Instead I looked at this pie crust recipe on Chow and this wafer crust from Martha Stewart. Kind of a bold power move, but not one I was yet ready to embrace. With the filling and topping of my pie taken care of, I turned to the black bottom crust, and looked not to my book, but to Epicurious (the inspiration for my pie’s name, as well), and was very intrigued, for here was a crust that required no baking. The whipped cream, too, is like those in my book - very lightly sweetened and whipped just the tiniest bit more than you’d think necessary, for added stability. Of course, this one has two cans of unsweetened coconut milk, a hefty dose of sweetened shredded coconut, and some coconut extract, as well, so as to achieve the uber-coconut flavor required (at least by me) of a coconut cream pie. The coconut pudding, for instance, is a super simple corn starch-based pudding, with eggs that don’t require tempering (further streamlining the process), and a mixture of milk and cream (for added lusciousness), just like the puddings in my book. And, admittedly, when I sat down to develop my recipes for the coconut pudding and whipped cream components of this pie, it was my myriad of pudding and whipped cream recipes from my soon-to-be-released Icebox Cakes cookbook, that I turned to for guidance. No, the crust of a cream pie does not turn “cakey” after absorbing layers of pudding and whipped cream, à la an icebox cake, but what I love about an icebox cake is exactly what I love about a cream pie: The combo of the crust (be it cakey or crispy) with creamy, rich pudding and light and fluffy whipped cream. And for those of us with an icebox cake obsession (see my malted icebox cake recipe for why that might be), the similarities between these two super, simple desserts cannot be overlooked. Which shouldn’t be all that surprising, as a coconut cream pie, in fact, all cream pies (including my favorite chocolate cream pie) are made up of just three components: the crust, the filling (pudding), and the topping (whipped cream). You know what else about this pie? It is super easy to make - I mean we’re talking about a no-bake crust, here (yes, there’s some laborious pudding-stirring involved, and a wait for said-pudding to set up, but I’m not kidding, it’s still a cinch to throw together).
And my harshest, and therefore most valued, critic (aka my husband) adores it. But here’s the good news: It may have taken me longer than some of us would have liked (ahem) but I kind of think this particular pie was worth waiting for. But a coconut cream pie? Never (and this is kind of even extra scandalous cause such a pie is basically my husband’s favorite dessert - oops). Now don’t get me wrong, there were other coconut desserts in my past, such as this bundt cake one and this coconut sheet cake, developed for Baked Occasions, and this coconut cake one and these lamingtons (housed right here on this blog and developed just for you). But despite that fact, I had never actually made a coconut cream pie until quite recently, when I developed this one. I adore coconut, particularly when coupled with chocolate and as such, have had a coconut cream pie recipe from Fine Cooking in my possession since 2010. Kind of a delicious-sounding sweet, no? Like even over-the-top delicious-sounding? It is, at least to me.
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