Coconut Cream Pie is an old fashioned
recipe cooked on stove top or in microwave then poured into a prepared
graham cracker, vanilla wafer or flaky pie crust.
It is topped with whipped cream
and toasted coconut.
I developed this recipe in the 1960's
when I made and sold baked goods from home.
Thirty years later, Raymond Sokolov wrote in his book "Why We Eat What We Eat", copyright 1991, that there would come new pioneer situations for culinary bricolage in the kitchen.
Twenty years later, a visitor to this website gave me a quick and easy way to cook a coconut cream pie.
Microwave them! Pioneer situation.
The old way takes 18-20 minutes; new 5-7 minutes.
Beat eggs with a whisk in a mixing bowl until light and lemon
colored.
Add sugar, flour and coconut. Beat mixture with the whisk until
there are no longer lumps of flour.
Beat in milk a little at a time
until all is mixed well.
Pour mixture into a saucepan and cook on low heat, stirring constantly until thickened to a pudding consistency.
It will firm up
when it gets cold.
When the filling starts to get thick you will see the mixture steaming.
Very shortly you will see a couple of bubbles popping up.
That
means it has reached the boiling point. Let it bubble a couple of
minutes and it should be thick enough.
Remove from heat.
Stir in butter until it has melted. Add flavorings and stir well.
Top with plastic wrap and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
Pour into prepared pie crust of your choice. Cool thoroughly.
Top with fresh Homemade Whipped Cream or thawed frozen whipped cream and sprinkle with toasted coconut.
Mix the ingredients together per stove top method in a microwavable mixing bowl.
Place in microwave oven and cook on high heat for 2 minutes.
Remove mixture and stir well.
Return to microwave and cook another 2 minutes.
Remove and stir again.
Return to microwave.
This time cook only 1 minute the first time
you make this pie.
Some ovens cook at a higher power than others.
A total of 5 minutes may be all you need to cook it in your
particular oven.
If it is not thick as pudding after 5 minutes return it
to the oven and cook in 1 minute intervals until it is of a thick pie
like consistency.
After the first time you make this pie you will know exactly how long it takes to microwave it.
I cook mine for 6 minutes total, in 2 minute increments and it is perfect every time.
*This Coconut Cream Pie is delicious in a variety of pie crusts.
These three suggestions are all delicious.
My favorite is
the Graham Cracker Crust using Honey Graham Crackers. I think honey compliments the coconut in the pie.
To toast coconut, sprinkle it on a cookie sheet and place it in a
preheated 350F. oven for a few minutes.
Watch it and when it starts to
brown stir it until it is all light brown.
Remove coconut from the
cookie sheet immediately to cool.
To toast it on top of the stove, place it in a skillet and place on low heat.
Stir it until it becomes lightly toasted.
Remove from pan
and cool.