Back in the swing of things

I am not really sure why, but I think that my recent quarter-life crisis spilled over into the kitchen. It is just a bit strange because normally, I use my kitchen as my own kind of aroma therapy - what smells better than freshly baked bread or coconut custard? Nothing.

However, fear not! with the advent of spring and the planting of my herbs and tomatoes (and some flowers), my spirits are renewed and I've been back enjoying myself in my favorite room in the house. Cookies have been flowing from the oven, new ideas have been knitting themselves together in my head, and I think that I'm ready to get my knives dirty once again.

In the next couple posts, you may notice a shift in my recipes. I'm kind of bored with baking... the problem has always been that it is easy to put baked goods out at work - but I'm not sure how it would go over to have a big pot of stew or a lasagna next to the coffee pot...... Of course since the folks that I work with already think that I'm quite mad, perhaps it will be just fine.

That said, here is the latest dessert to come out of my kitchen (in honor of Eric's birthday):

Coconut Cream Pie
This pie works equally well in a traditional crust or in a graham cracker crust. I used graham crackers because I was short on time (and patience) and in need of a crust.

Crust
You can use the store bought, pre-pressed crusts - or-
1 sleeve graham crackers, crushed
2 T sugar
6 T unsalted butter (3/4 of a stick)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Pulse the crackers and sugar in your food processor or blender until nicely ground. Transfer to a microwave safe bowl, add the butter (I cut mine into 4-6 pieces) and melt in the microwave (a minute or two will do). Stir until the crumbs are the consistency of wet sand, then press into your pie plate and bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Cool completely before filling.

Coconut Cream
1 1/2 cups toasted coconut (toast coconut on a jelly roll or other rimmed pan at 350F for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the coconut is nice and browned - keep a small handful aside for sprinkling on top)
2 1/2 cups of whole milk
1 1/2 t unflavored gelatin
6 T sugar (vanilla sugar is preferable)
3 T cornstarch
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
3 T unsalted butter
1 T vanilla extract (thank you Keely for teaching me to make my own!! SO much better!)
1/4 t kosher salt
1/2 cup coco real or coco lopez (cream of coconut)

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/2 cup of milk.

In a medium-large sauce pan, whisk together the sugar, salt and cornstarch until well blended. Slowly add the remaining 2 cups of milk, continuously whisking. Whisk in the (pre-scrambled) egg and egg yolks. Move the pan to a burner set on MEDIUM heat (hotter than that and you'll scald the mixture rather than custardize it), stir in the vanilla and butter.

As the mixture begins to thicken, add the milk/gelatin slurry. Bring the custard to a SLOW boil, stirring constantly. It should be thickening nicely now. Remove from heat, still stirring.

Transfer the custard to a large bowl and stir in the coco lopez and toasted coconut. Cover with plastic wrap - you want the plastic to be touching the custard while it cools to avoid skin formation. Cool in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.

Beat the heavy whipping cream until soft, persistent peaks form. Fold into the cooled custard. Transfer the mixture to your cooled, pre-baked crust (either graham or conventional).

Topping
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 T sugar (i find that granulated, vanilla sugar works best - but mom swears by powdered)

Whip the cream and sugar until firm peaks form. Top the pie with whipped cream and sprinkle the reserved toasted coconut on top.

Refrigerate until serving. Enjoy!