I wish my parents were here and could try some of Charlie’s creations in his Homeschool Cooking Class. Especially my mom because today is May 8th National Coconut Cream Pie Day #CoconutCreamPieDay. Coconut Cream Pie was one of my mom’s favorite desserts. Just as Pie is David’s dad’s favorite but I don’t know if he eats Coconut Pie or not. Instead knowing my David loves Coconut Cream Pie as much as my mom did Charlie said he would like to make the Pie and surprise his dad. Would you like to join Charlie for a slice of Coconut Cream Pie?
National Coconut Cream Pie Day, falls on May 8th every year. Coconut Cream Pie Day is devoted to the Custard-and-Cream concoction. On NATIONAL COCONUT CREAM PIE DAY we celebrate the sheer deliciousness of Coconut Cream Pie and, we, help ourselves to a slice. May 8th is the beginning of warmer weather and longer days filled with languid hours that are perfectly celebrated by a piece of Coconut Cream Pie.
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. Coconut Cream Pie is well-nigh magical, and that’s why Coconut Cream Pie gets its own day on the calendar.
Even in-depth research doesn’t reveal the exact date of the first celebration 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 including 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, and they began to distribute the Coconut Meat, and became the ingredient 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.
Facts About Coconuts:
Did you know a Coconut is even sneakier than Tomatoes because 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.
NATIONAL COCONUT CREAM PIE DAY ACTIVITIES
- National Coconut Cream Pie Day is a no-brainer for every food-related holiday which varies in the level of difficulty of laying your hands and on the food in question..
- Have a go at baking a Coconut Cream Pie especially if you’re timing it to be ready at a certain hour, because Coconut Pie Day requires a delicate balance in preparation, considering that the Crust, Custard, and Cream are all prepared separately, cooled, and then combined. Coconut Cream Pie is once again, a labor of love and if all goes well one of the best sweet treats we know.
WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL COCONUT CREAM PIE DAY
- A 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.
- f 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 Coconut Cream Pie is the next best thing.
- Did you know all Coconut Trees are Palm Trees, but not all Palm Trees are Coconut Trees.
Recipe for Coconut Pie
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hour Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins Servings: 8 Yield: 1 (9-inch) pie
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup flaked coconut
- 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
- Mix sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Beat in eggs and butter until well combined. Stir in milk and vanilla until incorporated. Fold in coconut. Pour into prepared pie crust.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Cool completely before slicing.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
