Coconut Chess Pie
intro
A rich, gooey Southern custard pie packed with sweet coconut, boasting a buttery crisp crust, caramelized top, and perfectly balanced sweet, nutty flavor.
Ingredients
Steps
Blind bake the crust
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F). Press the unbaked 9-inch pie crust into a standard 9-inch pie dish, crimping edges as desired. Line the crust with parchment paper, fill with pie weights or dried beans, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and weights, then bake for 3 more minutes until the bottom is lightly golden. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 175°C (350°F).
Toast shredded coconut
While the crust cools, spread ½ cup (47g) of the sweetened shredded coconut in an even thin layer on a small rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 175°C (350°F) for 5-7 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, until the coconut is evenly golden brown and nutty fragrant. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool; this toasted coconut will be used for the pie topping.
Whisk the filling base
In a large glass mixing bowl, whisk together the melted, slightly cooled butter, granulated sugar, and packed light brown sugar until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Add the 3 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk one at a time, whisking fully to combine after each addition, then stir in the shaken coconut milk, white vinegar, and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
Incorporate dry ingredients
Sprinkle the fine yellow cornmeal, all-purpose flour, and table salt evenly over the surface of the wet filling mixture, then whisk for 30 seconds until no dry lumps remain. Fold in the remaining 1 cup (93g) of untoasted sweetened shredded coconut with a flexible rubber spatula, distributing the coconut evenly throughout the thick custard.
Bake the assembled pie
Pour the finished coconut custard filling evenly into the cooled prebaked pie crust. Bake at 175°C (350°F) for 45-50 minutes: the outer 2/3 of the pie should be fully set, while the center 2 inches will have a soft Jell-O-like jiggle when you gently nudge the pie dish. If crust edges darken too quickly after 30 minutes of baking, cover them with thin strips of aluminum foil to prevent burning.
Top and cool fully
Once baking is complete, remove the pie from the oven and immediately sprinkle the reserved cooled toasted coconut evenly over the hot pie surface. Let the pie cool at room temperature for 2 full hours, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before slicing to allow the custard to set completely.
Tips
2.Let your melted butter cool to roughly 43°C (110°F) before mixing it with the eggs; hot butter will scramble the eggs and create lumpy, uneven custard.
3.Resist the urge to slice the pie early! The full 3 hours of cooling and chilling time is required for the custard to set properly; warm, unchilled pie will be runny and will not hold clean, neat slices.
OMG this coconut chess pie was the star of our Sunday family dinner! I was a little nervous to try it since it’s marked medium difficulty and I’m pretty new to baking custard pies, but the step-by-step instructions were so easy to follow. The 1 hour 10 minute cook time was totally worth it, too — my whole house smelled like warm coconut and butter for hours after. My kids loved it so much they went back for seconds before they even finished their green beans, and my husband already asked if I could make a second one for his office potluck next week. The toasted coconut on top adds such a perfect nutty crunch against that silky sweet filling — SO good, will absolutely be making this again soon.
Quick question before I pop this in the oven! I grabbed the wrong coconut at the grocery store and ended up with sweetened shredded coconut instead of unsweetened — do I need to cut back on the sugar in the filling to keep it from being too cloying? I’m making this for a small friend get-together this weekend and don’t want to mess it up! The press-in crust came together super easy so far, fingers crossed the rest works out.
Game changer! I brought this Classic Coconut Chess Pie to our neighborhood block party last weekend and every single slice was gone in 10 minutes. Multiple neighbors tracked me down to ask for the recipe, I felt like a total baking rockstar. Only tiny tweak: I added a little splash of almond extract to the filling because I’m obsessed with the almond-coconut flavor combo, and it slapped. 10/10 will be making this for every family holiday and potluck from now on.