Coconut Key Lime Custard Pie
A creamy dreamy version of key lime that will make you completely forget about the original.
Ingredients
Crust
- 10 inch pie plate
- 7 ounces Trader Joe's Ultimate Vanilla Wafers or gluten-free graham crackers
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, or butter flavored coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Filling
- 7 egg yolks
- 13.5 ounce can full fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk or sweetened condensed coconut milk for dairy free
- 1/3 cup key lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
Toppings
- 1 large can coconut cream our favorite or 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or the meat scraped from one vanilla bean, or vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut toasted
- Crumbled vanilla wafers or gluten-free graham crackers
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a food processor fit with the chopping blade, add vanilla wafers or gluten-free graham crackers and process until fine crumbs form. Add butter, sugar, and salt, and pulse to combine.
- Press crust firmly into pie plate using the heal of your hand, spreading evenly over bottom and up sides.
- Place in preheated oven, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown, slightly firm, and dry. Remove and set aside to cool.
- Crust must be completely cool before adding filling. You can chill the crust in freezer for 20 minutes to speed things up.
Filling
- Decrease oven temperature to 325.
- Add all filling ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Pour into cooled crust, filling almost to the top but leaving about a 1/2 inch of crust peeking out around the edges, and place in oven.
- Bake for 35 - 45 minutes, until the custard is set around the edges and the top is smooth and shiny. The filling will still wobble a bit when you gently shake the pan, but will firm up as it chills. Remove from oven, and let cool 2 hours at room temperature before moving to refrigerator to set for another 3 hours, or overnight.
Toppings
- Once your pie is set, add coconut or heavy whipping cream to a stand mixer or a bowl (note that plastic will not work for beating cream). Beat with whisk attachment on high-speed, until stiff peaks form, 3-5 minutes. Fold in vanilla bean paste or extract.
Assembly
- Top each pie piece with a generous dollop of whipped cream, toasted coconut flakes, and crushed cookies or gluten-free graham crackers.
Notes
*You can easily make this pie gluten free by using gluten-free graham crackers or a pre-made crust graham-style crust like Mi-del. Note the pre-made crusts are in smaller pans, so you will have almost enough filling for two smaller pies.
**The crust can be made several days in advance and kept wrapped in the refrigerator.
***This pie also freezes very well. Once it finishes setting in the refrigerator, wrap tightly and store in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Remove from freezer the morning you plan to serve. Or for a fun twist on a hot day, serve partially frozen.
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