COCONUT CUSTARD PIE

I really loved this Coconut Custard Pie. I have to be honest with you that my husband didn't. When I saw the recipe in Phyllis Pellman Good and Rachel Thomas Pellman's From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens cookbook, it sounded so good that I simply forgot that my husband doesn't like custard pies. He did cut himself one piece, but the rest was left for me. (It really didn't register with me that it was called "custard" and not "cream". He would have loved the latter.)

I don't have a pretty picture of the whole pie because my crust messed up. It had a "tear" in it that I thought I had patched, but my "patch" didn't hold. That meant as the pie baked, the crust broke open and the filling seeped under the crust. In that area, I had filling on the bottom, crust in the middle, and then the coconut on top. It made for a "not-so-pretty spot".

COCONUT CUSTARD PIE

2-2/3     cups milk
1/2          cup sugar
1/2          teaspoon salt
1              teaspoon vanilla
4             eggs
1/2          cup grated coconut
1              9 - inch unbaked pie shell (If it isn't a deep dish pie shell, you need to use a 10 - inch unbaked pie shell as I couldn't get all of the filling mixture in the pie.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine the milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a saucepan.

Heat to scalding. (Bubbles will just start to form.)

Beat eggs lightly in a mixing bowl.

Slowly add the scalded ingredients to the beaten eggs. (I added a tablespoon at a time initially and kept whisking the mixture as I added the scalded ingredients.)

Pour into unbaked pie shell.(As I said earlier, I had a 9 - inch pie crust, but too much filling. I poured too much in the crust and it spilled over in my oven and made a mess.)

Sprinkle coconut over the top of the filling.

Bake at 450 degrees F. for 10 minutes and then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until set. (You can see where my crust messed up. Terrible looking but there was plenty for me to eat.)

The good news for you is....the pie was a delicious coconut custard pie and since I made all the mistakes that could be made, you should be able to make it with excellent results.