Last weekend I was baking for a birthday party we were having for my Mother in Law.  She loves Peach Pie, so I have made that for her the last two years.  I needed something else. One thing I know I can NEVER go wrong with when I am baking for my husband’s family, COCONUT.

I had never made an authentic Coconut Cream Pie before.  Well, until now.

I have made Banana Cream Pie and even a Coconut Banana Cream Pie that has a coconut crust, but never just a straight up coconut cream pie. I started doing some research.  Many coconut cream pies I found had a graham cracker crust.  I am sure that is fine, but I was really trying to mimic a wonderful pie we have at a local restaurant here in Omaha, called Jerico’s.  They not only have AMAZING prime rib, but they make all of their pies from scratch.

To me, it had to have an authentic pie crust, with a rich creamy filling and a mile high pile of whipped cream.

And so it was done.

A while back I did a post on how to pre-bake a pie crust.  I use this method when I make pies such as Pecan, where the crust needs to be pre-baked a while, then the filling is added and then baked the rest of the way.  Well, I had to improvise a little bit on that same method, because for this particular pie it needed to be baked completely, because the filling didn’t need to be.

The next time I make this pie — and that will be SOON…VERY Soon…. I will type up a post with pictures.  For now though, this is what you need to do with your crust:

To pre-bake or “blind bake” a pie crust, you simply roll out your crust 1/4 inch thick.  (this can be a store purchased pie crust or your own homemade)  Lay the dough into your pie plate and form the crust edge.  poke a few holes into your pie crust with the tines of a fork.  This will help to keep the crust from bubbling up.  Take a piece of heavy duty foil, or double up some regular foil, and press it into the bottom of the pan,  rolling the edges inward so they are underneath the crust edge.  (imagine your crust edge sitting on top of the foil roll.) Make sure it’s pressed down tight.  Bake in your preheated oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until crust is baked and golden brown.

Cool completely before filling.

Fill with the custard, chill, top with coconut flavored whipped cream and dust with Toasted Coconut.

Slice. Eat. Repeat.

Coconut Cream Pie

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This Coconut Cream Pie has an authentic pie crust, and is filled with a creamy coconut custard, and topped with a mile high pile of whipped cream and dusted with toasted coconut!

Ingredients

• For crust:
• One "blind baked" pie crust (see above)
• For Filling:
• 3 cups Half & Half
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup corn starch
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
• For Whipped Cream:
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• For Topping:
• 1/3 cup Toasted Coconut

Instructions

In a sauce pan combine half & half, egg yolks, sugar, corn starch and vanilla with a whisk until smooth and cornstarch is dissolved.

Place on medium heat and continually stir while mixture thickens. Mixture will be a thick pudding consistency when it is done.

Remove from heat and stir in butter. Stir in coconut.

Pour into cooled pre-baked pie crust.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap over the top and place in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight.

To make whipped cream, in your stand mixer with whisk attachment, pour cold heavy whipping cream, extract and powdered sugar. **Note: I like to chill my mixer bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for about 30 minutes before I make whipped cream.

Whisk until stiff peaks form.

Pile on chilled pie, smooth out.

Top with toasted coconut.

Keep in refrigerator.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Mother In Law, Marie!

  Here is my Mother in Law with her Birthday pies!

Interested in that Spiced Peach Pie with Crumb Topping?

It’s been a family favorite of ours this summer!

I hope that you will enjoy it as much as we all did!

(custard source)

If you make this recipe, I’d love to know! Snap a picture, share the photo on social media with the hashtag #AnAffairFromTheHeart – I’d love to see what you made! – Michaela

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