Directions: |
Directions:To pre-bake (blind bake) the crust: Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly grease a 9" pie pan. Set the pastry in the pie pan. Tuck the edges of the pastry dough up and under, and flute or crimp the edges. Put the lined pie pan in the refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes.
Line the crust with foil or parchment paper, and fill it with dried beans or pie weights. Bake the crust for 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven and gently remove the foil or parchment paper with the beans or weights. Return the crust to the oven for 10-20 more minutes until it's golden brown all over. (If the edges of the crust start becoming too brown, cover with strips of foil.) Remove the crust from the oven and cool completely.
To make the filling: Whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk, half & half, white sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally. Bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low heat. Remove ½ cup of the hot mixture, and in a slow and steady stream, whisk into the egg yolk and cornstarch mixture. Keep these egg yolks moving so they don't scramble. Then, in a slow and steady stream, pour and whisk the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan.
The pudding will immediately begin to bubble and thicken. Whisk and cook for 1½ minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut, butter, vanilla and coconut extract (if using).
Pour the warm filling into the cooled pie crust. Cover tightly with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding (to prevent a skin from forming). Refrigerate for atleast 3 hours or overnight until chilled and thickened.
Before serving, make the whipped cream by placing the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla into a chilled bowl. Whip until the cream holds a medium peak. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top and serve.
(Optional: To add a coconut topping to the pie, you can toast ½ cup sweetened coconut to sprinkle on the whipped topping when serving the pie. Toast the coconut in a dry frying pan, over a medium heat for several minutes, stirring constantly until the coconut turns golden brown to your liking. Cool completely.) |
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