Kitsch Yet Classic-Coconut Cream Pie

Holidays seem to bring out the Traditional in us. A culturally significant celebration calls for culturally significant foods. My family has a tradition of making porchetta on Easter. Porchetta is a pork loin that has been butterflied, seasoned, rolled back up, and roasted. If that sounds complicated, that is because it is. So, we purchase ours from Oliva’s Market, in my Super Amazing Dad’s home town of Milford, MA. We change up what we do for vegetable sides and desserts every year.

This year, Mr. Food-It-Yourself suggested “something coconut” for our Easter dessert. I settled on coconut cream pie. I know, I’m late for an Easter related post. I offer as an excuse that May 8th (the day before I wrote this post) is National Coconut Cream Pie Day. How do I know this? The National Today website has a really cool article about the history of coconut cream pie. Cream or custard pies have a bit of a kitsch feel, in my opinion, thanks to the trope of such pies being smushed into people’s faces for comedic effect. I like kitsch.

There are plenty of recipes for coconut cream pie out there, as one might expect from a classic recipe. I used this one from The Pie Academy. The only special thing I had to buy was the shredded, sweetened coconut. I did replace the one cup of heavy cream and two-thirds cup whole milk with one and two-thirds cup of half and half. (We keep half and half around for coffee lightening.) Here is what the whole pie process looked like. I was assisted by my Super Amazing Dad, because cooking with people you love is The Way.

We baked the pie crust fist, so it had time to cool a bit before we added the filling. Think of an egg cracked into a hot skillet- the bottom starts to cook right away. We want our custard to cook evenly. If we pour the mixture into a very hot crust the outside will set too quickly. Now, we need to make that filling.

Beat the eggs well. You need the fatty yolks and the watery whites to be well incorporated. The natural emulsifier, lecsithin, in the eggs allows the water and fat to blend. Add the sugar gradually so it dissolves. You do not want a gritty custard. Add the dairy, vanilla and coconut and stir carefully. You do not want to whip that heavy cream. Foamy custard does not bake evenly. Yes, baking evenly is the key to perfect custard.

Getting the pie into the oven was a two-person job, and I did not have an extra hand to take pictures, so just trust me. We pulled out the oven rack and placed a small baking sheet on the rack, to catch any drips. We then placed the pre-baked pie crust on the baking sheet. We carefully scooped the filling into the crust, and slowly slid the rack back into the oven.

It is important to remember that custard pies should be a little wobbly in the center. The residual heat will complete the cooking of the center of the pie. Just look at that toasty top! We let the pie cool to room temperature then covered it and placed it in the refrigerator.

This pie was a delicious ending to our Easter dinner. It was sweet, but not cloying, even with a little sweetened whipped cream on top. The custard was smooth and dense. The crust was flakey. It was just what I hoped it would be.

I enjoyed my coconut cream pie with a cup of coffee sweetened with a Peep. You need to eat a Peep on Easter. That’s just a fact.

I love food traditions, but I also like trying new recipes. Making this classic for a family holiday checked both boxes for me. What traditional recipes have you made lately? What new recipes have you tried? Share in the comments!