Description
Creamy, sweet and tropical, this pie is packed with strawberry, pineapple, walnuts and topped with toasty coconut.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the pie crust:
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup + 3 TB cold lard (100 grams)
- ice water (amount will vary, have 1 cup handy)
For the filling:
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 TB cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 8 oz full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 8 oz crushed pineapple, well drained
- 1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped
To top the pie and garnish:
- 21 oz strawberry topping/pie filling
- 2 cups homemade whipped cream (store bought would also work fine)
- toasted shredded coconut, as desired
Instructions
- Make the crust and pre-bake. Add the flour and salt to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut the cold lard into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add the ice cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well with a fork after each one until the dough pulls together and cleans the sides of the bowl. This could take anywhere from 5-8 tablespoons of water, depending on the humidity and temp of your kitchen.
- Once the dough has pulled together, form it into a ball and generously flour a countertop/flat work surface. Lightly flour the dough ball as well. Roll out the dough into a circle that measures about 1/8″ thick.
- Carefully line a 9 inch pie plate with the dough circle and fit it snugly down into the pie plate. Tuck the edges underneath and flute them. Preheat the oven to 375F/190C, and refrigerate the crust for 30 minutes while the oven warms up.
- Once the crust has chilled for 30 minutes, remove it from the fridge and line with parchment paper. Add rice, beans or pie weights to the parchment, and bake for 15 minutes. The edges of the crust should be beginning to brown. Carefully remove the parchment and rice/weights and set them aside in a heatproof container or bowl.
- Poke several holes in the bottom of the crust, and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before filling.
- Make the filling. Add the egg, egg yolks, sugar, salt and cornstarch in a heatproof mixing bowl. Whisk vigorously until thick and pale yellow, and set aside.
- In a saucepan or saucier, scald the milk until wisps of steam rise from the surface. Do not boil. Slowly stream the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking constantly and quickly to temper the eggs without curdling. Add the tempered liquid back into the saucepan, and continue to cook over medium heat while whisking constantly. It shouldn’t take longer than 6-7 minutes for the custard to thicken. Once it starts to bubble, continue to whisk for an additional minute more.
- Remove from the heat and pass the custard through a sieve to catch any stray bits of cooked egg. Whisk in the vanilla extract and cold butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the custard (this prevents a skin from forming) and refrigerate until completely chilled.
- Once the custard has chilled, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until creamy and smooth. Add the sweetened cream cheese, drained crushed pineapple, and walnuts to the custard and fold together until everything is completely combined. Add to the pie crust and smooth out the surface.
- Add the strawberry topping and garnish with the whipped cream and coconut. Leftover pie should be refrigerated and eaten within 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 253
- Sugar: 15.7 g
- Sodium: 163.1 mg
- Fat: 15.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.7 g
- Fiber: 1.7 g
- Protein: 3.2 g
- Cholesterol: 30.7 mg