The Ultimate Coconut Cream Pie
Cream of coconut adds an extra boost of pure coconut flavor to this Coconut Cream pie. It’s unbelievably delicious and a great pie to serve to all the coconut lovers in your life. To make it even more special, serve it with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and a garnish of toasted coconut. It’s a great pie to make a day in advance, as the flavors are even better the next day!
Calling all coconut lovers, meet The Ultimate Creamy Coconut Pie. I posted this recipe three years ago but felt it was time for some updated pictures, and what better time to revisit it than now, just weeks before Easter. Cream of coconut adds SO much pure coconut flavor to this scrumptious pie, and it’s so unbelievably creamy. It’s great topped with meringue or homemade whipped cream. The younger generation seems to prefer whipped cream over meringue, therefore, that’s what you’ll see on my recipe here.
Pre-bake the pie crust
Anytime you make a cream or refrigerator pie, you need to pre-bake (also known as blind-bake) your pie shell first. Then you’ll make your favorite pie filling and fill the empty shell with it and refrigerate the pie until it’s set. You can use your own pie crust recipe or my recipe for Aunt Elsie’s Flaky Pie Crust, if you prefer. If you’ve never pre-baked an empty pie shell, I’ve got you covered here.
How to make the pie filling
- Add the sugar, milk, cream of coconut and cornstarch to a heavy sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and starts to thicken.
- Add about 1/2 of the hot mixture to some slightly beaten egg yolks in a large measuring cup and whisk the mixture vigorously. This is called tempering the eggs. This prevents the eggs from turning into cooked scrambled eggs.
- Add the tempered egg mixture back to the pan and bring the mixture back to a boil over medium heat. Cook it for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, and remove the pan from the heat.
- Add the butter and vanilla and mixed everything together.
- Then add the coconut and mix everything together, and pour it into the baked pie shell.
Enjoy a slice of this pie with a dollop of whipped cream. You can also choose to top it with meringue.
If you love coconut, check out these other delicious recipes…
Coconut Crunch Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Coconut Cream Cheese Pinwheels
Coconut White Chocolate Cheesecake
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The Ultimate Coconut Cream Pie
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Pies
- Method: Cooked
- Cuisine: American
Description
Cream of coconut adds an extra boost of pure coconut flavor to this scrumptious coconut pie.
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch deep dish pie shell baked and cooled. I used this recipe.
FILLING
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup cream of coconut
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons corn starch
- Dash of salt
- 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 4 eggs yolks lightly whisked
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon real butter
WHIPPED CREAM
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
COCONUT GARNISH
- 1/3 cup toasted coconut
Instructions
FILLING
- Slightly whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In a medium pan, combine the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Add the milk, half and half and cream of coconut and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove pan from the heat.
- Pour about half of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, while whisking constantly, to prevent the hot mixture from cooking the eggs. Continue whisking until the hot mixture and eggs are thoroughly combined.
- Pour the egg mixture back into the pan with the remaining hot mixture and return to medium heat. Bring mixture back to a bubbling boil while whisking constantly. Once the mixture has thickened and comes to a boil, remove it from the heat.
- Add the vanilla and butter and whisk until blended. Add the coconut and whisk until blended again.
- Pour the filling into a pre-baked 9″ deep dish pie shell and place a piece of plastic wrap over the filling. Refrigerate.
WHIPPED CREAM
- Pour the heavy whipping cream into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the vanilla and the powdered sugar. Using the whisk attachment, whisk the mixture on low speed until the powdered sugar is incorporated. Turn mixer to medium for a few seconds, then to high speed. Continue mixing on high speed until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
COCONUT GARNISH
- Spread the coconut out on a cookie sheet. Place on a top oven rack and turn on the broiler. Watch the coconut closely. It will suddenly start to toast and brown very quickly. DO NOT take your eyes off of it. Remove promptly as soon as some of it starts to turn golden brown. Allow the coconut to cool. Place in an airtight sandwich bag or container until ready to use. Place a dollop of whipped cream on each serving and sprinkle the coconut over it.
Notes
- Make sure you use a 9″ deep dish pie crust for this pie filling.
- Sometimes Cream of Coconut will congeal in the can. If this happens, transfer it to a small bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds until it becomes liquified again. Then measure it and proceed with the recipe.
- Prep time does not include baking the pie shell.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
Hi…what is half and half.
Hi Daisy, Half & half is half milk and half cream. You can find it with the milk and coffee creamers. It’s richer and has more butterfat than regular whole milk.
I made this pie and it’s delicious!
Can I go ahead and put my whipped cream topping on the whole pie after it cools?
I’m taking it to a friend’s tomorrow.
Hi Donna, I usually wait until the day I’m serving it if I’m piping it on. If you’re simply spooning it on, it really doesn’t matter.
Please could you tell me what’s half & half in your recipe. I don’t quite understand.
Kind regards
Julie
Hi Juli, Half & half is half cream and half milk. It can be found with the whipping cream and coffee creamers. If you don’t have it, simply use milk. It will still taste great.
I made this coconut cream pie the other night, and it was amazing! It reminded me of my grandmother’s, and was just as delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
It was delicious but it was too runny. Problem?
Hi Elizabeth, It could be 3 things…your cornstarch has gone bad, but I doubt that’s the problem. Cornstarch has an indefinite shelf life. Pay no mind to the “best if used by” date. As long as it’s kept in a cool dry place, you can keep it for a very long time. With that being said, did you use the entire amount of cornstarch called for in the recipe? It calls for 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons. If you used the correct amount, then it sounds like you didn’t cook it long enough. It should be thickened where it will coat the back of a spoon without dripping off, and it should finish setting up when it’s chilled. I hope this helps.
Can I use a meringue topping and toast it in the oven, instead of whipped cream topping?
Hi Janine, You sure can. Meringue doesn’t seem to be very popular with the younger generation but I love it. Here’s my recipe for lemon meringue pie, Lemon Meringue Pie, if you need a meringue recipe.
Is there a certain brand of cream of coconut I need to use for this recipe? Also can I just cover the entire pie in the whipped cream topping? If so when would I put the topping on the pie?
Hi Abby, It doesn’t matter what brand you use. Yes, you sure can cover the entire pie with whipped topping. I advise waiting until you’re ready to serve it.
So I have to travel with this pie would it be okay to put it on the night before? Also how long do you recommend it refrigerates? Both the pie filling and the whipped cream
The name of this pie says it all. It is truly the Ultimate Coconut Pie. The Cream of Coconut absolutely makes this Coconut Pie stand out over others I have made and others I have eaten. I made this for my Mother’s 77th birthday and wanted it to be the best Coconut pie she has ever eaten. With this recipe, it is the best she has eaten. Thank you for posting this recipe. It’s definitely a special one and absolutely delicious. I’m putting the recipe in my recipe book.
Hi Suzanne, I’m so glad you like it and I hope it was you mom’s favorite. 🙂
I made this pie today and it turned out amazing. I did use the entire can of crème of coconut because I didn’t want to waste it. I decreased the sugar a bit and added an extra tablespoon of cornstarch. It was delicious! I was a little lazy and used regular cool whip for the topping but was still wonderful! Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Tracey, I’m so glad you like it. It’s one of my all-time favorite pies! Happy baking! 🙂
I haven’t made this yet, I just shopped the ingredients and couldn’t find the cream of coconut, but found sweetened condensed coconut milk, can I use this instead?
Hi Diane, Cream of Coconut is usually with the drink mixers at my grocery store. You can use the sweetened condensed coconut milk. However, it’s probably going to lend to a sweeter pie.
It’s cream of coconut like you make mixed drinks and usually I think it has a bird on it?
Thanks
Made it for company. While tasty, it did not set. My cornstarch was new and hace used it for other recipes, and did not h ave a. Issue with its performance. Ended up scooping the contents, and
making coconut pie parfaits!
Hi Judith, I just made it and mine did not set up properly either. New cornstarch and all !
the coconut pie filling is absolutley delicious, I added a tad bit of coconut extract to it too and it had the most marevelous coconut taste. Except my filling did not set up properly.. I added all ingredients as listed and followed all instrutions. What do I need to do to correct this for next time? I used the cornstarch as listed.
Thanks
Hi Vicky, I’m sorry it didn’t set up. Once you temper the eggs, are you bringing it back to a boil, and cooking it for at least a minute until it begins to thicken before removing it from the heat? If your cornstarch is good, and you’re using the correct amount of milk and half & half, that’s the only thing I can think of. Try cooking it longer once you bring it back to a boil next time.
My cream of coconut is sweetened. Don’t think I saw in the recipe whether it said sweetened or unsweetened cream of coconut. I just want to make sure before I start the pie.
I saw where you answered a lady’s question about sweetened condensed cream of coconut and you said it might be on the sweet side. So does that pertains to my sweetened cream of coconut as well?
Thank you!
Great recipe. With all the cream pies I’ve made forget tempering! I’ve found whisking yolks with milks slowly adding sugar ( cornstarch mixed in with sugar)and whisking until all combined with no visible egg parts showing in the pan you are using and whisking on low heat makes for a smooth filling. Also once starting to bubble the heat can be increased to medium low. Continue to whisk until thick bubbles form then take off heat and add butter, vanilla. Once butter melts add coconut. Important to whisk during cooking filling.
Is canned coconut milk the same thing as cream of coconut?
Hi Kristin, No, they are different.
Could you use a Graham Cracker Pie Crust?
Hi Kathy, Yes, you certainly can.
Do you cool the pie before you put it in the refrigerator and wrapped in plastic wrap
Hi Darlene, Yes, otherwise it will sweat.
Can this filling be frozen for a week? I’m making a coconut cream cheesecake for a benefit auction and am using your filling recipe under a whipped cream topping on the cheesecake. How long will the filling be good stored in refrigerator?
Hi Patricia, You can freeze the filling and thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. Once thawed, I suggest whipping it for a couple of minutes with a mixer.