Coconut Cream Pie

This classic Coconut Cream Pie starts with a buttery, flaky pie crust filled with creamy coconut pudding topped with oodles of homemade whipped cream and toasted coconut. For all you coconut lovers, this is the ultimate dessert. There is no boxed anything here! Just simply good old homemade deliciousness, just the way you remember your Grandmother making it.

There is nothing better for dessert than a delicious cream pie! Don’t get me wrong! I love a good moist cake but give me a creamy, luscious pie, and I think I died and went to heaven. This pie, Creamy Butterscotch Pie, Banana Cream Pie, and Key Lime Pie are just a few of our favorites.

How to make Coconut Cream Pie

It is best to make the pie dough the day before you are making your pie so it can chill in the fridge overnight. First, cut your chilled butter into small cubes. Then combine with the flour and salt using a pastry blender to cut in the butter until very crumbly. Now add the chilled water a few tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork until the dough pulls together. Finally, form into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

After the dough has thoroughly chilled, gently roll the pie crust out to a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Then fold the piecrust or roll it around your rolling pin to move it to the pie plate. Next, gently tuck it into the pie pan, trim the edge about an inch over the side, tuck it in along the edge, and flute it. Then refrigerate the crust for several hours.   Line the pie crust with aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights, rice, beans, or sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the weights and foil. Then using a fork, prick holes all over the bottom of the crust. Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 14-15 minutes.

Now in a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, coconut milk, and half and half. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to low, and in a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Then add a couple of tablespoons of the hot mix to 4 eggs yolks whisking until thoroughly incorporated. Repeat the procedure several times until the egg yolks are warmed thoroughly. Then slowly whisk the egg yolk mixture into the hot pudding mixture on the stove cooking for 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Remove it from the heat and stir in the coconut, butter, and vanilla. Pour into the cooled pie shell and cover with plastic wrap directly over the surface of the pudding. Chill in the fridge for several hours up to overnight.

Then add 1/3 cup coconut to a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until mostly golden brown, stirring frequently. Now using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed beat the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Then slowly add the cornstarch and vanilla and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Gently spread or pipe over the top of the pie. Sprinkle with the cooled toasted coconut.

Plan ahead for this delectable pie

This is not a difficult pie to make, although it does take some time. There is a lot of hands-off time, so it is best to plan two days ahead.

• First Day – make the pie dough and refrigerate it overnight. This can take as little as 10 minutes.
• Second Day – rollout, flute, and bake the pie crust. Prepare the coconut pudding, fill the pie crust, and refrigerate overnight. This will take about 60-90 minutes, depending on how long it takes for the crust to cool.
• Third Day – make the whipped cream and toast the coconut. Spread or pipe the whipped cream over the pie and sprinkle with toasted coconut. This can take as little as 20 minutes.

Perfect pie crust tips

• For best results, use very cold butter.
• Add just enough water to form a dough ball that doesn’t crumble when pulled apart. Too much water will make the dough sticky, resulting in a tough, chewy crust. Too little water will make the dough fall apart and crack while you are working with it.
• Form it into a disk and wrap it with plastic wrap.
• Pro-tip! It is important to let the piecrust dough chill for at least a couple of hours up to overnight. It relaxes the gluten and makes it easier to roll, and limits shrinkage during baking.
• Be gentle when rolling out the crust working from the middle out and turning the dough as you go.
• Always fold the piecrust or roll it onto the rolling pin before transferring it to the pie plate, so you do not stretch the dough.

Recipe Notes and helpful tips

• It is important to whisk the pudding very frequently while cooking and use a spoon to reach those tight corners of the saucepan that the whisk has trouble getting into.
• The pudding should be brought to a boil and cooked for a full 2 minutes both before the eggs are tempered and after the eggs are added. Whisk the entire time.
• Take the time to add small amounts of the hot pudding to the egg yolks whisking thoroughly after each addition. This step will help ensure a smooth and creamy pudding. This technique is called tempering the egg.
• Continue to whisk the pudding while you are also tempering the eggs. It is a busy few minutes, but if everything is in close proximity, it can be done.
• Cornstarch is optional in the whipped cream but is suggested. It helps stabilize the whipped cream and make it pipeable.
• If pushed for time, brown the coconut up to several days in advance and store it in an airtight container.
• Store the pie in the fridge until ready to serve, and store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.

More desserts to try!

Coconut Cream Pie

This classic made from scratch Coconut Cream Pie brings it all together with a buttery, flaky pie crust, coconut pudding, fresh whipped cream, and toasted coconut.

5 from 22 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 477kcal

Author: Beth Pierce

Ingredients

Pie Crust

• ½ cup chilled butter cut in small cubes
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 5-6 tablespoons chilled water
• Coconut Cream Pie Filling
• 2/3 cup sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk (full fat)
• ½ cup half n half
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 ¼ cups sweetened shredded coconut
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• Whipped Cream
• 1 ⅓ cups whipping cream
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ¼ teaspoons cornstarch optional see notes
• ⅓ cup toasted coconut

Instructions

• Combine butter, flour, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until very crumbly. Add chilled water a few tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork until the dough pulls together. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours up to overnight.
• Gently roll the piecrust out to a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Fold the piecrust or roll it around your rolling pin to move it to the pie plate. Gently tuck it into the pie pan, trim the edge about an inch over the side, tuck the excess in along the edge, and flute it. Refrigerate the crust for several hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line the pie crust with aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights, rice, beans, or sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the weights and foil. Using a fork, prick holes all over the bottom of the crust. Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown.
• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, coconut milk, and half and half. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes, whisking very frequently. Reduce the heat to low, and in a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the hot mixture to the 4 eggs yolks whisking until thoroughly incorporated. Repeat the procedure several times until the egg yolks are warmed thoroughly. Slowly whisk the egg yolk mixture into the hot pudding mixture. Increase heat to medium and boil for 2 minutes, whisking constantly.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut, butter, and vanilla. Pour into the cooled piecrust and cover with plastic wrap directly over the surface of the pudding. Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours up to overnight.
• Add 1/3 cup coconut to a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until mostly golden brown, stirring frequently.
• Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed, beat heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Slowly add the cornstarch and vanilla and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Remove the plastic wrap from the refrigerated pie and gently spread or pipe over the top of the pie. Sprinkle with the cooled toasted coconut.

Notes

• For best results, use very cold butter.
• Add just enough water to form a dough ball that doesn’t crumble when pulled apart. Too much water will make the dough sticky, resulting in a tough, chewy crust. Too little water will make the dough fall apart and crack while you are working with it.
• Form it into a disk and wrap it with plastic wrap.
• Pro-tip! It is important to let the piecrust dough chill for at least a couple of hours up to overnight.  It relaxes the gluten and makes it easier to roll, and limits shrinkage during baking.
• Be gentle when rolling out the crust working from the middle out and turning the dough as you go.
• Always fold the piecrust or roll it onto the rolling pin before transferring it to the pie plate, so you do not stretch the dough.

Nutrition

Calories: 477kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 148mg | Sodium: 259mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 967IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 2mg

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