Homemade chocolate coconut cream pie is made entirely from scratch with a buttery, flaky pie crust, decadent chocolate coconut cream filling and whipped cream topping- it’s one of the best cream pie recipes!
Homemade pie is my weakness. Add chocolate and I’m in troubbleeee.
I mean, I love my red wine, dark chocolate and raspberry cupcakes and sea salt & lavender chocolate chunk cookies but give me a slice of homemade pie and I really can’t say no.
I’ll admit it, I can be quite the pie snob (in the nicest way possible). I’m only about the homemade stuff (sorry my boxed crust people). I just love the taste of that homemade, buttery, flaky crust!
My chocolate coconut cream pie starts with an easy homemade pie crust.
Then, it’s filled with a decadently creamy and silky chocolate & coconut cream filling and topped with freshly whipped cream, toasted coconut and shaved chocolate pieces.
It’s got the perfect chocolate to coconut ratio. Not too much coconut and the perfect amount of chocolate deliciousness.
Have no fear! Homemade pie crust is really quite easy to make and only requires 5 ingredients.
Have faith in your girl…you too can make homemade pie dough and I promise it’s worth it. HUGE difference :).
You can make the homemade pie dough either in your stand mixer, food processor or by hand.
Easy tips for mastering the perfect homemade pie crust:
- Make sure your butter and water are COLD. This creates that flaky crust.
- Do not over process the dough! Less is more. You want the pieces to be pea-sized.
- Use a mixture of butter and shortening to get that buttery taste with flaky texture.
For a great beginner’s tutorial on making pie crust click here.
How to keep the bottom of pie crust from getting soggy:
Before I bake the pie crust, brush the bottom, sides, and edges lightly with egg wash. This will create a “coating” that will prevent your cream filling from making your pie crust sad and soggy.
We’re blind baking the pie crust which means we’re baking it before it’s filled since the filling does not get cooked in the oven.
To blind bake the pie crust:
Once the pie dough is rolled out and placed in your pie plate, be sure to freeze it for 5-10 minutes. This will relax the gluten so that the dough doesn’t puff up and keeps it shape once baking.
And because there’s no filling to keep the pie down, you’ll need to line the bottom of the pie with aluminum or parchment paper and place either pie weights or dried beans/lentils in the middle to hold it down.
Can chocolate coconut cream pie be frozen?
A fresh baked cream pie does not freeze well.
However, you can make and freeze the baked crust ahead.
The chocolate coconut cream pie filling is made the old fashioned way using:
- Granulated Sugar
- Cocoa Powder
- Egg Yolks
- Cornstarch
- Coconut Milk
- Cream
- Semisweet Chocolate
- Vanilla & Coconut Extracts
The cream filling is easy to make and much richer than using a boxed pudding mix. I add semisweet chocolate and cocoa powder for extra chocolaty taste.
To make the chocolate coconut cream filling:
- Sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and egg yolks are whisked together in one bowl. Then, the coconut milk, and cream are brought to a boil in a saucepan.
- Next, we need to temper our hot milk into our egg mixture. Tempering is important because it stops the eggs from curdling when the hot liquid is added. Tempering just means adding the hot liquid slowly and gradually into the egg mixture. I do about a splash to start, then a little more and a little more until it’s all incorporated, all while I’m whisking constantly.
- Next, you’ll want to either use a clean pot or you can just quickly wash the same pot the milk was in; this will ensure the milk residue left on the bottom doesn’t burn and leave chunks in your filling. Once you have your clean pot, you’ll add your tempered filling mixture back to the heat on low.
- Now, I use a rubber spatula to constantly stir, back and forth in every direction, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot as I do so. This will also eliminate as much lump as possible.
If for some reason you do have a lot of lumps in your filling mixture, just place it through a strainer and press with your spatula.
The last component of this chocolate coconut cream pie is the homemade whipped cream topping.
This is by far the EASIEST homemade part of the whole pie.
Simply place cold heavy whipping cream in your stand mixer with whisk attachment or in a bowl with a hand blender, add some sugar, vanilla and coconut extract and whip until stiff peaks form.
That’s it! Spread it all over your chilled pie and top with some toasted coconut and chocolate shavings…oh yeaahh.
I promise, this chocolate coconut cream pie may be some extra steps, but it’s so worth it and you can definitely taste the difference when it comes to homemade pie :).
Homemade Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie
Homemade chocolate coconut cream pie is made entirely from scratch with a buttery, flaky pie crust, decadent chocolate coconut cream filling and whipped cream topping- it’s one of the best cream pie recipes!
Ingredients
Chocolate Coconut Filling
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 ½ tbsp Cornstarch
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 13.5 oz Can Coconut Milk, divided
- ⅓ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 3 Egg Yolks
- ½ cup (3 oz.) Semisweet Chocolate Chips , (or finely chopped chocolate)
- ½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- ½ tsp Coconut Extract
- 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temp (cut into small pieces)
Pie Crust
- 2 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- ½ cup Toasted Coconut, plus more for topping
- ½ cup, 1 stick Unsalted Butter, cold and cut into 1” pieces
- ½ cup Shortening, divided into small pieces
- ¼ to ½ cup Ice water
Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1 cup Heavy Whipped Cream
- 1 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Toasted Coconut, for garnish
Instructions
Chocolate Coconut Filling:
- In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt. Whisk in ⅓ cup of the coconut milk to make a thick paste. Then add the egg yolks and whisk; set aside.
- Pour the remaining 1 ⅓ cups coconut milk with the cream into a medium-sized saucepan. Bring this mixture just to a boil (the milk will start to foam up so keep close watch!) and then remove from heat.
- Gradually pour a little bit of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Add a little more at a time and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Clean the medium saucepan, then add the filing mixture back to it once cleaned. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until the mixture thickens (about 3 - 5 minutes).
- Remove from heat and pour through the strainer to remove any lumps that may have formed during cooking (if any).
- Add the finely chopped chocolate, vanilla and coconut extracts, and butter, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap, to prevent a skin from forming, let cool, and then chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours, or overnight.
Pie Crust
- In a stand mixer or food processor place the flour, salt, sugar and toasted coconut. Mix until combined.
- Add the butter and shortening and mix for about 15 seconds, until crumbly. The butter should be pea size pieces (if using food processor, use the pulse button)
- Slowly pour ¼ cup of ice water into the dough with the mixer on low (or food processor on low). Mix just until dough starts to stick together when pinched (about 20 seconds). You do not want your dough to be in a ball. If needed, add more water.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather it into a ball. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, wrap with plastic wrap, and shape into a 5” disk.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 - 60 minutes or overnight.
- Once dough has chilled, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator and place on floured surface. Roll to a 12-13” circle and place in a 9” glass pie pan. Crimp or fold the edges to make the crust.
- Line the crust with foil or parchment paper, and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove it from the oven, and remove foil or parchment with the weights or beans. Return the crust to the oven for 10 to 20 more minutes, until it's golden brown. (If the edges of the crust start to get too brown, cover them with pieces of aluminum foil. Remove the crust from the oven and cool completely.
Assembly
- Place heavy cream in bowl of stand mixer with whisk attachment (or with hand mixer). Whisk until soft peaks form, then add sugar and vanilla and whisk until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Once pie crust has cooled completely, fill with chocolate-coconut filling. Top with whipped cream and spread evenly. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Notes
*Pie Dough can be made and kept refrigerated up to 3 days or kept in the freezer for up to 6 months.
*The pre-baked pie crust can be kept wrapped in the freezer for up to 1 month. *You can make the cream filling up to 3 days in advance. The pie will keep for 3-4 days wrapped in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Alexandra @ It's Not Complicated Recipes
Oh my goodness - the question is, how to stop at just one slice!? Delicious!
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Lol! That’s true. You have to have a lot of self control 😉