I’m not sure what happened, but over the last couple of weeks the boys have started to go nuts for coconut. I guess it’s probably my fault for buying fresh coconut for a snack in the car. After that, there was no going back.

I have always loved coconut, I love using coconut oil for cooking and baking. It gives everything such a lovely flavour. But I have to say I was blown away when I asked my son what kind of cake he would like for his 10th birthday and he said: “A coconut cream pie.” I absolutely love coconut cream pie (I mean, really, what’s not to like?), but I had never made one before. I found this recipe online and made a few tweaks to it. And it it was AMAZING!

Now you will end up with extra egg whites, and being someone who does not like to waste, I decided to make coconut meringues. I had never made meringues before either. And they were AMAZING!!

So here is the first of two awesome coconut recipes for all you coco’nuts’ out there!!

Coconut Cream Pie (Adapted from Martha Stewart – Best Coconut Cream Pie)

Ingredients:

Crust:

1.5 cups graham crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk
1  cups 2% milk
4 large egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Topping
1/2 cup large-flake unsweetened dried coconut
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

Start by making the crust. Mix the melted butter and graham crumbs and press into a pie plate. Put in the fridge to cool while you make the filling.

Place the coconut milk, sugar, salt and cornstarch into a pan. Whisk in the coconut milk and 2% milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, make sure to whisk constantly.

Once the mixture has come to a boil, whisk the milk mixture into the egg yolk in a slow steady stream. You don’t want to do this too quickly or the egg yolks might curdle.

Once this is complete, put everything back into the pan and bring it back to the boil for a couple of minutes until it has thickened. Make sure to whisk constantly.

Remove from the heat and add in the coconut and vanilla.

Pour into the chilled pie shell. Let cool for 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours.

Once the pie is chilled you can make your toppings. Start by toasting the coconut. I used a non-stick frying pan on medium heat and toasted the coconut until golden.

Next make the whipped cream. Put the cream and confectioner’s sugar in a bowl and whip until it has nice soft peak. Spread over the pie and sprinkle the toasted coconut on top. And that’s it.