The mister and I are not real thhh-eee-a-ter people, we don't buy season tickets or know every word to Wicked and we don't wear brooches or ascots to matinees or have any clue as to who or what is touring when...but every now and then we go to a play and we laugh and have a great time and spend our ride home asking ourselves why we don't go more often. That was the case Saturday.
We strolled around Seattle, in and out of shops, picking up a few necessary items along the way. We had lunch at The Dahlia Lounge and I practically licked my plate clean - it was rather embarrassing, but I was there to eat, after all! The mister, not so much...he spent most of our lunch telling me how great his food was on his American Airlines flight last week. Not even kidding a smidgen. He LOVED the Italian chicken and did he think I could get their recipe and make it for him?!? Godfrey...it'll be a cold day in Perth when I stoop to trying to duplicate airline food!! We skipped ordering dessert so we could walk next door to the Dahlia Bakery and buy mini-coconut cream pie bites to eat as we walked to the theater. We each had two tiny bites of pie. So good. Wished for more. Really wished for more! Spamalot was worth every penny! We had ourselves a rip-roarin' good time. And then, not once, but twice, yes two times as we drove home the mister brought up his airplane food...rubber chicken that was edible at 35,000 feet, as if! Now let me ask you, when was the last time you had anything decent to eat on an airplane?!? Like the 12th of Never!? Really, how good could it have been?!? To put myself out of my misery, I made Coconut Cream Pie from the Dahlia Lounge, at approximately 700 feet above sea level. It was, in a word, outtathisworld.
Finding the recipe for the Dahlia Lounge's Coconut Cream Pie was not hard, I just opened Tom Douglas' The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook, and followed along. (I'm a huge Tom Douglas fan - I think he has about 10 restaurants in Seattle, they are all my favs, and if you haven't treated yourself to his food, rectify that immediately!) IF you decide to make this pie - and I really hope you do - then you need to know you have to start early in the day if you want to serve it the same night - or start the day before - you don't want to rush this, it's worth taking your time.
The crust tastes like a shortbread coconut cookie - rich and buttery. The filling has shredded coconut, coconut milk, eggs and butter...say it with me: my-oh-my-it-will-go-straight-to-my-thighs! It's rich, decadent, and simply one of the best coconut cream fillings I've ever had the pleasure of eating! (I made two pies - one for us, one for a friend - it's always good to share! This recipe doubles perfectly.) Makes my heart skip a beat just thinking about it...perhaps it skips a beat due to plaque...I should probably have that looked at.
This pie sets up so nicely and cuts cleanly - no runny bizness whatsoever. It's worth 5 dangs on the Dang Meter - ring them loud and clear - this one is dang, dang, dang, dang, dang good!!
Coconut Cream Pie - Adapted From The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook by Tom Douglas
For the Coconut Pastry Dough:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, plus extra for rolling dough
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup ice-cold water, or more as needed
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine flour, coconut, diced butter, sugar and salt and pulse to form coarse crumbs. Gradually add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing each time. Use only as much water as needed for the dough to hold together when pressed gently between your fingers (don’t work dough with your hands, just test to see if it is holding). The dough will not form a ball or even clump together in the processor, it will be quite loose.
Place a large sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and dump the coconut dough onto it. Pull plastic wrap around dough, forcing it into a rough flattened round with the pressure of the plastic wrap. Refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes before rolling.
When ready to roll dough, unwrap round of coconut dough and place it on a lightly floured board. Flour rolling pin and your hands. Roll out dough in a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Occasionally lift dough with a bench knife or scraper to check that it is not sticking, and add more flour if it seems like it’s about to stick. Trim to a 12- to 13-inch round. Transfer rolled dough to a 9-inch pie pan. Ease dough loosely and gently into pan. You don’t want to stretch dough at his point, because it will shrink when it is baked.
Trim any excess dough to 1- to 11/2-inch overhang. Turn dough under along rim of pie pan and use your fingers and thumb to flute the edge. Refrigerate unbaked pie shell for at least 1 hour before baking (this prevents the dough from shrinking in the oven).
When ready to bake pie crust, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a piece of parchment in pie shell, with sides overhanging the pan, and fill with dried beans (this prevents the bottom of the shell from puffing up during baking). Bake pie crust for 20 to 25 minutes, or until pastry rim is golden. Remove pie pan from oven. Remove paper and beans and return pie crust to oven. Bake for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, or until bottom of crust has golden brown patches. Remove from oven and allow pie shell to cool completely.
For the Cream Pie Filling:
1 cup milk
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk, stirred
2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
2 eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
For garnish:
2 oz. shredded coconut, toasted
Chunk of white chocolate (4 to 6 oz., to make 2 oz. of curls), optional
For whipped cream topping:
2 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To prepare coconut pastry cream: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk, coconut milk and shredded coconut. Using a paring knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean and add both scrapings and pod to milk mixture. Stir occasionally until mixture almost comes to a boil. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and flour until well combined. Temper eggs by pouring a small amount (about 1/3 cup) of scalded milk into egg mixture while whisking. Then add warmed egg mixture to saucepan of milk and coconut. Whisk over medium-high heat until pastry cream thickens and begins to bubble. Keep whisking until mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove saucepan from heat. Add butter and whisk until it melts. Remove and discard vanilla pod.
Transfer pastry cream to a bowl and place it over another bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until pastry cream is cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of pastry cream (to prevent a skin from forming) and refrigerate until completely cold. The pastry cream will thicken as it cools. When pastry cream is cold, fill pastry shell, smoothing the surface with a rubber spatula.
To prepare garnish: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread shredded coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes, watching carefully (coconut burns easily) and stirring once or twice until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
To prepare whipped cream topping: In an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip heavy cream with sugar and vanilla extract to peaks that are firm enough to hold their shape. Spread whipped cream over top of pie. Sprinkle toasted coconut over top of pie. Use a vegetable peeler to scrape about 2 ounces of white chocolate curls on top of the pie (or you can cut pie into wedges, place wedges on plates and garnish each wedge individually with toasted coconut and white chocolate curls) and serve. Makes one 9-inch pie. Serves 6 to 8.
