April 23, 2013

COCONUT CUSTARD PIE

coconut tartMy dad came round for his dinner one evening recently, which was nice.  We don’t see quite so much of him these days, now that he eats out two or three times a week with his lady friend.  Unfortunately he had had to have a tooth extraction so lunch out had been cancelled and he was feeling a bit down in the dumps. 

I decided to cook something which would be easy to eat and not require too much chewing, so we started with my Italian sausage casserole (minus the olives as he doesn’t like them), followed by this coconut pudding.

coconut tart2The true name of the pudding is “Impossible Pie”.  It is called this because you make a batter which separates miraculously into three layers when it is cooked – a pastry-like layer on the bottom, a custard layer in the middle and a lovely coconut crust on top.  I’ve made it before and wrote about it here but this time I used a slightly different recipe and thought it turned out even better.

coconut tart4This recipe comes from a Marks and Spencer book simply called “Baking” and the major difference between this and the previous one is the addition of some flaked almonds.  I omitted the almonds from the batter itself, thinking it might be wise in view of the dental problem, but sprinkled some on the top because it would look nice.  Which it definitely did.  I also used Stork Baking Liquid instead of melted butter.  I made a large pie and a small one in an extra dish, for my dad and his lady friend to enjoy together later.

The pudding puffs up a lot while baking but will shrink back down in a few minutes.  It also sets as it cools so it is better served only slightly warm rather than too soon after it’s out of the oven, because the custard can be slightly too runny or wobbly if it’s still very warm. 

It’s also very nice served cold and the last slice tasted lovely the next day.

coconut tart1

Ingredients

75g plain flour

220g caster sugar

60g desiccated coconut

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

125g butter, melted (I used Stork baking liquid and it worked fine)

40g flaked almonds (I used only a few for sprinkling on the top)

500ml milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° fan / gas mk 4.  Grease a deep 25 cm pie or gratin dish.

Put all the ingredients (except for the flaked almonds) into a food processor or mixer and beat together to make a smooth batter.  Add half the almonds (I left them out) and mix thoroughly.

Turn the mixture into the prepared dish and bake for 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle the other half of the almonds over the top.

Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes or until risen and golden. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Serve just slightly warm, with cream, custard or ice-cream. 

Serves 6-8 people.  Also nice cold, by itself.

8 comments:

  1. That's one I've never heard of and it looks really good and jolly simple to make, too. Your dad and his lady friend are very lucky!

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  2. Oh fantastic - I love these baking 'miracles' - and see you just whizz it up in the food processor - how easy. I am defintiely going to make this soon - it looks like the perfect quick and easy pudding for my brood.

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    1. Sally, if you use Stork Baking Liquid, it is really quick to make - no butter to be melted!

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  3. That looks delicious and easy too. I love the idea of a pie that separates like that. So clever. :-)

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  4. Coconut and custard? Dreams really do come true!

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  5. I'll have to try this....

    Serves ONE!!
    I'll just tell Pauline it hasn't turned out right!!

    Had the first Betty of the year...
    didn't have enough rhubarb for two layers...
    so used some Comice Gris pears [from the Vergers de la Garenne]...
    which were in the froot bowl for the top layer... worked wonderfully...
    flavours stayed separate...
    try it.

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    Replies
    1. Tim, it's definitely more than one person could eat by themselves.......probably !!

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    2. Forgot to mention, I made rhubarb, pear and ricotta tarts the other day. They looked like a dog's dinner but tasted lovely - it's the first time I have used rhubarb and pear together so I will definitely be making them again and even posting about it - if they come out of the tins in one piece and look tidy enough !!
      Will definitely also try the rhubarb and pear betty combo.

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