I love digging through old family recipes. They just work. They comes with years/ generations of perfection and in my family consist of a short list of common ingredients.
A friend asked me to make her a coconut cream pie for her husbands birthday and I was happy to accommodate- although not something I make often I knew there was a tried and true family recipe I could use that would be enjoyed.
Below is my great grandmother’s coconut cream pie recipe:
Coconut Cream Pie Filling
6 Tbsp (90ml) flour
1/2 Tbsp corn starch
6 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp shaved, sweetened coconut
1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla
2 Egg yolks
2 1/2 Cups of flour
A pinch of salt
Combine the ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat, stirring often, until you get your desired consistency (think pudding thickness). This took me about 15 minutes. It probably could be cooked quicker but I don’t like to risk cooking milk too fast.
Once the filling hits your desired thickness, pour into prepared pie shells. Make the pie shells yourself, or grab the frozen ones from the store.
Once the filling is set and cool, you can either top it with whipped cream or you can make a meringue using your leftover egg whites. In the photos I used whipped cream.
Top with toasted coconut. To toast your coconut, bake 1/2-1 cup of coconut at 375 degrees for about 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
Keep refrigerated if you are not consuming it right away.
