Coconut Cream Pie In A Chocolate Case
This is not an American 'cream pie' (those do not actually contain cream, but a cooked custard put into a cooked pastry case), but one with coconut flavoured cream baked in a shell of chocolate pastry so that the two fuse harmoniously together. Nestling on the pastry, surrounded by the coconut cream, a few rum-soaked cherries provide a final highlight.
INGREDIENTS:
CHOCOLATE PASTRY:
175 G/6 OZ PLAIN FLOUR 2 TBSP COCOA POWDER
4 TBSP VANILLA ICING SUGAR OR ORDINARY ICING SUGAR PLUS 2 OR
3 DROPS VANILLA ESSENCE
115 G/4 OZ UNSALTED
BUTTER, DICED
1 TBSP, WATER
I EGG WHITE, BEATEN
FILLING:
176 G/6 OZ RIPE CHERRIES,
HALVED AND STONED
3 TBSP WHITE RUM
70 G/2 1/2 OZ. SOLID COCONUT
CREAM, CHOPPED
500 ML/18 FL OZ SINGLE,
WHIPPING OR DOUBLE CREAM,
OR A MIXTURE
2 EGGS, BEATEN
4 EGG YOLKS
APPROXIMATELY 100 G/31/2 OZ
CASTER SUGAR
DECORATION:
LIGHTLY TOASTED
FLAKED COCONUT
DIRECTIONS:
Butter a 25 cm/10 inch deep loose-based flan tin. For the filling, leave the cherries to marinate in the rum. Put the coconut cream into a bowl. In a saucepan, gently warm the cream, pour over the coconut cream and leave until cold, stirring occasionally to dissolve the coconut.
To make the pastry, sift the flour, cocoa powder and icing sugar into a bowl. In a saucepan, gently heat the butter with the water until the butter has just melted, then slowly pour onto the flour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon to make a smooth dough. Transfer to the flan tin and press evedly into the shape. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Set the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5.
Bake the pastry case blind for 10 minutes (see page 95), remove the paper and beans, brush the pastry case with egg white and return to the oven for about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Lower the oven temperature to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3.
To make the filling, strain the liquid from the cherries into a howl and arrange the cherries, cut side down, in the pastry case.
Add the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and coconut cream mixture to the bowl and stir together. Your into the tin and bake for about 50 minutes until lightly set in the centre. Leave to cool. then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve sprinkled with flaked coconut.
