Sunsets Triple Coconut Cream Mini Pies Food

TRIPLE COCONUT CREAM PIE

Steps:

• FILLING: Combine milk and 2 cups sweetened coconut in a 3 1/2-quart saucepan. Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and scrape seeds into milk mixture. Add pod. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture almost comes to a boil. Remove from heat.
• Whisk together eggs, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and flour in a medium bowl until well blended. Gradually whisk about 1/3 cup milk mixture into egg mixture; pour back into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 6 minutes or until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Whisk 3 more minutes or until very thick. Remove from heat; add butter, and whisk until melted. Discard vanilla pod. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl, and place entire bowl in a larger bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until mixture cools. Remove medium bowl from ice bath, and place plastic wrap directly on surface of mixture; chill 4 hours or until cold. (Mixture will thicken.).
• CRUST:Pulse first 5 ingredients in a food processor 6 to 10 times or until mixture is crumbly. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing once after each addition, until dough holds together when pressed between fingers. (Dough will not form a ball or even clump together in processor-it will be loose.).
• Turn dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap; press into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill 1 hour.
• Roll dough to a 12- to 13-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate, trimming excess to a 1- to 11/2-inch overhang. Turn dough under along rim of pie pan, and flute edges. Chill at least 1 hour before baking.
• Preheat oven to 400°. Place a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper in piecrust, extending over edges, and fill with dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Remove from oven; discard foil and beans, and return piecrust to oven. Bake for 14 to 17 more minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven, and cool completely on a wire rack.
• TOPPING: Fill baked Coconut Piecrust with pastry cream, smoothing surface. Beat whipping cream, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and vanilla extract at medium speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually increase speed to high, and beat until soft peaks form. Pipe or spoon whipped cream over pie.
• Preheat oven to 350°. Spread coconut chips on a baking sheet, and bake at 350° for 7 to 8 minutes or until golden, stirring twice. Cool. Top pie with coconut, and garnish, if desired.

SUNSET'S TRIPLE COCONUT CREAM MINI PIES

Steps:

• Make the pastry cream: Put milk and coconut in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean and add both seeds and bean to saucepan. Bring mixture to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and flour. While whisking, drizzle about 1/3 of the hot milk mixture into egg mixture, then slowly whisk egg-milk mixture back into saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking, until pastry cream thickens and begins to bubble, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in butter, and discard vanilla bean.
• Spoon hot pastry cream into a bowl and set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water, stirring occasionally, until cooled to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill until cold, at least 3 hours.
• Fill the pies: Carefully remove baked shells from brioche molds. Spoon pastry cream into shells, filling each a little more than halfway. With an electric mixer, whip cream with sugar and vanilla until it holds stiff peaks. Fills a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (no. 6) with whipped cream and pipe a double layer of cream onto each pie, or simply spoon it on (use all the cream--the pies should look like beehive hairdos).
• Garnish the pies: With a vegetable peeler, scrape wide curls or shavings from the chunk of white chocolate. Sprinkle curls or shavings over pies, dividing evenly, and top with toasted coconut. Serve immediately.
• NOTES: Pastry cream can be made ahead and kept, refrigerated, for two days; unbaked, formed pastry shells keep, frozen, a few weeks. The baked shells can be filled with the pastry cream several hours ahead, then topped with whipped cream and garnishes just before serving. "Chip"--or large-shred--coconut, which is sold at natural-foods stores and Whole Foods Markets, looks like little curls and makes the prettiest garnish, but regular shredded coconut works just fine. Toast coconut in a 350-degree oven until golden, 10 to 15 minutes.

SUNSET'S BEST BASIC PIE CRUST DOUGH

Steps:

• Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Drop in butter and shortening. Using your hands, a fork, a pastry cutter, or two knives, work butter and shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles cornmeal with some small pea-sized pieces.
• Using a fork, quickly stir in 1/2 cup ice water (mixture will not hold together). Turn dough and crumbs onto a clean surface. Knead just until dough starts to hold together but some bits still fall away, 5 to 10 times. Divide dough in half and pat each half into a 6-inch disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 20 minutes and up to overnight.
• NOTES: "If you would like to use lard--which also contributes flavor and flakiness to pie crust--substitute 2 tbsp lard for 2 tbsp of the shortening. Try to get good-quality lard from a butcher shop if you can; it's generally much better than ordinary grocery-store lard.".