Old Fashioned Coconut Custard Pie Recipe - A Coconut Lover's Dream! (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between coconut cream and coconut custard pie? ›

The difference between coconut cream pie and coconut custard pie comes down to how the filling is prepared. Coconut cream pie filling is prepared on the stovetop and poured into a fully baked crust. The pie is then chilled for several hours to allow the filling to set. Coconut custard pie is cooked in the oven.

Undercooked Filling: If the cornstarch-thickened filling hasn't been cooked long enough to reach a boil and then simmered for a few minutes, it may not set properly, leading to weeping as it cools.

Fruit pies are best stored at room temperature and eaten within 2 days of purchase. However, they can also be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Custard pies (ex. Sweet Potato Coconut, Cardamom Tahini Squash, or Apple Butter Custard) are best eaten within 2 days of purchase if stored at room temperature.

The thickened mixture here is heated milk and cornstarch cooked until thickened for a cream pie filling or pudding. The starch grains in the cornstarch thicken the mixture by absorbing the milk.

Similar name aside, cream of coconut is a totally different product than coconut cream, which is simply coconut milk with a higher proportion of coconut solids to produce a high-fat, whippable substance—but without any sugar.

Why does my egg custard pie taste like scrambled eggs? Overbaked custard can lead to an eggy flavor and rubbery consistency. Make sure to bake the custard pie until slightly jiggly in the center.

Custards firm up as they cool, so if you're after perfectly clean, sharp slices, your pie needs to be fully set—and the only way to accomplish this is with an overnight rest in the fridge. Cover the pie with plastic wrap or foil, chill overnight, and bring to room temperature before serving.

In order for a successful gelling of a starch in the recipe, the enzyme has to be killed by cooking the custard almost to boiling (a little less than 212 degrees F). Otherwise the left-over enzymes digest all of the nice firm starch gel and your custard is nothing but liquid.

Should custard pie be refrigerated? ›

If a pie contains eggs or dairy products, it should be stored in the refrigerator and not left out at room temperature for more than two hours. Pies that do not contain dairy products, such as fruit pies can be stored, loosely covered at room temperature for up to two days.

Pies with dairy and egg that fall in the cream pie category, such as our Coconut Cream Pie or a chocolate mousse pie, should always be refrigerated, according to Stephens and Wickenden.

Generally, you can freeze any kind of fruit or custard pie that gets baked in an oven and doesn't have any other accompaniments (like whipped cream or meringue).

According to the USDA, any pie that is egg-rich (such as pecan, pumpkin, lemon meringue, and any custard pie) must be kept in the fridge after baking and cooling. The exception here is some store-bought pies, which may contain preservatives that will allow the pies to be left unrefrigerated.

In North America, "custard pie" commonly refers to a plain mixture of milk, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and sometimes nutmeg combined with a pie crust. It is distinctly different from a cream pie, which contains cooked custard poured into a cooled, precooked crust.

Cream of Coconut vs Coconut Cream

The biggest difference between cream of coconut and coconut cream is that cream of coconut is much sweeter. Outside of taste, coconut cream is also a much thinner texture than cream of coconut.

Coconut cream can be used as a substitute for coconut milk if it is diluted with additional water. Use coconut cream in desserts that require thick cream, or as a dairy-free substitute for heavy cream and ice cream.

Coconut cream is the same thing as coconut milk—coconut meat blended with water—but it contains less water. While coconut milk is thin like cow's milk, coconut cream is thick like whipped cream. You can find this fat-rich cream floating on the top of any canned coconut milk, or you can buy it in a dedicated can.