Joe Licata’s Best-Ever Coconut Cream Pie
“Joe is my brother-in-law and a connoisseur of New Jersey diner desserts. He says that this is the best he’s ever had and I believe him.” –The Old Farmer’s Almanac Everyday Baking Cookbook

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For Crust:
Instructions
The Almond Crumb Crust goes great with this filling. Prepare and prebake the crust as directed. Set aside.
For Filling:
Ingredients
Instructions
Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium-size heavy saucepan, preferably nonstick. Whisk in the milk and yolks. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking until the mixture thickens and starts to boil—about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, one piece at a time. Whisk in the vanilla, coconut extract, and coconut.
Pour the filling into the pie shell and smooth the top with a spoon. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the filling and smooth with your fingers to remove any air gaps. (The plastic keeps a “skin” from forming.) Transfer the pie to a rack and cool thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight.
For Topping:
Ingredients
Instructions
Put the coconut into a skillet over moderate heat and toast, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Immediately transfer to a plate.
About 10 minutes before you plan to serve the pie, chill a bowl and your electric mixer’s beaters for 5 minutes. Beat the cream until it holds soft peaks, then beat in the confectioners’ sugar. Add the vanilla and beat until the cream is stiff but not grainy.
Spread the cream over the pie and sprinkle with toasted coconut.
Reader Comments
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Your coconut cream pie
I made this for our church polish festival baked goods/dessert table.i used a 17x27 pan (took 3 batches) it did not last long. I ended up making the bottom graham cracker type. Everyone fell in love with it.
Its sweet, creamy and beautiful with the swirls of whip cream and toasted coconut. It IS the best ever pie. Thank you so much. They want me to make more for this year. See what you started? LOL.
Thanks again
JOE LICATA’S BEST-EVER COCONUT CREAM PIE
Good Evening and Happy Easter.
Thank you very much for presenting this delicious recipe and for the other recipes too.
All the best and good luck.
God bless you and my blessings to.
Uma
My mom made the best tasting
My mom made the best tasting coconut creme pie and I have to say, this is just like her pie. Thank you so much for this recipe. I have never made one until now. Thumbs up!
Thank you for the delicious
Thank you for the delicious recipies. Converted zucchini bread to Apple bread with very good results. Made your Vermont butternut squash soup yesterday, most delicious first one I ever made and will make it often.
is it 3 &1/2 tablespoons of
is it 3 &1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch or 3 1/2 tablespoons? thank you
It is three and a half
It is three and a half tablespoons of cornstarch. When a text format does not allow us to stack fractions (it appears the program here is sometimes stacking, sometimes not), we show this with a hyphen between the number and fraction. We apologize for the confusion!
Bake
Bake??
Bake what at what temperature and how long?
Joe Licata’s Best-Ever Coconut Cream Pie
It should have said Chill instead of Bake
The recipe was put into the
The recipe was put into the database incorrectly and should not have been labeled bake. The directions are correct as written.
I can eat Coconut Cream Pie 8
I can eat Coconut Cream Pie 8 days A Week. ;)
This is my ultimate favorite
This is my ultimate favorite pie. I'll definitely be trying this one and putting in my recipe box. Thanks so much! :o)
I love coconut cream pie, and
I love coconut cream pie, and this one looks delicious! I was wondering where to find the recipe for the crust that's mentioned: "I recommend using the Almond Crumb Crust. Prepare and prebake the crust as directed." Thanks for sharing.
GO TO HOME AT TOP OF
GO TO HOME AT TOP OF PAGE.
THEN CLICK ON RECIPES.
TYPE IN ALMOND CRUMB CRUST.
THERE ARE TWO RECIPES. I READ THE FIRST ONE AND THAT LOOKS GOOD.
Thanks! We added a link to
Thanks! We added a link to the Almond Crumb Crust recipe above. It is:
www.almanac.com/recipe/almond-...
Enjoy! The OFA Staff