Award-winning pastry chef and all-around darling of desserts, Megan Garrelts, says her coconut cream pie remains a crowd favorite. “Our coconut cream pie is layered with a coconut pastry cream on top of a chewy coconut filling that fills the base of our flaky, handcrafted pie crust,” says the co-owner of Rye.
Somehow we cajoled Garrelts to share her recipe today on National Coconut Day. Lucky you! (And lucky us if you invite us over to sample!)
Rye’s Coconut Cream Pie
Ingredients
Coconut Cream:
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 can (13.5fl oz) coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 stick (2.5oz) unsalted butter
Directions:
In a heavy bottomed stainless-steel pot heat your milks, first portion of sugar, salt, and vanilla until scaled. (Chef note: You do not want this mixture to boil.) In a mixing bowl, whisk together your cornstarch, sugar, and egg yolks. Using a ladle, take some of the hot liquid and add it to the cornstarch mixture, whisk this in and continue to add your warmed liquid into the cornstarch mixture whisking constantly. (This is called tempering.) Once all the liquid is whisked into the cornstarch mixture strain your filling using a fine mesh strainer into your stainless-steel pot.
Put your filling back on the stove, staying on medium to low heat and whisk continuously until mixture thickens like a pudding. Once it starts to boil slightly take off the heat and add your cold butter. Whisk in butter until fully combined and the filling is done. Transfer the filling into a glass or plastic container and cover the top with a layer of plastic wrap. Press down plastic to touch the top of the filling so a skin does not form. Place in the refrigerator and let your filling cool for at least two hours or overnight.
Coconut Filling:
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white corn syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
Topping:
2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 frozen pie shell
Directions:
In a bowl combine the coconut, vanilla, salt, and corn syrup. In a heavy bottomed pot bring the granulated sugar and water to a boil, once all the sugar is dissolved add the syrup to the coconut mixture and mix until combined. Place in a container and allow mixture to cool in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
To assemble, toast 1/4 cup of shredded coconut in the oven and let cool completely before combining with the coconut pastry cream. Blind bake pie shell and let cool (see below), add your coconut filling to the bottom of the pie shell. Use your fingers to press the filling down, I will sometime butter or oil my fingers to make sure the filling doesn’t stick to my hands.
One the filling is smoothed out, add the coconut cream on top of that and use an offset spatula to smooth the cream so it fills the shell completely. In a mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip two cups or half a quart of heavy whipping cream on medium speed with two tablespoons of granulated sugar. Whip until thick and fluffy. Add whipped cream to piping bag fitted with a star tip and cover pie with your whipped cream.
For blind baking pie shells:
Take frozen pie shell and line with parchment paper or large coffee filter. Fill the inside of the pie with either rocks or beans to weigh down the pie dough and retain the shape of the pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes until the edges are brown and dry looking. Take the beans or rocks out of the shell and fill with desired fillings.