Truly Coconutty Cream Pie Food

TRULY COCONUTTY CREAM PIE

Steps:

• To make the crust, combine the flour, salt, cold butter, and cold shortening in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the butter and shortening are the size of small peas. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add the coconut water and rum 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork to mix. When the mixture can be squeezed into a ball, wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Grease an 8-inch pie pan. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Carefully transfer the dough to the pie pan. Trim the edges and fold the dough under itself; crimp the crust. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Prick the bottom and sides of the pie dough with a fork. Line the dough with parchment paper or aluminum foil and weigh it down with pie weights or dried beans (see Editor's Note). Bake until the edges of the crust are golden and the bottom of the crust is just beginning to color, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven, carefully remove the foil and beans, and set aside.
• Combine the coconut milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup toasted coconut, and the scraped vanilla bean seeds and pod in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and remove from the heat.
• Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the cornstarch. Whisk the eggs and egg yolk together in a large heat-proof bowl; whisk in the milk and the cornstarch mixture. Gradually pour the hot coconut milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return the custard mixture to the saucepan.
• Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula or wooden spoon. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. The mixture will thicken. Remove the pan from the heat and discard the vanilla bean pod. Whisk in the butter. Pour the custard into the cooled pie crust. Chill the pie for 1 hour.
• Place a mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill. Whip the cream on high speed until it begins to thicken; gradually add the confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Continue beating until stiff. Pipe or spread the cream onto the chilled pie and sprinkle with the remaining toasted coconut.

TRULY COCONUTTY CREAM PIE

Steps:

• To make the crust, combine the flour, salt, cold butter, and cold shortening in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the butter and shortening are the size of small peas. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add the coconut water and rum 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork to mix. When the mixture can be squeezed into a ball, wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Grease an 8-inch pie pan. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Carefully transfer the dough to the pie pan. Trim the edges and fold the dough under itself; crimp the crust. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Prick the bottom and sides of the pie dough with a fork. Line the dough with parchment paper or aluminum foil and weigh it down with pie weights or dried beans (see Editor's Note). Bake until the edges of the crust are golden and the bottom of the crust is just beginning to color, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven, carefully remove the foil and beans, and set aside.
• Combine the coconut milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup toasted coconut, and the scraped vanilla bean seeds and pod in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and remove from the heat.
• Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the cornstarch. Whisk the eggs and egg yolk together in a large heat-proof bowl; whisk in the milk and the cornstarch mixture. Gradually pour the hot coconut milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return the custard mixture to the saucepan.
• Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula or wooden spoon. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. The mixture will thicken. Remove the pan from the heat and discard the vanilla bean pod. Whisk in the butter. Pour the custard into the cooled pie crust. Chill the pie for 1 hour.
• Place a mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill. Whip the cream on high speed until it begins to thicken; gradually add the confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Continue beating until stiff. Pipe or spread the cream onto the chilled pie and sprinkle with the remaining toasted coconut.

BEST COCONUT CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out pate brisee into a 12-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick, on a lightly floured surface. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge to 1 inch, fold under, and pinch to seal. Crimp as desired. Prick bottom all over with a fork. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Line with parchment, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edge is golden and set, about 25 minutes. Remove weights and parchment. Bake until bottom is golden and dry, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
• Make the filling: Combine granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in coconut milk and whole milk. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until bubbling and thick, about 7 minutes. Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl. Add milk mixture to yolks in a slow, steady stream, whisking until completely incorporated. Return to saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Strain custard through a fine sieve into a bowl, and stir in vanilla and shredded coconut. Pour into piecrust, and smooth top. Wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until filling is completely set, about 4 hours, and up to 2 days.
• Make the topping: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread large-flake coconut evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes, tossing occasionally. Let cool. Beat together cream and confectioners' sugar with a mixer until soft peaks form. Top pie with cream, and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Serve immediately.

BANANA AND/OR COCONUT CREAM PIE FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• PIE CRUST: Place flours, sugar, and salt in a bowl, cover and place in the freezer for about 20 minutes to get good and cold.
• Add dry mix to a food processor and pulse briefly to combine. Pulse in the butter and shortening just until coarse crumbs form, about 10 seconds. Add water and lemon juice and pulse just until moist crumbs form, about 10 seconds.
• Turn the dough onto a work surface and gently shape it into a disk about 5" in diameter. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 1 day (or you can freeze them for up to 2 months).
• Preheat oven to 400°F Roll out dough and place over a deep dish pie pan, crimping the edges. Prick with fork all over and bake for 12 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.
• FILLING: In a saucepan, combine sugar, flour, salt, and milk. Using a whisk, mix well, stirring constantly over medium/med-high heat until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Continue whisking while boiling for 1 minute then remove from the heat (but keep burner on).
• To the egg yolks, stir in about 1/4 cup of cream to temp the yolks. Slowly whisk the yolk mixture back into the saucepan and cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, extracts, and optional coconut, mixing well. Allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
• Place the bananas (if using) into the pie crust in a single layer, cutting in half to fit as needed, leaving a little space between. Pour filling over bananas into cooled crust and refrigerate.
• CREAM TOPPING: Using an electric mixer and the whip attachment, whip cream to soft peaks. Add remaining ingredients and whip to firm peaks (moving the whisk around while whipping). Spread over filling, piling high. Sprinkle with toasted coconut if desired.
• Refrigerate pie for at least 2 hrs before serving.