Crazy for Coconut!

My birthday was in December and I fully intended to make myself my personal favorite, Coconut Cream Pie.  I even  bought all the ingredients but when the day rolled around, I realized I was too lazy and scrapped the plans.  Luckily, my dear friend Lindsay made me two delicious pies herself!  I tell ya, having someone else make pie for me was just about the best birthday gift I could get.  She made a fabulous peanut butter and jelly pie and, to my delight, a coconut cream pie.  Now that is friendship!

Fast forward to the New Year and I still have the ingredients in my cupboard.  Might as well make that pie now.  This one is full of the namesake ingredient - I use coconut milk and plenty of shredded coconut in the filling and shower the top with a thick layer of toasted coconut as well.  If you're like me and crazy for coconut, this one won't miss!

1 9" graham cracker pie crust
1 can coconut milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
6 Tb. cornstarch
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 bag sweetened shredded coconut, divided usage
2 cups heavy cream
3 Tb. powdered sugar

For the filling, place the heavy cream, coconut milk and sugar in a small, heavy pot over medium high heat.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  While the milk is heating, whisk together the cornstarch and eggs.  When the milk has boiled, add a ladle full of it to the egg mixture and whisk well.  This will temper the eggs so they do not curdle when you add them into the hot milk.  Whisk the egg mixture back into the pot of milk and lower the heat to about medium.  Bring to a boil, whisking constantly to avoid forming lumps.  When the filling is thickened, remove from the heat and stir in half the bag of coconut and the vanilla extract.  Pour the filling into the crust and press plastic wrap directly to the surface to keep a skin from forming.  Put in the refrigerator and chill completely, about 4 to 6 hours.

Toast the rest of the coconut in the oven until golden brown.  You will need to stir it around frequently so it toasts evenly.  Watch it carefully to be sure it doesn't burn.  Let cool completely before putting on the pie.  Whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar together to stiff peaks.  Cover the top of the cooled pie with the whipped cream and toasted coconut.  Enjoy!

Just some simple ingredients.

Make a coconut custard for the filling.

Creamy and chocked fully of coconut!

When Just Chocolate Won't Do

When it came to making a pie for my friend Lindsay's birthday, my initial thought was chocolate cream.  But knowing how fabulous my friend is, and how "just chocolate" wouldn't do for such a special lady, I decided to she needed chocolate with something more.  Lindsay is a bona fide coffee junkie, so mocha seemed to make perfect sense.  And just to make the pie that much more fabulous, I added some booze too!  I think a girl has the right to go all out on her birthday.

Mocha Cream Pie
1 9" pie crust, blind baked
2 cups half & half
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tb. instant espresso powder
2 eggs
2 Tb. cornstarch
4 oz. quality semi-sweet or bittersweet  chocolate, chopped
1 Tb. butter
2 Tb. Baileys Irish Cream
2 cups heavy cream
3 Tb. sugar

In a small, heavy bottom pot, combine 1 1/2 cups of the half & half, the sugar and instant espresso.  Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup half & half, the eggs and cornstarch.  When the liquid mixture is simmering, ladle in about a cup of it into the egg and cornstarch mixture.  This will temper the eggs so that you don't add them cold into the hot liquid, thereby scrambling them.  Whisk the warmed egg mixture back into the pot and bring to a boil, whisking constantly to keep lumps from forming.  As soon as the mixture boils, remove from the heat and add the chocolate, butter and Baileys.  Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the cream is smooth.  You can strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to ensure a silky-smooth texture.  Pour the chocolate cream into the baked, cooled pie crust and smooth the top.  Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the cream to keep a skin from forming. Place in the refrigerator and let cool completely, at least 4 hours.  Whip the heavy cream and sugar together to stiff peaks.  Top the pie with the whipped cream and decorate as desired with cocoa powder or shaved chocolate.

A pie fit for a fabulous birthday girl!

Good and Evil!

Last summer I discovered a fantastic food blog called Evil Shenanigans.  I knew I struck gold because the first recipe I saw was for Peach Cream Pie!!  I don't ever remember seeing or eating peach cream pie before and when I saw the beautiful picture of peaches, custard and whipped cream I thought, "where have you been my whole life?!"  So I immediately made the pie and fell in love.  I think the tag line of the blog says it all, "Sometimes its good to be bad."

I made this pie again a few days ago with some of the last precious peaches I bought.  My partner took it to work for a coworker who is leaving the company and she happily reported that there were swoons a-plenty in response!  If you feel like becoming a hero to your friends and loved ones, or are possibly in the market for marriage proposals and/or sexual advances, make this pie and share the love.  You can find the recipe here.

Hello gorgeous!