This pie, you guys.
Never in my life have I thought to myself, "Dang, I could really use a slice of coconut cream pie," but this pie does it for me. I could eat the filling alone straight from a bowl (which I may or may not have done), but when you add a graham cracker crust and pile the whole thing high with whipped cream, man it's something else.
The first time I actually made coconut cream pie was when I was working at a bakery in my hometown, and I'm not even sure that I ever got to taste it at that point. A few months later I scaled the recipe down to make it for Thanksgiving and realized that - hey - I actually kinda like this coconut cream pie thing. It only took me another two years to share the recipe here, which let's be honest, is not at all surprising considering my track record.
I'd like to tell you I made this for Thanksgiving, but the truth is I made this on top of the two pies I made for Thanksgiving which means I was basically eating pie all week long and sorrynotsorry. I made this one easy by swapping out the traditional crust for a gluten-free graham style crust - just like I did with this kiwi lime pie - and I've gotta say, no regrets. The faster I can have pie sitting in my fridge, the better.
Most of you probably know that I've had to go gluten-free as of earlier this year, and one of my biggest goals with that has been to show that having a gluten-free diet or other dietary restrictions doesn't mean your food has to be boring. And it definitely doesn't mean that you have to resort to eating packaged treats in the gluten-free aisle that can be SO heavily processed. What I love about the MI-DEL crusts is that they use a short list of non-GMO ingredients I can actually recognize, AND they're free of 8 common allergens, which means I can make my baking a little easier without worrying about what I'm putting into my body. Of course you can use any graham cracker crust in this recipe, but if you're looking for something fast and simple that's not overly processed, look for their crusts at your grocery store!
PrintCoconut Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust {gluten-free}
A silky & luscious coconut cream pie made easy with a no-bake graham cracker crust.
- Prep Time: 3 hrs 10 minutes*
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: one 9" pie
Ingredients
21 ¼ ounces (2 ½ cups or 20 fluid ounces) whole milk, divided
1 ¾ ounces (6 tablespoons) arrowroot starch
4 ¾ ounces (⅔ cup) granulated sugar
heavy pinch of sea salt
4 egg yolks, whisked
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
3 ounces (1 cup) unsweetened coconut flakes
1 prepared gluten-free graham cracker crust
Whipped Cream
1 pint heavy cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon coconut extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
toasted coconut flakes, for garnish**
Instructions
In a small bowl, combine 2 ⅛ ounces (¼ cup or 2 fluid ounces) milk with arrowroot starch and whisk until smooth.
In a seperate, medium heat-safe bowl, combine the remaining 19 ⅛ ounces (2 ¼ cups or 18 fluid ounces) milk, sugar, and salt and whisk until smooth. Set over a pot of boiling water to form a double-boiler and heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture begins to foam on the surface.
While whisking, slowly pour the egg yolks into the steaming milk mixture, continuing to whisk until smooth. Repeat with the arrowroot mixture, whisking constantly.
Continue to cook custard, stirring very frequently*** and scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl as you stir. Whisk more often as the custard begins to thicken, cooking until custard holds its shape for a few seconds when whisk is lifted before settling back into the mixture.
Remove from heat and whisk in butter until fully incorporated. Whisk in vanilla extract, coconut extract, and coconut flakes.
Pour custard into pie crust, cover surface directly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until set (at least a few hours) before topping with whipped cream.
Whipped Cream
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using a bowl and handheld electric mixer, beat the cream on medium-high speed until thickened. Add the sugar, coconut extract, and vanilla extract and continue to beat to stiff peaks.
Use an offset spatula to spread onto pie, or pipe on with a piping bag. Sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes and serve.
Notes
*Prep time includes chilling time
**To toast coconut flakes, spread out on a baking sheet and cook in a 325ºF oven for 7-10 minutes, until golden-brown. Allow to cool and crisp up before using.
***You don't want to stir the mixture nonstop, but you do want to stir it about every 30 seconds or so, so don't walk away from it!
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