Cooking for pleasure: Gluten-free coconut cream pie

For the past couple of months, every time I open my cupboard door I’ve been confronted with a large bag of unopened almond flour, an impulse purchase from Amazon. I’ve been looking at a lot of recipes to use it up and decided to make this pie, which has an almond flour crust.

For those of you who have “pie crust baking trauma,” this is the recipe for you. No nerve-wracking mixing or rolling pin needed. The crust ingredients are just mixed together and pressed into the pie pan with your fingers.

The last time I made coconut cream pie, I discovered that using coconut milk really added depth to the flavor of the filling. I highly recommend it and no longer make it any other way.

The almond crust really complements the filling. This pie makes a great company dessert, and if you have guests on a gluten-free diet, you will make them very happy. Don’t tell them about the calories, though. Too much information. I won’t tell you either.

INGREDIENTS

For the pie crust:

2 ½ cups of almond flour

¼ cup melted butter

1 whole egg

1 tablespoon of maple syrup

¼ teaspoon of salt

For the coconut cream filling:

1 can of coconut milk (usually available in the Asian food section of your grocery store)

1/4 cup of cornstarch

1 ½ cups of half and half

¾ cup of sugar

4 egg yolks

1 ½ cups sweetened coconut flakes

1 tsp vanilla

3 tablespoons of butter

¼ teaspoon salt

For the topping:

½ cup (or more) sweetened coconut flakes

1½ cups of heavy cream

¼ cup of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

PREPARATION

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2- Make the crust

Mix all crust ingredients together either by hand or in a food processor. Carefully press the mixture into a pie plate with your fingers. Smooth it out with the back of a large metal spoon. Prick it all over with a fork. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges have become light brown and the pastry is set. Remove from oven and let cool while you are making the pie filling.

3- Make the filling

Mix the five filling ingredients together. Place mixture in a heavy duty saucepan at low heat. Using a wire whisk, stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. This can take up to 15 minutes so be very patient. It is important to keep whisking so that the mixture doesn’t get scorched on the bottom. Once the mixture begins to boil, continue to whisk briskly for about a minute. It should be very thick. Remove from heat and add remaining filling ingredients. Stir briskly. Pour mixture over baked pie crust. Cover closely with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight.

4- Make the topping

The next day, place ½ cup (or more) of sweetened coconut flakes onto a cookie sheet. Bake until they are lightly toasted. (Watch carefully.) Remove to a plate. While the toasted coconut cools, beat 1½ cups of heavy cream with ¼ cup of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Taste for sweetness, adding more powdered sugar if you like. Scoop onto top of pie. Sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes. Serve immediately.

This article originally appeared in the March 2 edition of the Juneau Independent. Patty Schied is a longtime Juneau resident who studied at the Cordon Bleu in London and has written a cookbook. Cooking For Pleasure appears every other week in the Juneau Independent’s features. She welcomes questions about her column at patschied@yahoo.com.