Best Coconut Cream Pie Recipe

Coconut cream pie is the stuff that dreams are made of: Crispy, flaky pie crust filled with a thick, creamy coconut custard and topped with mounds of homemade whipped cream. Well, it doesn’t have to be a dream anymore. Our straightforward recipe walks you through every step, from mastering pie dough to whisking together an easy custard to whipping cream into light, fluffy peaks. It’s basically just 3 parts that come together to make one unbelievable pie, perfect for Easter dessert or any time your sweet tooth kicks up a serious coconut craving (we have coconut cake for that, too).

Part one: Bake the pie crust

For this pie, the crust is baked completely before the filling goes in, which is known as a fully blind-baked pie crust. Here’s how it’s done:

-Roll out the pie dough and fit into your pie plate, then prick the surface with a fork and freeze for 15 minutes. Line the pie with parchment and fill with pie weights

-Bake until the edges are lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

-Remove the weights and parchment and bake the pie another 10 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and fully cooked.

-Cool the pie crust completely before adding the filling.

Part two: Make the custard

Don’t worry if you’ve never made custard before, it’s basically just a mixture of milk or cream (or in this case, coconut milk), sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks. Here are the coconut cream pie filling ingredients:

-Coconut milk: Use full-fat coconut milk from a can here, the “light” kind won’t yield the right texture. Make sure not to shake the cans before using: Coconut milk naturally separates and you’ll use the cream that rises to the top to make the whipped cream topping for the finished pie.

-Sugar

-Cornstarch: The cornstarch helps thicken the custard so that when you cut into the pie, you get a nice, clean slice.

-Egg yolks: These add richness and body. They are cooked gradually by adding the hot coconut milk in small increments— add the hot milk too quickly and they will scramble!

-Virgin coconut oil: Make sure you read the label before purchasing and look for “virgin” or “unrefined” coconut oil, “refined” coconut oil will have little coconut flavor.

-Lemon juice: A little bit of lemon adds just the right amount of tanginess to contrast all the sweetness

-Vanilla or coconut extract: Enhance the coconut flavor with a few drops of coconut extract or balance it with vanilla extract instead.

Once it’s done, the coconut filling needs to chill in the refrigerator at least 5 hours or overnight, so it’s the perfect make-ahead dessert!

Part three: Whip the cream

Once you make homemade whipped cream, you’ll never go back to the can. Just try it out for yourself— whipped cream is basically two ingredients (heavy cream and sugar) and takes about two minutes to whip. We enhanced ours with a little coconut cream from the can of coconut milk. You can whip with an electric mixer or simply a whisk, which will just take a little more forearm strength.

Generously swoosh and swirl the whipped cream on top of the cooled pie, then finish with a sprinkle of toasted coconut flakes. Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe? Comment below!