Easy Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie

Old-fashioned coconut cream pie made with a sourdough discard pie crust is delicious and can be made with just a few staple ingredients!

I titled this recipe old-fashioned coconut cream pie because it’s made with staple ingredients that can be found in abundance on any homestead or in any from-scratch kitchen. Nothing fancy or pre-packaged here, just ingredients.

I’ve been making this pie for a few years now, and it’s always a hit. I made it this week to photograph for the blog, and my husband’s uncle joined us for dessert after dinner. He later told my husband that the coconut cream pie from the best restaurant in town didn’t hold a candle to the mine. I think the fresh ingredients & sourdough pie crust have something to do with that!

If you have access to raw dairy, I would highly recommend using it in this recipe! That’s what gives my pie and whipped topping such a rich, golden color. Raw dairy simply can’t be matched in flavor as well as nutrition. All of the ingredients I use in this pie are very high quality and nourishing – so I consider it a health food, lolz.

Ingredients

• 9″ pie crust, blind baked (I use this recipe for sourdough discard pie crust)

coconut Custard filling

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 t salt
• 5 cups whole milk (use raw if you have it)
• 6 egg yolks (true free-range eggs with orange yolks make for a very pretty, rich custard!)
• 1 t vanilla
• 4 T butter
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Topping

• 1 quart (4 cups) heavy cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 t vanilla
• toasted coconut

Sourcing Ingredients

I use Central Milling’s Artisan Bakers Craft Unbleached White Wheat Flour for almost everything. I order this in 50lb bags from Azure Standard.

We get all of our salt from Redmond Real Salt (click this link for 15% off). Salt is yet another item I purchase in bulk. I’ve gotten the 10lb buckets and the 25lb bag of fine sea salt from Redmond in the past. Since we go through so much salt in cheesemaking, preserving, canning, cooking from scratch, making seasoning blends, etc. – the 25lb bag is the most practical for me.

Azure Standard does have organic cane sugar, but I have found the best deal to be at ALDI. I stock up on organic sugars from there periodically. Cane sugar can be stored for a very long time so it’s a great prep item.

All of the dairy in this recipe – milk, cream, and butter – comes from our Jersey cows. Have I talked you into using raw dairy yet? Ask on Facebook if anyone local would consider selling some, it’s such a treat!

We have 30-40 laying hens that have full free range of the farm, so our eggs come from them.

I get my unsweetened coconut flakes/chipped coconut from Azure Standard.

Step-by-step Instructions

This is a no-bake pie, aside from the pie crust which needs to be blind-baked in advance. Start by making the pie crust. Then, prepare the dough in advance so it has time to chill in the fridge. Find my sourdough discard pie crust recipe here.

Once the dough has chilled, prepare it to be blind-baked. Roll it out, lay it in a greased and floured pie dish, and crimp or shape the edges.

Then, cut a large piece of parchment paper and crinkle it up into a tight ball so it’s easier to shape. Line your pie crust with parchment paper, and then use pie weights or dry beans to hold it in place. This prevents the dough from losing its shape and melting down into the dish.

Blind-bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Allow the crust to cool for at least 15 minutes prior to lifting the parchment paper out. If you use beans for blind-baking, as I do, save them! I’ve been using my same “pie beans” for years.

Make The Custard

While the pie crust is blind-baking and cooling, make the coconut custard filling. This is a very quick and simple recipe, it won’t take you long. I actually make a huge batch of this vanilla custard base weekly since we have so much milk and eggs. We use it in parfaits, eat it plain, add chocolate, and make pies galore! Check out my weekly custard-making session where I made my old-fashioned coconut cream pie in this video.

Pour the coconut cream custard into the cooled pie shell & refrigerate for at least 6 hours to allow the custard to set.

Next, make the whipped cream & spread it over top of the pie.

Lastly, top with toasted coconut, cut, & serve right away or refrigerate. This pie will keep for 4+ days in the fridge.