Lime-Coconut Pie With Press-in Date/Pecan Crust
A Showstopper of a (Passover) Dessert for Your Seder (and Beyond)
LIME-COCONUT CUSTARD PIE WITH PRESS-IN CRUST
Serves 12
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time (with minimum cooling): 6 hours 45 minutes
Last night I posted a pic of this delicious pie from the Shabbat cookbook, which happens to be 100 percent dairy-free, gluten-free, and kosher for passover (OK, I did swap in potato starch for the original cornstarch).
Above all else, it is 100 percent insanely delicious. The crust comes together in a snap using Medjool dates, shredded coconut, and pecans. forming a base for a lime-and-coconut filling that will illustrate in one bite how these two elements were born to live together in a dessert. Thethickness of coconut milk (plus a little coconut oil) subs in for the butter that usually helps solidify custard-like fillings. This one can be made up to three days in advance (except for the whipped cream) and is best served cold, right out of the fridge.
FOR THE CRUST:
2 cups (260 grams) pecans
1 cup (75 grams) shredded, unsweetened coconut
2 large pitted Medjool dates (57 grams), torn into pieces
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) fine sea salt
Neutral oil, for greasing the pan and your hands
FOR THE FILLING:
3 large limes
3 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons (35 grams) potato starch
Two 13.5-ounce (400 ml/380 grams) cans full-fat coconut milk (800 ml/760 grams total coconut milk)
2/3 cup (133 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) fine sea salt
3 tablespoons (43 grams) coconut oil
2 teaspoons (9 grams/ ml) pure vanilla extract
FOR THE TOPPING:
One 13.5-ounce (400 ml) can full-fat coconut milk, chilled, or 1/2 cup (118 ml) cold heavy cream
3 tablespoons (23 grams) confectioners’ sugar
1. Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange the pecans on a large rimmed baking sheet and the coconut on another baking sheet and roast until the coconut is golden and toasty, 7 to 8minutes, and the pecans are fragrant and a deep brown color but not burnt, 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove both from the oven and cool completely, then transfer both to the bowl of a food processor with the dates and salt. Pulse until the mixture is very finely chopped and holds together when pinched between your fingers, about 20 to 25 pulses. Lightly oil a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom with neutral cooking spray, then spray your hands and press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
2. Make the filling:
Zest and juice 2 of the limes; you should have about 11/2 tablespoons zest and 6 tablespoons juice. In a medium saucepan off the heat, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch coconut milk, 3 tablespoons of the lime juice, the granulated sugar, and salt.
Place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the pudding bubbles and thickens and the whisk leaves a slight impression in the custard, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons lime juice and all the lime zest, the coconut oil, and vanilla. Cool slightly, then pour the filling into the crust. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, placing it directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and chill until firm, at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours.
3. Make the topping: Chill the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 24, then open the can and scoop out the solidified “cream” that has risen to the top and place it in a medium bowl. (Alternatively, for whipped cream, pour the cold heavy cream in a medium bowl.) For either alternative, beat the cold cream with the confectioners’ sugar either by hand or using an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. To serve, top the pie with the whipped topping. Zest the remaining lime over the top of the pie, then cut the lime into thin segments. Scatter the segments over the pie. Pie can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days.