Ever since I can remember, my mom always made my dad his favorite pie for his birthday: coconut cream pie. Forget the birthday cake- it wasn’t his birthday without his pie! My mom never cared for coconut herself, but she made it every year for him just because she knew it was his absolute favorite. She loved him a lot.
As my mom’s frontotemporal lobe dementia became more advanced, she forgot not only how to make her beloved pie, but she also forgot the birthday tradition altogether. It was a really sad and dark time for our family, most especially for my dad. I think her forgetting the tradition was harder than him not getting the pie. It was the love that went into it that meant the most. At that time, I was desperately seeking ways to keep our family intact and help to ease the heartache that my dad was going through. It was absolutely heartbreaking to watch my mom struggle, and just as much to watch my dad lose the love of his life.
After the first year of mom missing his pie, I decided that it couldn’t happen again. So, the next year, we threw dad a birthday party and I made his coconut cream pie. He seemed happy to have his pie. Here’s a cute picture of us at that party, slice of his pie in hand.
Since that birthday, I have made him mom’s coconut cream pie for every birthday. I know it’s not the same as having my mom here to do it for him, but I hope that he can feel the love and thought that goes into it. And, in some small way, he gets a piece of my mom with him every birthday. Because if she were here, this is exactly what she’d do for him.
Every so often, a family member will ask me for this recipe, so I am sharing it here not only for my family, but for anyone who loves a good coconut cream pie! I hope you enjoy!
Here’s what you need:
First, prepare all of your ingredients. I always measure everything out and set it aside.
Separate your eggs and put the yolks in a glass bowl and set that aside.
You will also need to toast your coconut flakes. Turn your oven to 400 degrees and spread your coconut flakes on a cookie sheet. Then, place the cookie sheet into the oven, setting a timer to go off every minute until they are done (about 5 minutes). After each minute, toss the flakes (with a wooden spoon) to mix up the toasted parts with the non-toasted parts. This way, you don’t get any burnt coconut. Once the coconut is toasty brown, it’s done and you can set it aside.
Also, you need a cool, prebaked pie shell. You can either make your own, or cheat and buy a frozen/refrigerated crust and cook ahead of time. I have a great pie shell recipe that you can find here, if you want to make your own from scratch.
Now to get cooking. Put your sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan and stir. Pour in your half & half, give it a good stir and turn your heat on to medium-high. Stir constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken and comes to a boil.
Once it’s at a boil, continue boiling for 1 minute and then turn off your heat.
Pour a small amount of your mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks, stirring quickly. Add a little more of the mixture, stir, and a little more. You are doing this step to slowly cook your eggs. If you were to pour your eggs straight into the mixture, they would cook too fast and you’d have scrambled eggs. So make sure to do a little amount at a time, and then adding more. Once there’s a good amount in the bowl and the eggs are heated through, you can pour the egg mixture into the pot with the remaining filling, mixing all the way through.
Bring your mixture back to a boil and boil one more minute.
Remove from heat and add your butter and vanilla, mixing thoroughly. Add your coconut flakes and mix all the way through.
Pour your filling into the cooled pie shell and let it cool completely. Once it’s done cooling, keep it in the refrigerator.
Making your own whipped topping is a must! You can buy a can whipped cream, but it is not the same as homemade!! Do yourself a favor and make it homemade. It’s quick and really easy. All you do is combine your whipping cream with your powdered sugar in a mixing bowl, whipping it (with a mixer) until it gets very thick. Add a splash of vanilla, and that’s it!
You can either top your whipped cream on your pie right away (once the pie is cooled, of course) or you can wait and top it when you serve it. Sometimes I like to be fancy and I put mine in a piping bag and pipe it on. It makes it look extra special when I give it to my dad. And sometimes I throw some extra coconut flakes on top. Yum!
How yummy does this pie look?
Give it a try, and let me know how you like it! It really isn’t complicated to make and it tastes so good!
And if you wanna save this recipe for later, don’t forget to save it to your pinterest board!
| Prep Time | 5-10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20-25 minutes |
| Servings |
slices
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- 1 cooked pie shell, cooled
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3 TB cornstarch
- 3 cups half & half
- 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
- 1 TB butter
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 3/4 cup coconut flakes, toasted
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar,
- 1 cup whipping cream
- dash of vanilla
Ingredients
Pie Filling:
Whipped Cream:
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|
- First, cook your pie shell. Let it cool.
- Measure out/prep all of your ingredients. Make/cook your pie crust. Put your egg yolks in a glass bowl and set aside for later. Toast your coconut by sprinkling it on a baking sheet and placing it in a 400 degree oven. Set a timer for 5 minutes and stir it on the sheet after each minute, until it is toasty brown (it may take a little longer or shorter than 5 minutes).
- Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Then, add the half & half and stir well.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Once it's boiling, boil it for one minute and then remove from heat.
- Gradually stir part of your hot mixture into the glass bowl containing the egg yolks, a little bit at a time. Once you have about 1 cup of the hot mixture stirred through, add that mixture back into the pot, stirring well to incorporate. Bring your mixture back up to a boil and boil for one more minute.
- Remove from heat. Add butter, vanilla and toasted coconut flakes. Pour into your cooled, precooked 9" pie shell.
- Let your pie cool completely before refrigerating or adding whipped topping. You can either add the whipped cream once it's cool, or when you serve the pie. Refrigerate any leftovers; it will keep for a week in the fridge.
- In a mixing bowl, whip together your powdered sugar and whipping cream until it reaches a thick consistency. Add a splash of vanilla. Top your pie with cream. If you have leftover coconut flakes, you can sprinkle them on top of your whipped cream!
Keep your pie in a refrigerator for up to a week.
