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This Classic Coconut Cream Pie Is Chock-Full of Coconut Flavor

We improved upon a retro recipe and seriously amped up the coconut.
By Published Apr. 7, 2023

Coconut cream pie is a classic retro dessert that elicits visions of glamorous dinner parties, sky-high blowouts, and Cyndi Lauper’s greatest hits. This velvety dessert consists of a sweet, crunchy crust with a silky coconut filling and a lashing of creamy topping—but what could we do to amplify the tropical flavors of this pie even more?

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The answer, of course, was to inject every one of these layers with even more coconutty goodness.

How to Amplify the Flavor of Your Coconut Cream Pie

Well, let’s start with the crust. Grinding sweetened shredded coconut together with snappy Nilla Wafers made a crisp and flavorful cookie-crumb crust that really delivered on the coconut flavor.

Next up, the all-important filling. While, naturally, any coconut cream pie will pack tropical flavor into the filling, Cook’s Country took this to the next level by folding shredded coconut directly into a milk custard, giving us just the tamed tropical taste we wanted to complement the other coconut-filled layers of the pie.

Finally, rather than opting for a classic whipped cream topping alone, our recipe has you sprinkle more of the shredded coconut over the top of the finished pie for a shaggy-chic garnish and a little extra crunch.

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The Perfect Pie

Your ultimate guide to baking beautiful, foolproof versions of the corner bakery classics and French patisserie favorites—plus a host of whimsical, modern pies and tarts of all kinds.

Coconut on coconut on coconut in this delicious dessert. Watch the video above to see how it’s made and treat yourself to this tropical delicacy!

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