Monday 21 September 2009

coconut cream pie

coconut cream pie, on windowsill

If there were such a thing as extreme cookery, I think I'd be a champion. You know, baking under dangerous conditions, high-speed frosting, using spatulas to fend off oncoming missiles... all hypothetical examples, obviously. Of course I don't live in a madhouse.

The thing is now, I don't know how to cook in normal conditions. I'm so used to stepping over brawling sisters on my way to the Kitchenaid that when the kitchen is quiet and empty I'm quite baffled, and keep checking behind doors and under tables in case someone's planning an ambush. Every recipe I make comes with mental breakdown as standard, and if there's no one else around to cause it, I find I've started sabotaging myself.

oh fuck.

There's no excuse. Perhaps I felt I was having too easy a time of it? Perhaps I was subconciously un-nerved by my serene and stress-free morning in the kitchen, and felt I should dump my pie crust out on the counter just to stop myself from getting too complacent? Perhaps I had been lulled into a false sense of security and totally disengaged my brain as a result, causing me to - I wish I was kidding - TURN MY PIE DISH UPSIDE DOWN to try and brush away the messy crumbs from the trimmed edges?

I'm getting hacked off again just thinking about it.

Usually I'd take this sort of thing as a sign that I'm not destined for culinary success on that particular day, and would either go back to it some other time or ditch the recipe - but I had a potluck dinner that evening, and had already made the pie filling, and didn't have a lot to lose by baking up another rush-job coconut crust. I mean, apart from my sanity, and other things I wouldn't really miss. As a result my pastry is a bit of a mess, but nothing that can't be fixed by a mound of sweetened, vanilla-scented whipped cream.

So, yes. Extreme baking: I'm pretty good at it. Regular baking?

Not so much.

whole & intact coconut pie crustbounty bar filling =]coconut cream pie 4coconut cream pie 2

Triple Coconut Cream Pie
Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen
(Makes one 9-inch pie)

The good news is that this pie is pretty simple to put together, provided you remember to switch your brain on beforehand, and is completely delicious - and apparently, rather famous at Tom Douglas' Dahlia Lounge restaurant in Seattle. I've never set foot in Seattle, but it went down equally well in a sleepy Northern English village at our potluck dinner. Of the coconut filling, my friend Leah declared happily, 'it tastes just like the filling of a Bounty bar!', and I had to explain that Bounty bars tasted of coconut, rather than coconut tasting of Bounty bars.

This was the only part of the dinner conversation that wasn't about religious theme parks or Alice's shorts, so you're lucky I have anything suitable to report at all.

For The Coconut Pastry Cream:
480ml (2 cups) milk
480ml
- don't know the weight, sorry (2 cups) dessicated coconut
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
2 large eggs
110g
(1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp) sugar
3 tbsp plain flour
60g
(1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

For The Pie:
One 9" Coconut Pie Shell (recipe below) pre-baked and cooled
600ml
(2 1/2 cups) heavy cream, chilled
60g
(1/3 cup) sugar
1 tso pure vanilla extract

For Garnish
60g (2oz) toasted flaked coconut - or unsweetened "chip"/large-shred coconut (about 11/2 cups)
Chunks of white chocolate (60-100g/4 to 6oz, to make 60g/2oz of curls)

1. To make the pastry cream, combine the milk and coconut in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add both the seeds and pod to the milk mixture. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and stir occasionally until the mixture almost comes to a boil.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and flour until well combined. Temper the eggs (to keep them from scrambling) by pouring a small amount (about 1/3 Cup) of the scalded milk into the egg mixture while whisking. Then add the warmed egg mixture to the saucepan of milk and coconut. Whisk over medium-high heat until the pastry cream thickens and begins to bubble. Keep whisking until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until it melts. Remove and discard the vanilla pod. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and place it over a bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until it is cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a crust from forming and refrigerate until completely cold. The pastry cream will thicken as it cools.

3. When the pastry cream is cold, fill the prebaked pie shell with it, smoothing the surface. In an electric mixer with the whisk, whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla on medium speed. Gradually increase the speed to high and whip to peaks that are firm enough to hold their shape. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with the whipped cream and pipe it all over the surface of the pie, or spoon it over.

4. For the garnish, if not using pre-toasted coconut, heat the oven to 180°C. Spread the coconut chips on a baking sheet and toast in the oven, watching carefully and stirring once or twice, since coconut burns easily, until lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Use a vegetable peeler to scrape about 2 ounces of the white chocolate into curls.

Decorate pie with white chocolate curls and the toasted coconut.

Coconut Pie Shell
180g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) plain flour
120ml - don't know weight
- (1/2 cup) dessicated coconut
115g
(1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
80ml
(1/3 cup) ice water, or more as needed

In a food processor, combine the flour, coconut, diced butter, sugar, and salt. Pulse to form course crumbs. Gradually add the water while pulsing. Use only as much water as needed for the dough to hold together when gently pressed between your fingers. You don’t want to work the dough with your hands; you just want to make sure the dough is holding. The dough will be quite loose.

Place a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter and dump the coconut dough on top. Pull the edges of the wrap around the dough, forming a rough flat round. Chill for 30 minutes to an hour before rolling.

Once chilled, unwrap the dough and place onto a lightly floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 1/8-inch thick circle. Add more flour if the round sticks to the surface. Trim to a 12- to 13-inch circle.

Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie plate. Ease the dough into the plate. Take care to not stretch the dough as it will shrink during baking. Trim any excess dough to a 1- to 1 1/2-inch overhang. Turn the dough under the edge of the pie plate and flute the edge with your finger. Chill at least one hour before baking (I put it in the freezer). This will help prevent shrinkage during baking.

Pre-heat oven to 200C. Place a sheet of foil or parchment paper in the pie shell and fill with pie weights (or dried beans) to prevent bubbling. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden. Remove the pie weights and foil and continue to bake another 10-12 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust has golden brown patches. Allow to cool before filling.

Note: The dough can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, or in the freezer for a few weeks.

coconut cream pie 3

25 comments:

Irina@PastryPal said...

All that just to pretty up the crust from crumbs? Good thing you had time to whip up another one. I remember driving a homemade tart to a party, and I must of pushed the brakes a little too hard, 'cause when I arrived, the filling was all pushed up against one side. When I tried to smoosh it back in place, the whole tart crust cracked in half, and the filling started oozing out. Lesson here, perhaps? Leave well enough alone?

Leah said...

I love you and I loved that pie. Although it's no babushka. I bought you a special belated birthday surprise today, I must give you them before we leave for uni, they'd be weird to receive by post...

grace said...

is there anything that can't be saved by sweetened whipped cream, toasted coconut, and gorgeous curls of luscious white chocolate? i submit that there is not. this pie rocks, whether it turned out as intended or not. :)

Adam said...

So you flipped it and your life around for a few crumbs...you are in fact a dangerous baker. There must not have been any flour ninjas around on your last baking day, you just needed an extra challenge.

Lovely photos, and I like the double coconut crust/filling combo. This is light and tasty like angel feathers :)

Rhyleysgranny said...

Oh poor you. I don't think there is a cook alive who has not done something daft like that and then wondered why on earth they did it. The result is gorgeous. Lovely pics as always

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Your story made me chuckle, I'm picturing you baking during all sorts of haphazard conditions! Still it looks beautiful and I have to confess I do things like that all the time! :)

Muneeba said...

Oh I've had this in Seattle - they were also serving it at his other restaurant, Lola. It's friggin fantastic!!!! Can't believe you found a recipe for it, and did such a beeeeeeeeeeautiful job (even with the crust issues) of recreating it. So gonna try this.

Anonymous said...

Your posts never fail to crack me up! And your photos never fail to tempt me either :P

Ingrid_3Bs said...

LOL, I've totally messed things up trying to tidy up.

Haven't eaten lunch yet...So , you know I'd love to be digging into a slice of that.
~ingrid

Maria♥ said...

Indigo, I love your posts!! And I couldn't say no to a slice of that delish pie.

Maria
x

Julia @ Mélanger said...

Very funny. I am lucky I am usually left to my own devices when I bake. But I sure know the pain when someone tries to come into the kitchen to see what I'm doing. Particularly as they like to give some suggestions! I typically then mess up. So I feel your pain!

Jane said...

Having been the driving force behind many a similar baking dilemma or catastrophe, I can feel your pain, Indigo! The pie looks delicious despite any imperfections you may feel it contains. Sometimes the best tasting desserts are the ones we expect will be flops, but they surprise us! -- :) Jane

Poorni Pillai said...

I can just see the TV show- "Extreme baking! Can you bring it?!" And you'd win, of course :D Lovely pie!

Lucy said...

That broken crst must have been such a bummer but I love how yo you sorted it because I think your finished result looks AMAZING! So delicious I can see myself getting seriously addicted to it :)

Unknown said...

Beautifully done! I just love anyting with coconut in it. But coconut, cream AND white chocolate??? TO DIE FOR DAAAAAAAHLING! Hope you have a fab weekend. HH

Unknown said...

Hello

Where are you? I hope you are alright.

My Casa Bella said...

Your pie looks divine!!! I have to tell you, I understand the whole pie crust situation. Years ago, I was learning how to make pie with homemade crust, and I made an apple pie, wasn't sure the crust was done underneath, so I lifted the pie pan, it was a glass dish, to look underneath, well, need I say more??? The whole entire pie slid right out onto the floor of our kitchen!!! I wasn't mad nor could I cry, I just stood there and my DH did not know what to do, he just stared at me. In shock. I bent over and cleaned it up with his help. I laughed later, much, much later, but I think I scared him since I had no reaction....LOL

Anonymous said...

I have been craving coconut like crazy lately. This looks delicious!

Sorry to hear about your pie crust though - what a bummer! I hate doing things like that :P

Brisha and Poata Te'o said...

I love this post! "high speed frosting" hahaha. And the pie looks amazing!!

Jessy and her dog Winnie said...

Oh my god...that looks absolutely amazing =)

h said...

Oh man, this looks too good. Not great to see when I'm hungry! Hahaha

bakeshoppe said...

I can tell that you will be a professional at the web site! I'm starting off a webpage soon, as well as your tips can be very ideal for me. Many thanks all your support as well as hoping all of you your being successful with your business. mali gold

buy rs gold said...

Great factor you had time to beat up another one. I keep in mind generating a home made sour to a celebration, and I must of forced the braking system a little too difficult, 'cause when I came, the stuffing was all forced up against one part. When I tried to smooshGold für World of Warcraft
Gold For Runescape

Unknown said...

this recipe is very good. I’m really excited you’re sharing this food. But I want to be sure about Digestive Enzymes.

Jimy said...

nice post