Coconut Cream Pie
This Coconut Cream Pie is made with frozen, not dried, coconut and a thick graham cracker crust. It’s rich and coconutty, but not too sweet.
Many years ago, Mr. Dreamboat and I went to Costa Rica for our honeymoon. It was a great trip, and we ate some delicious food there, but one thing that stood out was a slice of coconut cream pie that we shared at a small cafe on the beach.
It was made with large pieces of fresh coconut, and it was the best coconut cream pie I’d ever had. I’ve had coconut cream pie several times over the years since then, and while I’ve had some good ones, I think the fresh coconut made all the difference in that beachside pie. I recently decided to try to make my own version.
I’ve purchased a fresh coconut in the past, and I knew that I didn’t want to go that route. But then I realized that frozen coconut is a thing, and it’s available at almost all of my local grocery stores.
I also wanted to try making my pie with sweetened condensed milk instead of a mixture of milk, cream, and sugar. It simplified the ingredient list a little bit, and I love the flavor of it.
And last but not least, I wanted my pie to have a graham crust. This is not typical with coconut cream pies, which are usually made with a blind-baked pastry pie crust. But I love graham crusts, and I thought it would be a good fit. I wasn’t wrong.
So, if you’ve read this far and you’re still interested in my Coconut Cream Pie with its fresh (frozen) coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and graham crust, read just a little further to learn how to make it for yourself.
How to Make Coconut Cream Pie
To make this unique coconut cream pie, start by making the graham crust. You can use store-bought graham crumbs or whole graham crackers. If you’re using graham crackers, I recommend that you measure them by weight or measure the volume of the crumbs instead of counting the crackers to measure, as different brands can be different sizes.
Add your graham crackers to a food processor, and process until the crackers form crumbs. Add the butter, sugar, and salt and process again until the mixture resembles wet sand. Press the graham mixture into a 9-10″ pie pan (I used a 9.5″ glass pie pan). Bake the crust until fragrant (about 10 minutes), then set the pan aside to cool.
Meanwhile, start making the coconut filling. Whisk together the egg yolks and cornstarch in a medium bowl – the mixture will be thick. Set the bowl aside. Stir together the coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, and salt in a medium saucepan and heat the saucepan over medium-high heat.
Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring constantly, then remove about ½ cup of the mixture and slowly pour it into the egg yolk mixture while whisking it constantly. Slowly pour the warmed egg yolk mixture into the coconut milk mixture while whisking constantly. The mixture will begin to thicken immediately. Continue to cook and stir for another 2 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and stir in the coconut, butter, and vanilla.
Pour the filling into the graham crust, and cover the filling with plastic placed directly onto the filling. Chill completely for at least 2-4 hours or overnight.
When you’re ready to serve, it’s time to make the whipped cream. Add the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla to a medium bowl. Whip the cream with a hand mixer until it holds soft peaks. Gently spread the cream all over the top of the coconut filling. Sprinkle toasted coconut over the whipped cream if desired. Cut the pie into wedges and serve immediately.
Store any leftovers covered in plastic or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Coconut Cream Pie Ingredients
- Graham crumbs – or easily grind your own using a food processor. Note that I recommend measuring the crackers by weight or measuring the volume of the crumbs after grinding, as graham wafers vary in size. If you need your coconut cream pie to be gluten-free, you can substitute gluten-free graham crumbs or crackers.
- Unsalted butter – You will need butter for the graham cracker crust and for the coconut filling.
- Granulated sugar – You will need sugar for the graham cracker crust and for the whipped cream topping.
- Salt – You will need salt for the graham cracker crust and for the coconut filling.
- Large egg yolks – You will be using egg yolks for the coconut filling. Make sure to reserve the whites for another use, like scrambled eggs or omelets, meringue cookies, or marshmallow creme.
- Cornstarch – The cornstarch thickens the coconut filling.
- Full-fat coconut milk – The coconut milk is one of the ingredients that gives the coconut filling its flavor. Don’t substitute light or reduced-fat coconut milk. Make sure you buy the coconut milk in a can, not the kind that’s meant for drinking.
- Sweetened condensed milk – most coconut cream pie adds cream and/or milk and sugar to the coconut filling, but I decided to replace it with sweetened condensed milk. The result was delicious!
- Frozen shredded coconut – I really wanted a coconut cream pie made from fresh coconut, but didn’t want to prep the coconut myself. Enter frozen coconut. It’s available at most grocery stores, and after a quick thaw, it’s completely ready to use. The coconut I bought was finely shredded, and I would have preferred larger shreds, so I may try different brands in the future.
- Vanilla extract – You will need vanilla extract for both the coconut filling and the whipped cream topping.
- Whipping cream – You will be using whipping cream (or heavy cream) to make the lightly sweetened whipped cream topping.
- Toasted shredded dried coconut – this is optional and used only for sprinkling on top of the finished pie. You can easily toast shredded coconut yourself in a dry skillet over medium heat. I used sweetened shredded coconut, and it worked out fine.
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Coconut Cream Pie Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one slice if you cut your pie into 12 slices. The nutrition information will vary accordingly if you cut your pie into large (or smaller) slices.
To make this pie gluten-free, simply replace the graham wafers or crumbs with gluten-free graham wafers or crumbs.
Coconut Cream Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Grind graham crackers to fine crumbs in a food processor. Measure out 2 ½ cups (200 g) graham crumbs and place the crumbs back into the food processor. Add 6 Tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Process until evenly mixed ( the mixture will look like wet sand).
- Press the graham mixture into 9-10" pie pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, until fragrant. Set aside to cool.
- Whisk together 5 large egg yolks and 5 Tablespoons (40 g) cornstarch in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Add 1 can (400 mL) full-fat coconut milk, 1 can (300 mL) sweetened condensed milk, and ¼ teaspoon salt to a medium to large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat while stirring very often. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Remove ½ cup of the coconut milk mixture and slowly pour it into the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly.
- Slowly pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the remaining coconut milk mixture while whisking constantly. The mixture will immediately start to thicken. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the 1 ½ cups (190 g) frozen shredded coconut , 2 Tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, and 1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla extract.
- Pour the warm coconut filling into the prepared graham crust. Place plastic wrap directly onto the filling and refrigerate the pie to cool completely (at least 2 to 4 hours).
- Add 1 cup (238 g) whipping cream, 1 Tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract to a medium bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer at high speed until the cream holds soft peaks. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the coconut filling. Sprinkle the cream with toasted coconut if you wish. Serve the pie immediately.
Nutrition
Notes
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