Posted by liz May 14, 2001

Source: Welcome to Junior's Recipes and Memories from Its Favorite Restaurant by Marvin and Walter Rosen and Beth Allen

If you like a creamy custard pie and you love coconut, you're in for a real treat.

Junior's has been baking coconut custard pies for over forty years - and each one always comes out perfectly set and creamy, with chunks of coconut in every bite. Look closely - the top of the pie has been generously showered with coconut, which toasts and gives the pie a delicious golden glow when it comes out of the oven.

The Junior's Way - Be sure to save 1/4 cup of the coconut to sprinkle on the top. It bakes up golden and toasty, giving a little crunch in every bite.

Makes one 9-inch deep-dish pie.

Pastry for single-crust pie
4 extra-large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.

Mix and chill the pastry. Roll it out 1/8-inch thick on a lightly floured surface and trim to a 15-inch circle. Transfer the pastry to the pie plate, leaving a 1 1/2-inch overhang. Fold under the edge to stand up 1 inch high and flute. Prick it all over with the tines of a fork. Place the unbaked shell in the freezer for 15 minutes.

To partially bake the shell before filling it, place a piece of foil in the center and weigh it down with pie weights, uncooked beans, or rice. Blind-bake the crust just until it begins to set, about 8 minutes; remove the foil and pie weights and return the shell to the oven until it starts to brown, about 4 minutes more. Transfer the crust from the oven to a cooling rack, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

While the crust is baking, make the coconut custard filling. Using an electric mixer set on high, beat the eggs in a large bowl until thick and light yellow, about 5 minutes. Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a small bowl and beat this mixture into the eggs until thoroughly mixed. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium. Add the cream, milk, and vanilla and beat the filling until light and frothy, about 3 minutes more. Stir in 1 1/4 cups of the coconut. Pour the filling into the partially baked crust, dot with the butter, and sprinkle with the nutmeg.

Bake the pie for 30 minutes, sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut, and continue baking the pie until the filling is golden, the coconut is toasty, and the filling jiggles only slightly in the center, about 20 to 30 minutes more. The pie is ready to come out of the oven when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the pie on a wire rack for 1 hour. Serve the pie at room temperature or refrigerate until it's cold. Store any leftover pie in the refrigerator.