Old Fashioned Coconut Custard Pie

* Exported from MasterCook *

OLD FASHIONED COCONUT CUSTARD PIE

Recipe By : BAKERS' DOZEN (NICK MALGIERI) SHOW #BD1A18
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Sweet Dough -- for a 1 crust pie,
above
Filling:
1 large , fresh coconut, about 1 1/2 pounds
2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
Tiny pinch freshly grated nutmeg
One 9 inch Pyrex pie pan

Prepare and chill the dough.
Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Use a large nail or an ice pick to puncture one of the three eyes on the
coconut (only one can be
punctured so you will need to try each until you find it). Drain the coconut
milk out over a bowl. Strain
it to remove any flecks of shell and reserve it.
Place the coconut on the oven rack and bake it until it cracks, about 10 to
15 minutes.
Remove the coconut from the oven and let it cool slightly. Remove shell (it
will come away easily),
then cut the coconut meat into 8 or 10 pieces. With a vegetable peeler,
remove brown skin. Coarsely
grate 1 cup coconut, either by hand or in the food processor, and reserve it
for the filling. Process the
remaining coconut until it is very fine.
In a large saucepan over low heat, scald the milk until there are bubbles
around the edges. Add the
finely processed coconut. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool
completely. Pour it
through a fine strainer into a bowl; press coconut to extract as much
moisture as possible.
In 3 or 4 batches, place coconut in the corner of a clean dish towel and
wring out over bowl to extract
all remaining liquid. (If you wish, you can toast the wrungout coconut,
though it will have very little
flavor remaining after soaking in the milk.) Measure the coco nut flavored
milk and add more milk, if
necessary, to make 2 cups. (This may be done earlier in the day or even the
day before and set
aside tightly covered in the refrigerator.) Pour into a bowl and whisk in
sugar, eggs, vanilla and
nutmeg and the reserved coconut milk. Stir in the reserved coarsely grated
coconut.
Set a rack in the lowest level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Roll
out the dough for the
bottom crust and arrange in pan.
Pour filling into pie crust. Bake the pie for about 45 minutes, until the
crust is baked through and the
filling is set, but not over-cooked. After the pie has baked for 30 minutes,
check it frequently so it
does not over-cook. Once the pie is wobbly textured when the pan is gently
shaken, remove it from
the oven; it will continue to cook for a few minutes longer after it is
removed from the oven. If the pie
is over baked, it will be heavy and watery. Cool the pie on a rack.
OLD FASHIONED CUSTARD PIE:
Omit coconut. Add 1/2 cup heavy or light cream to the milk. Mix sugar with 1
teaspoon cornstarch
before adding to milk. Bake as above.
Yield: one 9-inch pie


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