A little taste of Hawaii in a pie
In her cookbook “50 Pies, 50 States,” author Stacey Mei Yan Fong has a Hawaii-inspired pie that combines coconut custard and pineapple for a tropical twist. The base is a graham cracker crust filled with a thick coconut cream. And the filling uses coconut milk, heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch. Fong toasts coconut flakes first and then stirs them in with vanilla. The pie chills until it sets. She adds a pineapple upside-down topping right before serving. The pineapple rings are caramelized in butter and brown sugar. Then she flips the chilled pie onto the warm topping and serves.
Coconut Cream Pie with Pineapple Upside-Down Topping
Servings: one 10-inch pie
Equipment
10-inch cast-iron or other circular oven-safe pan
Ingredients
CRUST
Store-bought or homemade Graham Cracker Crust
Filling
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
1 ½ cups heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
¾ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN TOPPING
¼ cup ( ½ stick) unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 (8-ounce) can sliced pineapple in pineapple juice
7 maraschino cherries
Directions
Make the Filling: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the coconut in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment. Toast the coconut in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, tossing every 5 minutes and making sure it doesn’t burn, until the coconut is golden brown. In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk, cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until very thick, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the toasted coconut and vanilla. Let cool slightly before filling the pie.
Fill the pie: Pour the filling into the baked graham cracker crust and smooth the top with a spatula. Chill the pie in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours, until the filling is set.
Make the Topping: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a cast-iron or oven-safe 10-inch pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar and blend. Arrange seven pineapple slices in the pan, covering the bottom. Place a cherry in the center of each ring. Bake for 30 minutes, until the pineapple is caramelized, checking every 10 minutes to make sure the pineapple caramelizes but does not burn.
Finish the Pie: This is tricky. Take the chilled pie and place it upside down in the cast-iron skillet; the top of the pie should touch the pineapple mixture. Turn a plate upside down and place on the bottom of the pie, then flip everything over in one swift motion, setting the pie on the counter on the plate. Carefully remove the skillet; if a pineapple slice or cherry sticks to the skillet, just use a fork to move it to the top of the pie. Let the topping cool slightly and then slice and serve!
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Stacey Mei Yan Fong is the author of “50 Pies, 50 States.” Her pies have been featured on CBS News Sunday Morning, NPR and Eater.