Life is so funny today is Suzzie’s Birthday and she is celebrating it in #Heaven today with my parents. I went checked out the #Holidays today and May 8th is National Coconut Cream Pie Day #CoconutCreamPieDay
Coconut Pie with Meringue was one of my mom’s favorite desserts. Not only do we get to celebrate Suzzie today but David can have one of my moms favorite #desserts which Charlie and I will pass on. Although if we was going to make a #Homemade Coconut Pie you might find me sneaking the #Coconut which I love and makes a great snack. Doesn’t it?
Join me today and let’s celebrate both Suzzane and my mom along with National Coconut Cream Pie Day, not only today but ever year on May 8th. Which is devoted to the ultimate Custard-and-Cream concoction.
On National Coconut Cream Pie Day, people contemplate the sheer deliciousness of the Coconut Cream Pie and, of course, help ourselves to a slice. May 8th is the beginning of warmer weather and longer days filled with languid hours that are perfectly punctuated by a piece of this cool, creamy Pie. Summer is here finally. Thank the LORD.
The basic ingredients for Coconut Cream Pie are a Custard made of Coconut Milk, Sugar, Egg Yolks, Cornstarch, and Butter, topped with a pile of fluffy Whipped Cream and toasted Coconut shavings. But it always ends up as more than the sum of its parts. No, Whipped Cream for my mom she wants Meringue. What about you? Coconut Cream Pie is well-nigh magical, and that’s why Coconut Pie gets its own day in our calendar.
Even in-depth research doesn’t reveal the exact date of the first recognition of National Coconut Cream Pie Day, but the Pie itself has been around a long while. Back in the 19th Century, with advances in importing and exporting perishable goods,
Americans and Europeans fell in love with Tropical Fruits like Bananas and Pineapples. Coconuts were ‘on the radar,’ but they were prone to go bad on long overland voyages and tended to be objects of confusion once in a person’s kitchen, for lack of recipe ideas.
The shipping problem was solved by a French export company in what is now modern-day Sri Lanka when their experts began to shred and dry Coconut Meat. This made the food much more accessible to American- and European Chefs and Cooks. The Coconut’s popularity increased worldwide.
Its status as a ‘regular’ Pie ingredient was cemented in 1895 when a Philadelphia miller received a shipment of Coconuts as repayment for a debt from a client in Cuba. The miller set up a factory process for drying the Coconut Meat, began to distribute it, and became the catalyst for Coconut-related recipes being printed in Cookbooks and becoming universally popular. No one is sure who made the first Coconut Cream Pie, but by the early 20th Century, you could find them anywhere.
National Coconut Cream Pie Day Activities
- Having a slice (or two) of Coconut Pie is a no-brainer for every food-related holiday. And they vary in the level of difficulty of laying your hands and your fork on the food in question. But we’ll tell you unequivocally, Coconut Cream Pie is among the most worthy of going out of your way to get it.
- Have a go at baking a Coconut Cream Pie especially if you’re timing it to be ready at a certain hour, Coconut Pie requires quite a delicate balance in preparation, considering that the Crust, the Custard, and the Cream are all prepared separately, cooled, and then combined. But, once again, it’s a labor of love and it results if all goes well in one of the best sweet treats we know.
- Follow the hashtag #CoconutCreamPieDay to find a host of recipes, histories, and conversations about this delectable treat. You could even do a Zoom dessert party, with each participant nibbling on camera and chewing around a happy smile.
FACTS ABOUT COCONUTS:
- Coconut Meat contains a concentration of cytokinins, a group of hormones that boosts plant development and helps plants fight pathogens.
- The Coconut is not technically a Nut, nor even a Fruit it’s a seed!
- During shortages of plasma, Coconut Water has traditionally been used in its place in IV transfusions.
- ”Portuguese Sailors originally attached the word “Coco” to the Seed, believing that the three indentations on its shell made it resemble the face of a mythical goblin of that name.
- Did you know falling Coconuts kill about 150 people worldwide each year twice the number of deaths by Shark attacks.
Why People Love National Coconut Cream Pie Day
People have found that a given individual either has a sweet tooth or does not. There are those that would rather have seconds of the dinner dish than indulge in dessert. But for those of us that love sweetness, the Coconut Cream Pie has no equal.
Baking is an art just ask anyone who’s ever tried to make a Souffle. Any baking endeavor requires the ability to multitask, a perfect sense of timing, and a Chef’s preternatural ability to ‘know’ when their dish is ready to perfection. As you snack on your Coconut Cream Pie, give a nod to the one who baked it.
If you haven’t ever had the chance to visit a Tropical Beach with its Palm Trees swaying in the Ocean breeze, fantasizing about it while enjoying a slice of Coconut Cream Pie is the next best thing.
Here’s an interesting fact: all Coconut Trees are Palm Trees, but not all Palm Trees are Coconut Trees. Isn’t that crazy?
Recipe: Coconut Pie
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Additional Time: 4 hrs Total Time: 4 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 8 Yield:1 (9-inch) pie
Ingredients
Original recipe yields 8 servings
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 3 cups half-and-half
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (9-inch) prepared pie shell, baked
- 1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
Directions
- Gather all ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread coconut on a baking sheet.
- Bake coconut in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
- Combine half-and-half, sugar, flour, eggs, and salt in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 15 minutes.
- Remove the pan from heat and stir in 3/4 cup toasted coconut and vanilla; reserve remaining toasted coconut for garnishing the pie.
- Pour custard into pie shell and chill until firm, about 4 hours.
- Top with whipped topping and reserved toasted coconut.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
