Sweet, creamy, and full of tropical coconut flavor, this Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie is an heirloom recipe that turns a few simple ingredients into a masterpiece! You’ll love the combination of sweet coconut, whipped cream, stovetop custard, and flaky pastry.
MY FAMILY’S RECIPE FOR COCONUT CREAM PIE
This old-fashioned recipe for Coconut Cream Pie is one of my family’s favorites, and when you taste it, I’m sure you’ll see why! We make it every year for Easter and it has even won a couple of awards at bake offs that friends/family have entered the recipe into over the years. You definitely won’t regret giving this pie a try!
Cream pies were once all the rage, and with good reason. They are extremely easy to make with just a few simple ingredients, and cook up into a dessert that feels and tastes decadent, even though it’s so simple!
Shredded coconut, whole milk, some sugar, and some eggs make the creamy custard-like coconut filling for this pie, which is stabilized further with a little flour and cornstarch, and flavored with vanilla and coconut extract.
From there, the thick coconut cream is poured into a pre-baked pie shell, and chilled until fully set and deliciously cold. Honestly, the pie would be scrumptious just like that—but of course, we want to make it pretty! A few generous dollops of whipped cream and a dusting of toasted coconut do the trick, and the pie is done!
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COCONUT CREAM PIE AND COCONUT CUSTARD PIE?
These two pies are very, very similar, but a coconut cream pie is slightly softer than a coconut custard pie, which sets with more of a jello texture. The filling for a coconut cream pie is made on the stovetop, poured into the crust, and then refrigerated to fully set. A coconut custard filling, on the other hand, is poured raw into the crust and baked before serving warm, or chilling and serving cold.
OLD-FASHIONED COCONUT CREAM PIE
Sweet, creamy, and full of tropical coconut flavor, this Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie is an heirloom recipe that turns a few simple ingredients into a masterpiece! A beloved combination of sweet coconut, whipped cream, stovetop custard, and flaky pastry.
INGREDIENTS
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup sweetened and shredded coconut
- 1 9-inch baked pie crust
TOPPINGS
- Fresh whipped cream
- 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. In a bowl, whisk together milk and egg yolks, until well combined. Stir the milk mixture into the sugar mixture, until smooth.
- Place saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Let mixture boil, while still stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Immediately whisk in butter, vanilla extract, coconut extract and shredded coconut. Let cool for 5 minutes then pour custard into baked pie crust.
- Allow pie come to room temperature and then cover pie with plastic wrap (or foil) and move to fridge to chill completely, about 3 hours.
- Serve pie topped with fresh whipped cream and toasted coconut.
NOTES
This pie can be made up to 48 hours before being served and still taste freshly made! Store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
The pie can be stored for up to 7 days, but is best within the first couple of days.