Coconut Cream Pie is a no-bake creamy custard pie, loaded with toasted coconut and topped with fresh whipping cream and more toasted coconut flakes.
Let’s Talk About the Toasted Coconut:
Farmer Fred and I spend the winters in Florida. Several years ago, we discovered that coconuts are free if you know where to find them and who to ask. The Winter months are when many home gardeners have the coconuts removed from their backyard trees. Farmer Fred has made friends with these neighbors, and when they have the coconuts taken off the trees, they let us know, so we can drive over with the truck and pick them up.
Drain the Water
Once we collect the coconuts up and get them back home, we split open the green ones, drain the fresh coconut water out of them and freeze it to bring back to New York as a delicious healthy summer beverage. We usually bring home about 8 gallons of freshly frozen coconut water. MMM so good!
Remove the Meat, Sliver it, and Toast it.
The mature coconuts have white coconut meat in them. We discard the water from the mature coconuts and use the meat. Farmer Fred uses a potato peeler to create coconut flakes. He infuses the coconut with Real Maple Syrup and then dries it. This coconut will keep for the rest of the year. We enjoy it in this coconut cream pie. A favorite of Farmer Fred’s. I love it in my Crunchy Homemade Granola and as a healthy snack.
What Goes into a No-Bake Coconut Cream Pie?
This recipe for coconut cream pie is not light on calories. The pie is a basic custard with half and half, eggs, and sugar. I use flour instead of corn starch in my recipe. Many recipes will also add butter and use milk instead of half and half. Don’t forget the toasted coconut. For extra coconut flavor, substitute 1 cup of the half and half with coconut cream. Add a little vanilla for flavor and done.Â
Make the Crust for the Coconut Cream Pie:Â Â
You can purchase a ready-to-bake crust for the crust, make my graham cracker crust, or make a flaky pie crust with the recipe below. Watch the video to discover my secret method for a perfectly flaky no-fail pie crust every time. This crust is large enough for a deep-dish pie plate. Â
If you don’t have a pastry blender, I love the innovative design and how easy this one is to use.Â
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Make the Coconut Cream Pie Filling:
- The filling is so easy to make. Add the sugar, flour, salt, and coconut to a medium saucepan and stir to mix.Â
- Add the half and half, beaten eggs, and vanilla Whisk to mix well. Make sure you whisk well to prevent lumps of flour.
- Continue to whisk while cooking on medium heat. Cook until the filling is thick and bubbly. Â
- Remove from the heat and pour into the pre-baked pie shell. Â
- Immediately press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the pie to prevent skin from forming while the pie cools. Â
- Chill for 3-4 hours or overnight in the fridge.Â
Serve and Enjoy:
Before serving the coconut cream pie, top with dollops of piped whipping cream and some toasted coconut flakes; you can use the commercial whipped cream from a can or make delicious Homemade Whipped Cream with my recipe. If you are serving whole pie, skip the gelatin stabilizer. The whipped cream has only 3 ingredients and is so easy to make.
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Coconut Cream Pie
Equipment
- This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click a link, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you
- This recipe makes enough crust for a double traditional 8-inch pie plate. If you have a 10-inch pie plate or a deep-dish pie plate see recipe notes.
Ingredients
Flaky Pie Crust
Coconut Filling
- 1½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (60g)
- 1¼ cups unsweetened coconut flakes (1cup inside ¼cup on top) Alternately use sweetened flakes and reduce the sugar by 1/4 of a cup. (60g in a cup)
- 3½ cups Half and Half (300ml)
- 3 eggs beaten
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cups whipped cream (for the topping)
Instructions
- This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click a link, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Pie Crust
- This pie crust recipe makes 1 single crust for a deep-dish pie plate.
- Make sure butter stays very cold. Cut cold butter into small squares about 1/2 inch size and put it in the fridge.
- Weigh or measure the flour and add the salt mix together.
- Add the shortening to the flour and cut it in with a pastry blender until just combined.
- Add the butter that you cut up earlier and put it in the fridge. Mix in with a pastry blender until just combined. There should be visible chunks of butter in the flour.
- An option for mixing in the butter is a food processor. Just pulse a few times. Don't over-process or your crust will come out tough.
- Drizzle the ice water over the flour mixture (see notes) toss gently with a fork to combine. Add up to an additional tbsp. to make a cohesive mixture. The mixture may appear somewhat dry. The flour will continue to hydrate during the rest period in the fridge. (minimum of 2 hours)
- Form the crust into the shape of a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap. Watch the video to see my SIS (simple is smart) method for using plastic wrap to shape and then roll out the crust.
Bake the Crust
- To bake a pie crust. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Roll out the pie crust and position in your pie pan.
- Use a fork to make holes in the bottom and sides of the crust.(docking the crust). Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes
- Line the pie crust with some parchment or aluminum foil. Weight the crust down with pie weights or dried legumes (beans). This keeps the crust from shrinking during baking.
- Bake for 10 minutes and carefully remove the legumes or weights and liner. Quickly redock the pie bottom. If the edges are already browned, shield the edges with a pie shield or strips of aluminum foil.
- Return the pie crust to the oven and bake another 10 minutes or until it is golden brown. Let the crust cool completely before filling.
Toast the Coconut
- Reduce Oven Temp to 325°F
- Evenly spread coconut over a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven and use a spatula to stir well.
- Repeat until all the coconut is toasted a light golden brown.
- Once toasted, set the coconut aside to cool. Once the coconut is cool, take 1/4 of a cup to use as a topping and chop the rest of the toasted coconut.
- Meanwhile, prepare your filling.
Coconut Cream Pie Filling
- In a medium-size heavy-bottom saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour, 1 cup of toasted coconut, and salt.
- Add the beaten eggs, half and half, vanilla extract, and coconut extract. Whisk together.
- Turn heat to medium and continue to stir while cooking. Cook until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Once the mixture starts to bubble and thicken, stir continuously for another 45 seconds or until the mixture is a pudding consistency and coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove from heat. Pour into the pre-baked pie shell.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the surface of the pie to prevent a skin from serving.
- Chill for 3 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, pipe whipped cream dollops around the edge of the pie and garnished with the reserved toasted coconut flakes. (see notes)
