Coconut Cream Pie for Mother's Day

Spring in Houston is quickly coming to an end, if it hasn't already. All of the trees have leaves and the tree pollen counts are finally declining. It's been an unseasonably cold spring, but I can't complain about 60-70 degree weather the past few months while my family in Wisconsin has been suffering through relentless spring snowfalls. While it's still winter in Wisconsin and spring-like in Houston, I thought it would be the perfect time for my parents to come visit. Traveling south is only a treat when you leave nasty weather for nice weather. Though it's not 90 degrees, the temperatures have been just under 80 with a light breeze. To me, that's perfect!

While my parents are here, I thought it would be a great time to make my mom an early Mother's Day gift. Since I learned to bake, I've relied on my mom's sweet tooth for gift ideas. When I was a senior in college, I decided to make a pie for Mother's Day lunch with my mom and grandmas. My grandmas don't agree on much. For example, my maternal grandma likes coconut custard pie. My paternal grandma likes coconut cream pie. Thankfully, they can both agree on the coconut part. In an effort to please everybody, I made a Coconut Cream Tart from SoNo Baking Company Cookbook. The recipe is a tart crust brushed with melted chocolate before filling, vanilla pastry cream mixed with shredded coconut, whipped cream topping and toasted coconut with drizzled chocolate for garnish. To be honest,  it was a disappointment. It was a pain to make (from the crust to the garnish). For "coconut cream," it wasn't very "coconutty," even when I added coconut extract to the finished pastry cream. I wasn't crazy about the addition of chocolate. Nevertheless, my family seemed to enjoy it.

This year, I wanted to return to the coconut cream pie and improve it. I knew that the first step would be to find a new recipe. In addition to choosing a new recipe, I would have to reduce the sugar and flour for my dad to be able to eat it. I thought it would also be a good idea to reduce the amount of filling to make each piece lighter.  I chose a recipe from the The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook. I changed the flours in the crust and reduced the sugar in the pastry filling. As written, the pastry cream was far too sweet which overpowered the coconut. I think that my version has just the right balance of sugar and coconut.

Objective
Make a coconut cream pie that my mom will love and my dad won't feel too guilty eating. Adapted from The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook.

Materials
Pastry Crust:
65 grams coconut flour
65 grams whole wheat pastry flour
35 grams all-purpose flour
65 grams sweetened shredded coconut
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
1/3 cup (or more) ice water

Coconut Pastry Cream:
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste (or seeds and pod of 1 whole vanilla bean split lengthwise)
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

Whipped Cream Topping:
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Garnish:
1/4-1/2 cup large flake coconut, unsweetened

Methods
1. Make the pastry crust: Combine flours, coconut and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until you have pea-sized crumbles. Mix in water until the crumbles come together into a dough. You may need more water (add by the tablespoon until the dough comes together). Bring the dough together into a ball, flatten, and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for one hour. On a floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8". Lay the crust in a 9" pie plate. Chill for one hour. Blind bake for 20-25 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes, or until the crust is lightly golden. Cool completely.

2. Make the coconut pastry cream: In a medium saucepan, combine milk, coconut milk, coconut, and vanilla bean paste. Heat the mixture over medium heat until it is almost boiling. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and flour. Temper the eggs by whisking in a small amount of the milk mixture, then whisk the whole egg mixture into the milk mixture. Continue heating over medium heat. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes until the pastry cream is very thick. Cool the pot in an ice bath, stirring until the pastry cream has cooled. Transfer the cream to a storage container. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the pastry cream before covering with a lid. Refrigerate until cool.

3. Prepare the topping and garnish: Place the large flaked coconut on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees until lightly golden (anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on the accuracy of your oven). Watch closely and stir often to keep the coconut from burning. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, whip the cream with  sugar and vanilla (adjust the amount of sugar/vanilla to your taste) to medium/stiff peaks (again, make it how you like it).

4. Assemble the pie: Spread the coconut pastry cream in an even layer over the baked pie crust. Spread an even layer of whipped cream over the coconut pastry cream. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. The pie is best on days 1 and 2. Store in the refrigerator. Serve chilled.

Results
Yum! Just enough coconut flavor that the vanilla is complementary and not overpowering. Crust was a bit tough but softened up after sitting in the fridge with the pastry cream overnight (probably my fault because I didn't add enough moisture and over-kneaded as I was adding water) . Pastry cream layer is thin, but not insubstantial.

Discussion and Future Directions
I am thrilled with how this recipe turned out! I liked the addition of the coconut flour to the crust to add a bit more coconut flavor. I was thrilled that the pastry cream actually tasted like coconut. When I first made the pastry cream, I halved the recipe and reduced the sugar by a few tablespoons. I found it to be too sweet and it didn't make quite as much as I'd hoped. With a larger batch and even less sugar, it was perfect. And as a bonus to infusing flavor, making the pastry cream with the coconut eliminates the need to strain the pastry cream before stirring in the coconut. That is a huge improvement on the other recipe I'd made! This one is a keeper. Next time, I'd consider omitting the crust (partially because I don't like crust, but mostly because they're a pain to make) and serving the pastry cream as a custard with whipped cream topping.

As I'm getting older, I'm starting to find that many desserts are too sweet. My cravings are changing from sweet to savory. My most common craving is "fresh." It isn't satisfied until I've eaten a salad or fresh fruit. This shift means that my baking style has changed. I'm choosing recipes with whole grain flours or substituting whole grain flours when I can. I'm reducing sugar or using natural sweeteners that aren't as sweet such as honey or agave. When a recipe calls for sweetened shredded coconut, I might use unsweetened flaked. Quantity is another major change. Portion size in America is out-of-control. I can't eat much at once, so it's important that I choose what I'm eating wisely. This means cutting down on the baked goods and sugar. Rarely have I made a recipe in the past 2 years without halving it or reducing it further. This recipe is a good example of these changes. And I hope that these changes are helping me be at least a little healthier, in spite of all of my baking!

Supplementary Materials