Coconut Cream Soup/Pie

For my first entry I will tell the tale of a wife, eager to please her overworked husband, by creating his favorite dessert...coconut cream pie. I found the recipe in the July edition of All You magazine which is a great source for coupons and general housekeeping ideas. It was originally a double coconut cream pie, but coconut can be expensive and I had a pie crust in the freezer so I made a substitution.

Ingredients:

• One nine inch refrigerated pie crust (baked)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups sweetened coconut
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Additional coconut for toasting, garnish

1. Bake pie shell as package directs.

2. In bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, flour, and vanilla until smooth. Warm milk in pan over medium heat until nearly simmering. (I just waited for it to start steaming) Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot milk mixture to pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture begins to coat back of spoon, about 5 mins. (My first attempt I did not cook this mixture long enough so make sure it is good and thick) Remove from heat, stir in remaining two cups coconut and 2 Tbsp. butter; let stand 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Pour custard into crust. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly against surface of custard and chill completely, about 1 1/2 hours. (I didn't chill it long enough so be sure to give it time to chill and firm up, see pic)

3. Using electric mixer, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over custard, swirling decoratively. Chill another 30 mins. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. (I tried to take a short cut and use canned whipped topping and it fell flat and turned runny, aiding in the "soup effect". Definitely recommend making fresh whipped cream)

REALITY: I found this recipe challenging, especially because I had never made a custard from scratch before, and could not seem to get the correct consistency. Perhaps with more practice I could get it right. Although it did taste good and looked beautiful until I cut into it, I would NOT RECOMMEND this recipe.