Coconut Cream Pie
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Layers of creamy coconut custard, pillowy whipped cream, and heaps of toasted coconut all in a buttery shortbread crust—this coconut cream pie is pure dessert bliss!
My husband’s all-time favorite dessert is the signature coconut cream pie from The Capital Grille in Washington, DC. Hoping to surprise him, I took a chance and emailed the restaurant manager asking for the recipe. To my surprise, he sent it to me! Of course, like most restaurant recipes, it was scaled to feed an army and didn’t include the crust, so I had to do some tweaking. But it was worth every bit of effort—the result was nothing short of dreamy! Think: a coconut-scented cookie crust filled with creamy coconut custard, topped with pillowy whipped cream and heaps of toasted coconut.
If you love my coconut cake or coconut cupcakes, this coconut cream pie recipe is another must-try. It’s rich, creamy, and full of coconut flavor—perfect for any coconut lover!
“I made this for my mother-in-law’s birthday party. She almost cried! She said it was the most delicious dessert she had ever had.”
What You’ll Need To Make Coconut Cream Pie
- Shortbread cookies: Provides a buttery, crumbly base for the pie. Use homemade shortbread cookies or store-bought—whichever you prefer.
- Sweetened flaked coconut: Adds texture and coconut flavor to the crust. Typically sold in plastic bags in the baking aisle, it is the dried, shredded, and sweetened meat of the coconut. (Have extra? Make my coconut macaroons.)
- Unsalted butter: Binds the crust ingredients together and adds richness.
- Eggs: Thickens the custard and adds richness.
- Sugar: Sweetens the custard and topping.
- All-purpose flour and Cornstarch: Helps thicken the custard filling.
- Rum: Adds depth of flavor, warmth, and a tropical note to the custard and topping.
- Cream of Coconut: Sweetens the custard and enhances the coconut flavor. Cream of coconut is thicker and richer than coconut milk with a higher fat content, and it is sweetened. It is often sold with the drink/cocktail mixers at the supermarket.
- Unsweetened coconut milk: Adds creamy coconut flavor without extra sweetness.
- Whole milk: Provides a creamy base for the custard.
- Unsalted butter: Adds richness and a smooth texture to the custard.
- Heavy cream: Whipped to make the topping.
- Unsweetened coconut chips or flakes: Dried, shaved coconut meat, typically found in large supermarkets or organic markets. Toasted, they add a crunchy, flavorful and pretty garnish to the pie.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make The Crust
Place the shortbread cookies, coconut, and melted butter in a food processor.
Process until the coconut is finely ground.
Press the crumbs into firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan or 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. (Tip: start with the sides.)
Bake until golden, about 15 minutes, then set aside to cool. If the crust shrinks or cracks a bit, simply press it back together and up the sides while it’s still hot.
Step 2: Make the Filling
In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt.
Whisk well and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the Malibu rum, cream of coconut, coconut milk and whole milk.
Bring to a boil; then turn off the heat. Whisking constantly, slowly ladle about a cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture; whisk well to combine. Whisking constantly, gradually add the remaining milk mixture to the egg mixture in 3 or 4 additions; whisk well to combine.
Return the mixture to the sauce pan.
Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches a boil and thickens, about 2 minutes. The filling must boil for at least 30 seconds in order to fully thicken.
Off the heat, whisk in the butter until fully incorporated.
Pour the hot filling into the cooled pie shell and smooth the surface with a spatula; press plastic wrap directly against the surface of the filling and refrigerate until firm, at least 6 hours and up to 12 hours. (Any longer than 12 hours and the crust will start to soften.)
Step 3: Make the Whipped Cream
Up to 3 hours before serving, whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and rum. Continue to whip until it forms soft peaks.
Top the pie with whipped cream.
Step 4: Toast the Coconut Chips
Place the coconut in a small, dry skillet over medium heat and cook until golden.
Let the coconut chips cool, then sprinkle the pie with the toasted coconut. Refrigerate the pie until ready to serve. Use a sharp knife to slice the pie, wiping in between slices for the prettiest cuts.
Make-Ahead Instructions
The crust can be prepared a day ahead and stored at room temperature. The pie filling can be made and refrigerated in the crust for up to 12 hours (any longer and the crust may soften). Whip the cream and assemble up to 3 hours before serving.
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Layers of creamy coconut custard, pillowy whipped cream, and heaps of toasted coconut all in a buttery shortbread crust—this coconut cream pie is pure dessert bliss!
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 7½ ounces shortbread cookies, such as Walker's Pure Butter Shortbread, finely ground (if you don't have a baking scale, it's 11 Walker's rectangular cookies, from 2 boxes)
- 1¼ cups loosely packed sweetened flaked coconut
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the Custard
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, packed
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, packed
- Pinch salt
- 1½ tablespoons Malibu Rum (coconut-flavored rum)
- 5 tablespoons Cream of Coconut (stir well before using)
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (stir well before using)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
For Whipped Cream and Topping
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon Malibu rum or light rum
- ¾ cup unsweetened coconut chips or flakes, toasted in a skillet until golden and cooled (see note below)
Instructions
For the Crust
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Pulse the cookie crumbs, coconut, and melted butter in a food processor until coconut is finely ground. Press the crumbs firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (the crust should be about ¼-in thick). Bake until golden, about 15 minutes, then set aside to cool. If the crust shrinks or cracks a bit, simply press it back together and up the sides while it's still hot.
For the Filling
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the rum, cream of coconut, coconut milk and whole milk. Bring to a boil; then turn off the heat. Whisking constantly, slowly ladle about a cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture; whisk well to combine. Whisking constantly, gradually add the remaining milk mixture to the egg mixture in 3 or 4 additions; whisk well to combine. Return the mixture to the sauce pan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches a boil and thickens, about 2 minutes. The filling must boil for at least 30 seconds in order to fully thicken. Off the heat, whisk in the butter until fully incorporated.
- Pour the hot filling into the cooled pie shell and smooth the surface with a spatula; press plastic wrap directly against the surface of the filling and refrigerate until firm, at least 6 hours and up to 12 hours. (Any longer than 12 hours and the crust will start to soften.)
For the Topping & To Serve
- Up to 3 hours before serving, whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and rum. Continue to whip until it forms soft peaks. Top the pie with the whipped cream and sprinkle with cooled toasted coconut chips.
- Slice the pie into wedges, wiping your knife clean between slices, and serve cold.
- Note: Unsweetened coconut flakes can usually be found at Whole Foods or organic markets. If you can't find them, feel free to substitute ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut (the stuff in the blue bag available everywhere). Simply toast it in a 350°F oven, stirring often so it browns evenly, until lightly golden.
- Note: For an even prettier presentation, this pie can be made in a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Note that the crust won't be quite as thick.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The crust can be prepared a day ahead and stored at room temperature. The pie filling can be made and refrigerated in the crust for up to 12 hours (any longer and the crust may soften). Whip the cream and assemble up to 3 hours before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 563
- Fat: 39 g
- Saturated fat: 26 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Sugar: 35 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Cholesterol: 131 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Absolutely delicious! I’ve made this pie twice now and both times I received rave reviews. The only tweaks I made were I used half and half instead of whole milk for extra creaminess and I added an additional 2 tablespoons of cream of coconut for a richer taste. Such a fabulous recipe- this is a pie that will bring you to tears!!!!!!!!
Also, would you use coconut extract in place of the rum?
Hi Lindsay, you can use more coconut milk in place of the rum; I think coconut extract would work fine too. Enjoy!
Is the cream of coconut that you use sweetened? Looking online I see there is sweetened and unsweetened. Thanks! If you could tell me a brand too, I’d appreciate it.
Hi Lindsay, the cream of coconut is sweetened and the brand I use is Coco Lopez. Hope that helps!
Hi. I would like to bake this pie to bring to thanksgiving. Is there any way to make any of the components in advance? And if I top the pie with the whipped cream And topping before bringing it to someone’s home, do you think it will be a melted mess by the time for dessert? Thank you!
Hi Raquel, you can make the pie up to about 24 hours in advance. Any longer than that and the crust will get soggy. If you’re traveling with it, I’d suggest adding the whipped cream topping at your destination. (Just be sure to keep the whipped cream very cold, or it won’t hold.) Hope you enjoy!
I tried this recipe recently because I also love the Capital Grill version and always thought about trying to make it myself so I was so pleased to see it here on Jenn’s website. It turned out perfect. My guests enjoyed it. However I am giving it 4 stars because 1) It’s just too much work and prep even for me and I cook all the time. 2) The flavor was good but not great enough to warrant the effort in my opinion unless you skipped some of the steps or bought it ready made like the whipped topping or crust 3) If you do attempt to make it, I usually put my tart pan on a baking sheet in the oven to make lifting it out of the hot oven easier so be really careful when you take it out of the oven, the hot crust is pretty crumbly so I would not try to move the tart pan until it’s cooled. Just place the whole sheet on a cooling rack otherwise you risk the bottom of the tart pan coming apart if you tried to pick it up while it’s still hot. 4) The main reason I would not make this dish again is that I found the crust on the bottom to be a little to tough to break through with a fork or even a knife. It was perfectly cooked an once you got it in your mouth is was great but it made for a dessert that didn’t flow well in my opinion. The whipped topping and filling was so soft and delicious until you got to trying to break the bottom crust with your fork. I could see my guests having some difficulty also even though they said it was delicious. Perhaps I would make it a little thinner or add more butter to the bottom crust, I’m not sure. Or perhaps Jenn can suggest something to make the bottom crust softer. I may have been doing something wrong and the actual recipe has a much softer bottom crust.
Hi Anne, yes, this pie is definitely an undertaking but glad that, for the most part, you enjoyed it. If you’d like the crust a little softer, make it a day ahead of time and the crust will soften up in the fridge.
Hi Jenn, love all of your recipes so much! I’m making this tomorrow for my husband’s birthday and would like our toddler to be able to eat it with us. Will leaving out the rum alter the taste much? Thanks!
Thank you, Kristy! It’s totally fine to make it without the rum; I’d add more coconut milk in its place. Hope your family enjoys!
First I have to say that I’m so grateful to finally find a cooking blog where the reviews that are posted are from people who have actually made the recipe! I don’t know if you delete all the others, but I get so frustrated when there’s 100’s of “reviews” but all they say is how delicious it looks and how they’ll have to try it one day. That doesn’t do me any good. I want feedback, and I found it here! Thanks!
I made this and it was just like everyone else described……fabulous! Not too sweet, good coconut flavor and a tastey crust. I used a splash of vanilla instead of rum and sweetened coconut for the topping because I didn’t want to make another store run. This is definitely going in my recipe book! Now I’m off to check out your other posts with real reviews and feedback.
This was amazingly delicious! I use your blog all the time and ALL the things I have made so far have turned out PERFECT. Thank you!
Hi Jenn, thank you, thank you, thank you for all your wonderful recipes! I’m never concerned about a single one of your dishes not turning out perfect. And I must say, that is high praise since I’m very fussy. My question today is about the coconut garnish you’ve used. Is it packaged or did you use a fresh coconut? I’ve been on a search for months trying to find coconut similar. I’m from Ontario, Canada and I’ve even been online etc. but to no avail. Can you please help? Thank you again for everything!!
Thank you, Kendra. That is so nice to read! These are the coconut flakes I use. Hope that helps!
Oh my, you have created perfection! I came across your site a few months ago and well you have me hooked. Great recipes that are easy to follow and are spectacular! Making your peel ‘n eat shrimp tonight. Thank you!