Coconut Cream Pie Sent From Heaven

I love being a baker. I get the most wonderful satisfaction from mixing and stirring and watching my creations transform in the oven... and tasting, of course; tasting is one of the best parts. What I love the most, though, is being able to share my love for baking through other people tasting the treats I labor to create.

Divine Coconut Cream Pie

August 10th was no exception. It was my Dad's birthday and I knew exactly what my gift to him would be. I would bake him none other than his favorite of everything I've ever baked... this coconut cream pie.

        Now, let me tell you-- this pie is divine. Incredibly so. So amazingly good, in fact, that on that day I ended up personally devouring the remnants of the cream filling that were left in the big pot I cooked it in. See, there's always some left in there that your spatula just can't manage to collect. For some bizarre and inexplicable reason, whatever is left of the filling always ends up in my tummy (I have no idea how that happens).

My Dad goes crazy for this pie. He tells people about it and then I have a bunch of people asking me to make them pie--not that I mind that one bit. I do love baking for other people's enjoyment as well as my own. Plus, it's nice to be known for this pie-- it's a major contributor to my good baking reputation.

After my family and I went out for pizza as a dinner celebration for my Dad's special day, we came home. Sometime after we opened up the good ol' fridge and pulled out the result of my hard day's work. Dad cut the pie into 8 slices, which has become our pie standard. Here are some pictures of the process...

The first piece was cut free of its brothers and sisters! 

Can you believe I used to hate coconut? Crazy, right? I know. Just these past few years I've taken a serious liking to it, mostly because of this heavenly coconut cream pie.

Until you've taken your first bite of this coconut purity, you have not lived.

And THIS, my friends, was my slice:

It didn't last very long--not on my watch.

Divine.

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Divine Coconut Cream Pie

Recipe Yield: 1 9-inch Pie
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Ingredients


GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:

• 1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (such as Honey Maid©)
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

FILLING:
adapted from Allrecipes

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup flaked coconut

Directions


To Make Crust:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon until well-blended. Press mixture into an 8 or 9-inch pie plate.
3. Bake for 7 minutes. Cool. If recipe calls for unbaked pie shell, just chill for about 1 hour.

To Make Filling:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thick and bubbly. Reduce heat to low and cook 2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat.
2. Beat the egg yolks slightly. Gradually stir 1 cup of the hot mixture into yolks. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and bring the entire mixture to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes before removing the pan from heat.
3. Stir butter, vanilla, and coconut into hot mixture. Pour hot filling into baked pie crust. Cool. Top with whipped cream if desired. If not serving immediately, cover and chill to store the pie.