This Coconut Cream Pie is easily at the top of my list of all-time favorite desserts.
The filling is rich, ultra creamy coconut pastry cream with plenty of sweet toasted coconut stirred in piled into a nutty, buttery, super crispy Toasted Almond Crust.
It's the ultimate in rich, creamy, coconut deliciousness and you might be tempted to just have a "small slice", but should give it up right now because there is no such thing.
The Best Coconut Cream Pie Starts with the Best Pastry Cream
Considering my utter love and devotion to Coconut Cream Cake, it's no surprise that Coconut Cream Pie is at the top of my list of all-time favorite desserts.
The filling for both Coconut Cream Cake and Coconut Cream Pie are essentially the same thing - coconut flavored pastry cream with plenty of sweet toasted coconut stirred in. It's the ultimate in rich, creamy, coconut deliciousness.
The only difference is whether the filling is piled into a nutty, buttery, super crispy Toasted Almond Crust or sandwiched in between layers of soft, tender coconut cake. May there never come a day when I have to choose between the two. 🥰
Hello. My name is Rebecca and I am a pastry cream addict.
I have always been a fan of rich, creamy desserts. Even as a child, I didn't care for super sugary confections like cotton candy, but would have happily eaten a bowl of pudding or frozen custard at every meal if allowed. So, it's no surprise that I'm obsessed with pastry cream.
My all-time favorite pastry cream recipe is incredibly thick, rich, creamy, and delicious. It can easily hold its own in-between layers of cake or flaky pastry, as a filling for pies and tarts, or piped into cream puffs, doughnuts, or eclairs.
It is, without a doubt, one of the most used, most loved, most versatile, most delicious recipes in my baking toolbox.
Besides being relatively simple to make and delicious, the pastry cream is incredibly stable.
You can even freeze it - something the entire internet says you can't do. The secret to its stability is the addition of gelatin. While other cornstarch thickened sauces, puddings, and gravies can NOT be frozen without turning into a sloppy, gluey mess once thawed, the addition of gelatin in this recipe allow the custard to be frozen without fail. 🙌
Crispy Toasted Almond Pie Crust is the Perfect Shell for the Ultra Creamy Coconut Filling
Toasted Almond Pie Crust is flaky, nutty, warm, and extra crispy. The combination of butter and toasted almond flour creates a crust that is flaky, tender, and crisp – almost like a crisp butter cookie.
The crispy texture of Toasted Almond Crust creates a delicious base for a variety of pies, but is especially delicious in cream pies like Chocolate Cream Pie, and of course, Coconut Cream Pie.
Just like with the coconut cream filing for this pie, the toasted almond crust can be prepared ahead of time and frozen. Form the dough into a ball and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, then place in a freezer zip-top bag. Let the dough thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out and baking.
You can also roll the dough out before freezing it. Lay the rolled out dough on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let freeze for a few hours until solid. Once solid, you can remove the dough from the baking sheet, wrapping it tightly before placing it back in the freezer.
Allow the dough to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then proceed to bake and fill the crust.
Can You Use a Different Kind of Pie Crust?
Absolutely. If Toasted Almond Pie Crust doesn't float your boat, use whatever kind of crust you like.
My favorite nut-free pie crust recipe is Fool Proof Pie Crust, which has been my go-to pie crust recipe for the decades. I’ve used it to make hundreds of pies of every variety and it hasn’t failed me yet. It’s tender, flaky, flavorful, extremely easy to work with, and truly worthy of the name “fool proof”.
The recipe for Fool Proof Pie Crust makes enough for 2 double crust pies, which is much more than you’ll need for this pie. You can cut the recipe in half, or just freeze the leftover pie crust dough according to the instructions in the recipe’s notes.
Advance preparation tips for Coconut Cream Pie:
- The Coconut Cream Filling can be prepared up to 48 hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator in a covered container. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
- The Toasted Almond Pie Crust dough can be stored, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
- The baked Toasted Almond Pie Crust shell can be prepared up to 48 hours in advance. Store the baked crust, covered, at room temperature.
- The fully assembled Coconut Cream Pie can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Store the pie in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
How to freeze this coconut cream pie filling:
The most important thing you need to know about freezing the coconut cream filling for this pie is to freeze it before beating in the whipped cream and toasted coconut. The point at which the pastry cream can be frozen is step #8 in the recipe below.
- Freeze the filling BEFORE adding the whipped cream. Make the coconut pastry cream and let it cool in the refrigerator completely. Then, make sure it’s in an air-tight container or a bowl that’s well wrapped and put it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Allow the frozen coconut pastry cream to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for about 3-4 hours. Once thawed, beat the pastry cream with whipped cream and stir in some toasted coconut. Spoon it into a baked pie crust, and top it with even more whipped cream. After that, all that's left to do is lick the spoon. 😋
More recipes for pastry cream lovers:
- Chocolate Cream Pie
- Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie
- Coconut Cream Cake
- Classic Napoleon and Cannoli Napoleon
- Olive Oil Cake with Mascarpone Cream
- Chocolate Eclairs, Mini Butterscotch Eclairs and Profiteroles {Cream Puffs}
- Blackberry Custard Tarts
- Overnight Yeast Raised Doughnuts
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.
Happy baking!
Extra Creamy Coconut Cream Pie
The ultimate rich and creamy Coconut Cream Pie, made with silky pastry cream, toasted coconut, and a buttery, crispy Toasted Almond Crust.
Ingredients
- One Toasted Almond Pie Crust, chilled in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- 2 teaspoon (a bit less than ¼ oz) plain, unflavored powdered gelatin
- 1 tablespoon water
- 8 large egg yolks (*See note below for what to do with the leftover whites)
- ⅓ cup (37g) cornstarch
- 2 ½ cups (592ml) whole milk
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon table salt (¾ teaspoon kosher salt)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 - 2 teaspoon coconut extract, divided (to taste)
- 1 ½ cups (12oz) heavy whipping cream, divided (¾ cup for the filling and ¾ cup for the topping.)
- 2 tablespoon (14g) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1 ½ cups (128g) sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Add the gelatin to a small bowl and add the 1 tablespoon of water. Stir to moisten the gelatin and set aside.
- Add the egg yolks and cornstarch to a medium size bowl and beat with a wire whisk to combine. Set the bowl on a kitchen towel somewhere close to the stovetop. (This will keep the bowl from sliding around on your counter when you whisk in the hot milk later on.)
- Set a 1 or 2 cup (8-16oz) heat proof measuring cup next to the stovetop. (Preferably one with a pourable spout.)
- Add the milk, sugar, and salt to a 3-quart or larger heavy bottomed saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until it barely begins to boil. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Pour 2 cups (16oz) of the hot milk into the measuring cup. (If using a 1-cup measure, do this in two batches.) Slowly pour the hot milk from the measuring cup into the egg yolks, pouring very slowly, and whisking constantly. Then, pour everything back into the saucepan and set it over low heat. (*See note.)
- Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard is thick and begins to boil. As soon as thickens to the consistency of pudding and barely begins to boil, remove from the heat and whisk for about 20 seconds longer.
- Break the gelatin into small pieces and drop them onto the hot pastry cream. Add 1 teaspoon coconut extract and ½ teaspoon almond extract. Stir to incorporate the gelatin and extracts. Taste and add additional coconut extract if desired.
- Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap over the surface of the pastry cream. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 48 hours. (*At this point, the pastry cream can be frozen. See notes below.)
- Toast the coconut: Add the coconut to a large skillet and set it over medium heat. Cook the coconut, stirring frequently, until about half of the coconut is golden brown. (If you cook it much longer some of the pieces will begin to burn.) Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
Make the Coconut Cream Filling:
Bake the crust and assemble the pie:
- Follow the instructions in the recipe for Toasted Almond Pie Crust to roll out and fully pre-bake the crust.
- Let the crust cool completely before filling. (*The crust can be baked up to 48 hours in advance. Cover and store at room temperature.)
- Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat ¾ cup (6oz) of the heavy cream with an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.
- Remove the cooled coconut pastry cream from the refrigerator and add to the whipped cream. Beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until fully combined, about 1 minute.
- Add 1 cup (85g) of the toasted coconut to the coconut pastry cream and stir to combine.
- Scoop the coconut cream filling into the cooled pie crust, smoothing it out into an even layer.
- Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the remaining ¾ cup (6oz) of heavy cream with the powdered sugar and an additional ½ teaspoon coconut extract until stiff peaks form.
- Scoop the whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star attachment. Pipe the whipped cream onto the top of the coconut cream pie in decorative mounds.
- Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup (43g) of toasted coconut over the top of the pie.
Refrigerate the pie until ready to serve.
Notes
Tips for perfect pastry cream:
- I like to stir with a silicone spatula until the custard starts to thicken so I can easily scrape along the corners of the pan. Once the custard begins to thicken, switch to a whisk and whisk vigourously.
- After adding the egg yolks, it's important to heat the pastry cream slowly so that the eggs don't scramble. It should take roughly 15 minutes for the cream to thicken. If it's taking longer than that, go ahead and turn up the heat slightly.
- It's important to remove the pastry cream from the heat as soon as it thickens. This happens quickly; you'll be stirring and stirring, and the consistency will remaing the same and then suddenly, it will thicken. When this begins to happen, whisk vigouroulsy over the heat until the entire mixture is the consistency of pudding. Then remove it from the heat and continue to whisk for 20 minutes or so.
How to freeze the coconut cream filling:
- Freeze the pastry cream filling BEFORE adding the toasted coconut or the whipped cream.
- Make the pastry cream and let it cool in the refrigerator completely.
- Make sure it's in an air-tight container or a bowl that's well wrapped and put it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Allow the frozen pastry cream to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for about 3-4 hours. Once thawed, add the whipped cream and toasted coconut, and spoon it into the pie crust.
Nut-free alternative to toasted almond pie crust:
If you'd prefer to use a pastry that does not contain almonds, use this recipe for Fool Proof Pie Crust instead. The recipe for Fool Proof Pie Crust makes enough for 2 double crust pies, which is much more than you'll need for this pie. You can cut the recipe in half, or just freeze the leftover pie crust dough according to the instructions in the recipe notes.
How to keep the edges of the pie crust from burning:
Cut two pieces of aluminum foil that are about 2 feet (24 inches) long. Set the foil pieces on a baking sheet so that they are perpendicular to each other.
Set the pie in the center of the foil. Wrap the foil up and over the edges of the pie crust, crimping the foil so that the edges of the pie are loosely covered. This will protect the edges of the crust from burning.
What can you do with the leftover egg whites?
- Freeze them. I like to freeze them in ice cube trays, one egg white per cube. Once frozen, they can be popped out and stored in a freezer bag or other container for up to 1 year. Thaw as needed in the refrigerator, letting them come to room temperature before using in baking recipes.
- Use them to make Italian Meringue Buttercream, my all time favorite frosting for cakes and cupcakes. It’s silky smooth, incredibly creamy, and absolutely gorgeous to work with.
- Make a meringue topping for this pie instead of using whipped cream. Simply follow the instructions for the meringue topping in this Lemon Meringue Pie recipe.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: ⅛ of the pieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 551Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 267mgSodium: 400mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 2gSugar: 33gProtein: 13g
Ann says
My husband loves coconut cream pie and this pie looks to die for! I am headed to the grocery to get all of these ingredients to make this weekend!