Fresh Coconut Cream Pie Recipe
A vintage recipe from Marston's Tea Room uses fresh coconut for a rich pie
Marston’s Tea Room, designed by Sam Hamill, opened in 1955 against a backdrop of antique Japanese screens. Famous for its Fresh Coconut Cream Pie, the recipe was reprinted in a small cookbook for the tearoom’s fifth anniversary. We reprint the recipe here. Friends of the Marston House volunteer, Kimberly McKean, baked one for our photo shoot.
Marston’s Tea Room Fresh Coconut Cream Pie
Makes 1 pie
Photography by Stacy Keck
Prepare:
One baked 9-inch pie shell
Filling:
2/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 qt. scalded milk
4 egg yolks, beaten
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup coarsely chopped, fresh coconut (not packaged)
1 cup whipped cream, slightly sweetened
Mix cornstarch, sugar and salt and add it to the scalded milk, stirring until thickened and smooth.
Add a little of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, then slowly stir the egg yolks into the hot mixture.
Cook 5 minutes and remove from heat.
Add butter and vanilla and set aside to cool.
Add 1/3 cup coconut to the cooled filling and pour the filling into the pie shell.
Spread whipped cream over the filling and sprinkle with remaining coconut.
Chill well before serving.
