PIE #4 - COCONILLA COCONUT CREAM

It's minus twenty-two degrees as I write this next installment of my pie blog. About this time each year, I suffer a bad case of Montana brain freeze. My winter-loving friends are immune to it, my warmer clime friends are clueless about it, but they all know when I've been afflicted by it. The telltale symptoms of Montana brain freeze are: incessant whining about the cold temperatures, explosive outbursts over the hazardous road conditions, and near delirium over the lack of sunlight. Montana brain freeze victims are seized with the same intense singular thought that paralyzes those besieged with the infamous Slurpee brain freeze: "PLEASE make it go away!"

Unfortunately for me, Montana winters don't dissipate like a fleeting Slurpee brain freeze episode. But I can escape the deep snow and the biting wind by allowing my mind to drift to tropical topics: swaying palm trees, white sand beaches, juicy pineapples, fragrant plumerias, banana cream pie. Last week's Banana Cream Dream recipe whisked me right back to balmy Hawaii and right on its coattails (or rather, aloha shirttails) is this week's Coconilla Coconut Cream Pie.

With the sweet taste of banana cream success lingering on my tongue, I took some creative license with the coconut cream recipe. I opted for a Nilla wafer cookie crust and indulged the filling with the addition of Coco Lopez cream of coconut, the luscious ingredient in piña coladas, hence my hybrid recipe name of Coconilla. Interestingly, I discovered that coconilla is a perennial shrub that originated in the West Indies. The plant bears a juicy berry that is used for medicinal purposes, specifically spleen issues. Coconilla is extremely sensitive to frost and needs sunny conditions to thrive. Even partial shade will compromise its growth. Do you know of someone that might resemble that description?

While making this pie, I flashed back to 1974 and Miss Miranda's home economics class. As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, our class pie creations were less than stellar. Our coconut cream filling was tainted, in my opinion, with the intrusion of flaked coconut. I've omitted it in my version and allowed the Coco Lopez to punch up the pie with coconut flavor sans the annoying bits of flaked coconut. Miss Miranda, if you are reading this, I apologize for leaving out an ingredient, but I think you'll love my smooth, unadulterated version.

I hope you enjoy this pie as much as I have. My first bite transported me to the sunny West Indies. I polished off two slices in my tropical reverie with nary an issue with my spleen. But rest assured, a garnish of a coconilla berry would have quelled it!

COCONILLA COCONUT CREAM PIE

Crust:
40 Nilla wafers, crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted

Thoroughly blend wafer crumbs and melted butter. Press into an even layer against bottom and sides of a 9" pie plate. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Cool.

Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups half and half
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup Coco Lopez canned cream of coconut, well stirred
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter

Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium-size heavy saucepan. Whisk in the half and half, egg yolks, and cream of coconut. Cook over medium heat, continuously whisking until the mixture starts to thicken and comes to a boil, 5-7 minutes. Continue to whisk and cook until quite thick, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in extracts and butter, blending until butter is melted. Immediately pour the filling into the cooled pie crust. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly over the filling to prevent the forming of a skin. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Topping:
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted (optional)*

When you're ready to serve the pie, make the topping. Using a chilled bowl and beaters, beat the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add the confectioner's sugar and beat until stiff but not grainy. Smooth over the chilled pie. Sprinkle with toasted coconut, if desired.

*To toast coconut, spread flakes on a large baking sheet and place in a preheated 325 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Watch carefully and stir the coconut every few minutes to ensure even toasting. Remove from oven when coconut turns a golden color.