My father has always been a fan of a good coconut cream pie and I have been pondering about making him a southern coconut cake, I will save that story for another day.

So he returned from a short trip to his hometown in southern Indiana for a death in the family and someone brought a coconut cream pie from the local bakery to the house the day he was leaving.  When he got home, he oohed and ahhhed about how great this pie was so i went online to find this bakery and began my search for this amazing treat so I could make him one myself.  I called the bakery, told them my woes, that i wanted to make this special pie for my dad and I was sure she wouldn’t but I thought it was worth asking if she would please share with me the recipe.  to my delight – she did just that.

I have made a couple of slight modifications so that I can call it mine, and I do believe it is a winner.  Now the bakery gets $25 for their pie, i wonder what I could sell mine for?

This one calls for a meringue topping, but some may prefer a whipped cream topping, your choice but my recipe is with meringue – difficult as it may be to make here in Florida, but keeping the air conditioning on help.s

For the custard:

• 2/3 c sugar
• 1 can coconut milk + enough heavy cream to make 2 cups
• pinch salt
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/3 c cornstarch
• 6 egg yolks
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract – please dont use imitation vanilla
• 1 1/2 C flaked coconut
• 6 egg whites
• 1/3 C sugar
• dash of coconut extract – not necessary but if you have it this will be a nice touch

Preheat oven to 325

Blind bake a 9″ deep dish pie crust according to your recipe or the box.  either make your own or purchase a pre-made crust from the frozen section of your grocery..  After the crust has baked, set aside to cool. you do not want this to be warm when you put the filling in as it will cause the bottom of the pie to be soggy.

Filling:

Place sugar, coconut milk and heavy cream in a heavy bottom pot and place on low heat.  In separate bowl, mix milk, cornstarch and egg yolks until well combined. Slowly mix the egg, cornstarch and milk mixture into the warm coconut milk and sugar mixture, whisking constantly to prevent it from burning.  When the custard cover the back of a spoon pull it off the heat, add butter, 1 C coconut flakes and vanilla.  Set aside

Meringue

To make the soft meringue – whisk 6 room temperature egg white and gradually add the 1/3 c sugar until it is the texture of cool whip.

Fill the crust with the hot custard and then spread the freshly made meringue on top – be sure to get to the edges of the crust as this will seal the pie and will keep it from “weeping”.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup coconut on top of the meringue and bake in the 325 oven for 25 to 30 minutes   Cool on a wire rack for about an hour and then refrigerate overnight for the best results

Insider Tips on How to Make a Perfect Soft Meringue

For pies and puddings: QUICKLY spread soft meringue evenly over HOT filling, starting at edge and sealing to crust all around. Swirl into peaks with back of spoon. BAKE in upper third of preheated 350°F oven until meringue is lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack 30 minutes to 1 hour.

If soft meringue pie topping is made with more than 3 egg whites: Bake at a lower temperature (about 325°F) for a longer time (25 to 30 minutes) so the soft meringue has time to reach 160°F without burning.

Cook to 160°F. Soft meringue should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F.

A hot filling is important. The heat of the filling cooks the bottom of the soft meringue and prevents it from weeping and creating a slippery layer between filling and topping. Set up your equipment and measure meringue ingredients before you make the filling and work quickly to make soft meringue before filling cools.