Perfect Coconut Cream Pie with Toasted Meringue
A rich and creamy coconut custard pie with a flaky crust, topped with a golden toasted meringue. This easy homemade recipe combines simple ingredients for a nostalgic and impressive dessert.
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes plus chilling time
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional)
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 3–4 tablespoons ice-cold water
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (30g) cornstarch
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (135g) sweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg whites
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the crust: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and sugar. Add cold cubed butter and work into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized bits. Slowly add ice water, mixing until dough just comes together. Form into disk, wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll out and bake crust: Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Roll dough to 12-inch diameter on floured surface. Transfer to pie dish, trim edges, prick bottom with fork. Line with parchment and fill with pie weights. Bake 15 minutes, remove weights and parchment, bake another 5-7 minutes until golden. Cool completely.
- Make coconut custard filling: In saucepan, combine milk, cream, shredded coconut, and salt. Simmer gently. In bowl, whisk sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks. Temper eggs by slowly whisking in ½ cup hot milk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking until thick and boiling (3-5 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Strain if desired. Pour into cooled crust, cover surface with plastic wrap, chill at least 2 hours.
- Prepare toasted meringue: Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add sugar, increase speed to high, beat until stiff glossy peaks form (5-7 minutes). Beat in vanilla. Spread meringue over chilled custard, sealing edges to crust.
- Toast meringue: Use kitchen torch to brown evenly until golden and crisp. Or broil in oven 1-3 minutes on top rack 4-5 inches from heat, watching closely to avoid burning. Cool 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
If no kitchen torch, use oven broiler but watch closely to avoid burning. Chill crust thoroughly to prevent shrinking. Temper eggs carefully to avoid scrambling. Use room temperature eggs for best meringue volume. Seal meringue edges to crust to prevent weeping. Toast meringue evenly and patiently.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/8 of pie)
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 20
- Fat: 22
- Carbohydrates: 33
- Protein: 4
Keywords: coconut cream pie, toasted meringue, homemade pie, coconut custard, easy dessert, flaky crust, coconut dessert