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp coconut extract
For the Whipped Cream and Toppings:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1/2 cup (58g) powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- 1/2 cup (37g) sweetened flaked coconut, toasted
Instructions
- Spray a 9-inch pie plate with non-stick baking spray.
- Place the pie crust into the pie plate. Fold the edges of the crust under and mold them to your preference.
- Blind bake the crust according to the package directions.
- To make the filling, add the egg yolks to a medium sized bowl and gently beat them together. Set aside.
- Add the sugar, cornstarch, milk and cream to a large saucepan and stir until smooth.
- Cook, stirring continuously, over medium-low heat until mixture begins to thicken and bubble.
- Allow to simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Add a little bit of the milk mixture to the egg yolks and whisk together, then add egg mixture to milk mixture. This process ensures that you don’t cook the egg yolks too quickly.
- Place the pan back on the heat and bring to a light boil. Allow to boil for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
- Remove from heat and add the coconut flakes, butter, vanilla and coconut extract. Stir until smooth, then pour the hot mixture into the pie crust. Cover with clear wrap that is pressed against the top of the filling and set in the fridge to cool completely.
- When the pie has cooled, make the topping. Add the whipping cream, powdered sugar and coconut extract to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Spread the whipped cream over the pie and top with the toasted coconut.
- Refrigerate the pie until ready to serve. Pie should be well covered and should be best for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 357
- Sugar: 23.1 g
- Sodium: 124.9 mg
- Fat: 22.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.5 g
- Protein: 4.4 g
- Cholesterol: 98.1 mg
Filed Under:
Enjoy!
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Best coconut cream pie I have ever had! Even gave the recipe to my mother-in-law and now it’s her go to recipe as well! The only thing I did differently was make a little extra whipped cream, added unflavored gelatin to stabilize it, and then let the pie filling set for a while in the fridge. Then I stirred in some whipped cream to the pie filling before adding it to the pie crust and putting the whipped cream on top. I will be trying this recipe soon with banana flavoring and sliced banana to make banana cream pie and I bet it will be awesome!!
Hi. Just wondering if i dont have coconut extract could i use coconut milk/cream instead?
I haven’t worked with coconut milk or cream much, but you could certainly try using it in place of the milk. The difference in fat content could make a difference, but I’m not sure without trying it.
Your pie looks delish. Coconut Cream Pie is my husband’s favorite so I have pinned it and will make it for him. Thanks for the recipe.
Made the for my husband’s birthday (his request). This was the best coconut cream pie we’ve ever earen!!! Delicious! Now he requests it every week…
Another terrific recipe – thank you for sharing!
Perfect! So glad it you enjoyed it!
Wow,its so easy,thanks
I love made from scratch cream pie and this looks like coconut heaven! Perfect for Spring!
Lindsey, in the recipe it says pie is better after 3 or 4 days is that correct or is it hours. It looks wonderful just like all your other recipes. Thank you. Hope you and the babies are doing well. Take care.
Sorry for the confusion. The intention is that the pie is best/good for 3-4 days. You could keep it longer, but that’s when it’s best. I hope that helps!
Thank you so much!!
Yes , thank you sorry I noticed that while making the pie. It looks so good been about 3 hours and it’s still jiggle so hard waiting on it to set really the custard is so delicious can’t wait to try a piece of the whole pie. Thank you again for the great recipes.
The pie never set up 🙁 Not sure what went wrong I looked and read the recipe 5 times and I had followed it step for step. Was disappointing but, I shall try again I love all your recipes so I’m sure I must have done something wrong. I even looked at other recipes for Coconut Cream Pie to see if there were different techniques. But mostly all were the same except they all used more cornstarch and less liquid. Most of those added all the liquid to the yolks after tempering which I didn’t I just added enough to temper the yolks, then put it all back on the heat until it thickened after simmering for 2 minutes.
I’m sorry to hear that! The cornstarch, egg yolks and the amount of cooking time/heating all work together to thicken the pie. If you didn’t change any of the amounts, which it doesn’t sound like you did, then it could be that it needed to cook a little bit longer. Adding more or less milk mixture to the egg yolks when they are tempered wouldn’t make a difference. The main thing that you’re trying to achieve there is slowly heating the eggs so that they don’t scramble.
I want to make this today, was wondering if you put the cooked hot filling directly into the pie crust or let it cool in fridge then transfer to pie crust? I read the directions a few times but I didn’t think I saw that detail… Thanks!
Great catch! That wasn’t clear, but I’ve fixed it. Add the mixture to the crust while hot. Thanks! Enjoy it!