a family favorite

Everyday I scour the internet for new food ideas, and there are several blogs that I frequent. I love to visit the blog The Galley Gourmet. One day while surfing the web I came across a recipe for coconut cream pie. I've told you before about how my family goes to the Picadilly every Sunday for supper after church. Well, along with the fried chicken, my grandmother HAD to have coconut cream pie. If for some reason they were out of pie or just didn't have any that Sunday we'd never hear the end of it. So ever since the Picadilly in Columbia went out of business back in August my grandmother has been without her favorite pie. When I saw the blog post for coconut cream pie on The Galley Gourmet I knew I had to make it. I made it for Thanksgiving supper and it was a huge hit. Heres how to make it:

Coconut Cream Pie
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one 9 inch pie crust, baked and cooled
For the filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup coconut milk
3 extra large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon coconut extract
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, chopped

For the topping:
1/2 teaspoon powdered gelatin

1 Tablespoon cold water

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

For the Filling

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, gelatin, and salt.  Add the coconut milk and yolks and whisk thoroughly to combine.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the whole milk until small bubbles appear around the edges. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.  Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly over medium heat until very thick, about 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the extracts and coconut.  Allow the mixture to cool completely in an ice bath, stirring frequently.  Use when cooled or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.

At this stage I was starting to get worried because the filling was still pretty runny, but after hanging out in the fridge all night it tightened up alot.

For the Topping

*The gelatin in the topping stabilizes the cream and it sets rather quickly.  Therefore, have the pie filled and cooled before making the topping.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water.  Heat the mixture in the microwave for a few seconds until the gelatin has melted.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk (or in a bowl using a hand held mixer or by hand with a wire whisk), beat the cream and sugar on medium high until soft peaks form.  Drizzle in the gelatin mixture and the extract and beat until firm, but not stiff, peaks form.  Spread the whipped cream mixture over the coconut custard and refrigerate the pie until ready to serve.
-Recipe from The Galley Gourmet

I toasted some coconut flakes to garnish my pie. Its super easy just take some of the leftover sweetened coconut flakes and put them in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast, shaking the pan about every 10 seconds. Do not walk away from the stove, it will burn in a hot minute. 

Side Note- The past month has been craaaazzzy. I have moved back to South Carolina, and between unpacking and adjusting to living with my parents again there hasn't been much time for cooking and writing. But I'm back and I have lots of recipes that I want to try out, so stay tuned.