I love Easter. I love freesias and mini daffodils and ranunculus. I love Easter eggs and Easter dresses and Easter foods. Especially brunch foods like honey baked ham and cheesy au gratin potatoes and asparagus with lemony hollandaise sauce. And I love my mom’s coconut cream pie.
From the moment I met him, James claimed to hate shredded coconut. He had this great comedic bit where he spit and spat when he detected shredded coconut and claimed it tasted like plastic Easter basket grass. It was also his basis for a lifelong boycott of Mounds and Almond Joy.
This year we spent a beautiful Easter in Los Osos with all the Fucillos and Tasseys. The weather was perfect. There has never been more perfect weather in the history of Los Osos Easters. We ate a big breakfast and had four Easter egg hunts. I don’t know who hid the first hunt but clearly they didn’t notice Jack is no longer two. It was over in three minutes as they raced around and picked eggs up off the open pavement. Round two was harder, but the Littles aced it. Then the grown-ups hid the eggs for the Bigs. They loved it. Then the Bigs hid eggs for the grown-ups. It was so hard… it took us forever. Nonna and Trisha were the star hunters. At some point I gave up. We never could find the last egg. We left it for next year, when it’s nice and moldy. Every good hunt needs a disgusting leftover from the year prior.
When we got home I made my mom’s coconut cream– but I like to make it as a parfait rather than a pie. I would have made it for Easter brunch, but I’d brought two kinds of tiramisoup the night before and was too tired to make a third dessert.
I opted for coconut flakes, rather than shredded coconut, thinking this might cut down on the James-inspired Easter basket grass feedback. After dinner, I serve it up to the boys and it’s as good as always.
I ask Jacob if he likes it and he says it’s “bussin'”– that means really good in Middle Schooler– but, “it would have been better with less of the stuff on top.” He’s talking about the toasted coconut. I’m not sure exactly how he described it…. All I can hear is his dad spitting like Porky Pig and wiping his tongue with a paper napkin to rid himself of plastic Easter grass in his dessert.
Like father, like son.
Sweetie’s Coconut Cream Chiffon Pie
This recipe comes from my maternal grandmother, Sweetie. The commentary comes from Grandma Suzy.
- ¾ c. shredded coconut
- 1 T. (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin
- ¼ c. cold water
- 3 eggs, separated
- ½ c. sugar
- ¼ t. salt
- 1 t. vanilla
- 1 c. scalded milk
- 1 c. whipping cream
- 1 T. powdered sugar
- ¼ t. vanilla
- 1 baked pie crust—good made w/ 1 T. added sesame seeds
Sprinkle gelatin in the cold water (use a mug) & set aside. Combine egg yolks, sugar, salt & vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the hot milk & cook over medium-low (maybe medium) heat in a saucepan until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Add gelatin to the hot mixture & stir until dissolved. Chill until syrupy. (I use the freezer & stir about every 5 min.) This is actually a thin vanilla pudding you have created.
In a 425-degree oven, toast ¼ c. of the coconut in a pie pan, stirring with a fork & shaking every 2 minutes. Watch—it can burn quickly!
Whip cream, adding 1 T. powdered sugar and the ¼ t. vanilla near the end. Whip egg whites, using cream of tartar, if you have it (amount is shown on the container).
To the chilled vanilla pudding mixture, stir in ½ c. untoasted coconut & fold in whipped cream & egg whites, using a spatula. Pour into the pie shell. Top with the ¼ c. toasted coconut. Cover with plastic wrap and chill—BEST IF CHILLED 24 HOURS BEFORE SERVING TO DEVELOP THE FLAVOR.
(If your vanilla pudding gets too thick, just let it warm up a bit & whip it with the electric beater until it becomes more fluid.)