Crustless Coconut Custard Pie

If you're looking for a dessert that is both easy and delicious, this crustless coconut custard pie is just the ticket. It's adapted from one I found in Marion Cunningham's book Learning to Cook, which was published in 1999.

Let me introduce you to Marion Cunningham, one of the women who helped Americans cook better.  A life-long resident of California, she went from homemaker to cookbook author and columnist. She is perhaps best known for updating the iconic The Fannie Farmer Cookbook in the 1970s. 

However, first and foremost, Marion Cunningham was a teacher. She made the most clueless cook feel capable of creating a meal to feed themselves, family, and friends. Learning to Cook provides step-by-step instructions so there is no question as to how a dish should be made. Her Cooking with Children book opened the door to life-long cooking. And all of her cookbooks featured ingredients that can be found in any supermarket. 

In the introduction of Learning to Cook, she told about the experience of teaching Saturday cooking classes to beginners. “Every time we cooked, we sat down around my dining-room table and looked at the results of our lessons. Cooking in my kitchen, then enjoying each other’s company over a home-cooked meal, helped introduce (or re-introduce) these adult beginners to the social pleasures of cooking and eating together, pleasures that are often missing in busy lives. They tell me how they learned that going home at the end of the day, after busy work pressures, to a quiet time of cooking can be the best kind of therapy. That feeling is one of the best gifts that cooking at home can give us, and I hope that all of you using these recipe and sitting down to enjoy a meal with your friends, family, or even alone will find the same kind of satisfaction.” 

The ingredients for this Crustless Coconut Custard Pie are quickly whizzed together in a food processor. Serve it dusted with confectioner's sugar and toasted coconut on top, as I have here, or with some whipped cream and berries on the side. 

Yield: 6 to 8

Author: Linda Ditch

Crustless Coconut Custard Pie

This recipe was adapted from one found in Learning to Cook with Marion Cunningham. A creamy, refreshing dessert for the perfect ending to any meal.

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose white flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup unsweetened or sweetened packaged coconut, plus more for garnish
• Powdered sugar, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the milk, flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, sugar, and vanilla into a food processor and whiz for three minutes. Add the 1 cup coconut and whiz again for 3 seconds.
2. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Check to see if the pie is done by sticking a sharp knife into the center. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, bake for an additional 5 minutes and check again. You want there to be a slight wobble when you remove it from the oven. It will firm up as it cools.
3. Serve at room temperature or cold, cut into wedges. Dust with powdered sugar and sprinkle with toasted coconut if desired. Also nice served with whipped cream and/or fresh fruit.
4. To toast coconut, sprinkle 1/4 cup coconut onto a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake until toasted, about 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on it, since the coconut can burn quickly!

Created using The Recipes Generator

Burdette Mystery Series Celebrates Food and Key West—The Perfect Combo

 

Is it possible to fall in love with a place in just a few hours?

 

Absolutely!

 

That’s exactly what happened when I visited Key West while on a Carnival cruise in 2016. After shopping on Duval Street, exploring Hemmingway’s home, photographing the chickens that roam the streets, and devouring a slice of key lime pie, as well as numerous pieces of key lime fudge, I was in love with this town on the southernmost point of the continental United States.

 

When I returned home, I immediately started to read Lucy Burdette’s Key West Food Critic cozy mystery series. I was hooked, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering the main character, Hayley Snow, is a food writer. She also lives on a houseboat, which she shares with a feisty-but-loving elderly woman. I zoomed through all of the editions already in print and then waited for each new edition with great anticipation and little patience.

 

Announcement! The newest book, The Key Lime Crime, will be released on Tuesday, August 11, 2020!

 

This is the 10^th book in the series, and lucky me got an advance copy.

 

I enjoyed every page!

Set during the week between Christmas and New Year’s, when Key West, Florida explodes with tourists, Hayley is covering a key lime pie baking contest. Plus, her new mother-in-law comes for a visit—the same woman who didn’t come to the wedding a few weeks earlier. When Hayley, her elderly (and sassy) roommate, and mother-in-law discover the body of controversial new pastry chef from the contest, the trio sets out to find the murderer, which doesn’t make new husband and detective, Nathan, very happy.

One of the aspects of Burdette’s series I adore is her ability to describe Key West so clearly. It’s easy to feel like you’re right in the midst of the quirky town. She also includes real locations, restaurants, and people in her stories. With most of us feeling cooped up because of the coronavirus pandemic, reading this series is like taking a mini-vacation. In fact, I have a list of places from her books I plan to explore when I return for a longer visit.

Besides being an enjoyable read, the book also has recipes for many of the dishes mentioned in the story—thank goodness! So far, I’ve tested out the Chai Snickerdoodles, and they were tasty. The only change I would make would be to add a little vanilla to the cookie dough, which I’ll try out the next time. And yes, there will be a next time!

 

Since key lime is in the title, there are numerous references to the various pie styles found on the island, including this one from Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Shoppe I posted about after my visit. The book includes key lime martini and key lime parfait recipes, both of which are on my gotta-try list.

 

If you’re a fan of mysteries, food, unique characters, or tropical settings, then you need to read the Key West Food Critic series.

 

STAY TUNED! On Thursday, August 13, I’ll post a Q&A interview I did with Lucy Burdette about this series and the new book! Plus, over the next few weeks, I will post recipes not only from her books but from a couple of cookbooks I bought on my visit.

Mamaw’s Chocolate Meringue Pie

Inspired by my last post, I asked the blog’s Facebook followers to tell me about their favorite pies. Many of them not only said a flavor but also told a family story to go with it. It seems that pie inspires a lot of memories.

For the Spring 2016 issue of Topeka Magazine, I wrote about Easter on my maternal grandparents’ farm. I also included Mamaw’s Chocolate Meringue Pie recipe. This is what I wrote:

“Mamaw’s country dinners were always delicious, but what everyone most anticipated was the dessert. Her chocolate meringue pie made an appearance at every holiday meal. It was mandatory. The meal wasn’t officially a celebration until the pie made it to the table.

Each of the pie's components was made from scratch. The crust was brown and flaky, the chocolate filling rich and creamy, and the meringue topping light, fluffy, and golden brown. Mamaw never used a mixer to make the meringue. Instead, she put the egg whites into her deep-blue, depression glass bowl, and whisked them until light and airy with a flat metal whisk full of holes. Everyone knew the rapid ting, ting sound of metal against glass meant she was making meringue

(That's Mamaw holding me a long, long, long time ago.)

I remember Mamaw's pies being perfect, but admit that my memory may be clouded by my love and admiration. My pies never seem to turn out as perfect as hers. Still, I make them and remember her kitchen and the holiday in muted color images.”

Mamaw’s Chocolate Meringue Pie

Serves 6 to 8 people

1 9-inch pie shell, baked until golden brown

For the meringue:

3 large egg whites, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

6 tablespoons sugar

For the filling:

3/4 cup sugar

5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk

3 large egg yolks, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, place the egg whites and the cream of tartar. Turn the mixer on to medium-high and beat until the egg whites form soft peaks. Continue beating while slowing adding the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until the egg whites are glossy and form stiff peaks. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, place the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk together. Slowly whisk in the milk. Place the pan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, and then pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the remaining filling. Return to the heat and bring to just a boil. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the hot filling into the prepared pie crust. Spoon the meringue over the hot filling, making sure to spread it out so it adheres to the edge of the crust. Create swirls with the back of a spoon.

Place the pie in the oven and bake until the meringue is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least two hours before serving.