Miniature food is not my usual art project, but I’ve been down a rabbit hole lately of miniature food and I’m happy to share two that I never see.
My mother made Chocolate and Coconut Cream Pies a lot growing up. Chocolate is my favorite and Coconut is my husband’s favorite. I love how the first Chocolate Cream Pie I made looks like just the kind of messy pie I would make. In fact, until I get the shortbread perfected, it’s going to look just like this!
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(The Meringue Recipe is at the bottom.)
Shortbread Pie Crust:
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter (preferably Kerrygold)
2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Soften and cube butter. Do not melt the butter. Let it sit out on the counter at room temperature for around an hour. Once it is soft, mix it with flour and confectioner’s sugar. (The “chop” setting on a food processor works nicely.)
Press into bottom and sides of a 9×13″ baking pan or pie plate. (Use the back of a spoon to smooth and even out.)
Bake for 15 minutes or until brown.
Remove and cool completely before filling.
Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe:
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix all above ingredients well into a pot and then stir in 2 cups whole milk on high heat.
Cook just until mixture gets hot but not boiling. Reduce heat and stir in 3 egg yolks, mixing well (set egg whites aside for meringue). (If you wait to add eggs until after mixture starts boiling, the eggs will cook into clumps in your mixture.)
Cook until it’s thick, then turn off heat.
Add 2 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until it’s creamy and all butter is melted.
Pour in pie shell.
Coconut Cream Pie Recipe:
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix all above ingredients well into a pot and then stir in 2 cups whole milk on high heat.
Cook just until mixture gets hot but not boiling. Reduce heat and stir in 3 egg yolks, mixing well (set egg whites aside for meringue). (If you wait to add eggs until after mixture starts boiling, the eggs will cook into clumps in your mixture.)
Stir in 1 cup coconut shavings and cook until it’s thick, then turn off heat.
Add 2 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until it’s creamy and all butter is melted.
Pour in pie shell.
Meringue Topping:
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
dash of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put mixer on high and mix all above ingredients until mixture is thick.
Add 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time until thoroughly mixed in.
Use a large spoon and scoop meringue onto the pie filling making sure to connect with edges of pie crust. It should peak thicker in the middle in a triangle or mountain shape.
Bake for 15 minutes or until peak and edges are golden brown.
All to cool for a few hours before placing in the refrigerator.
Once thoroughly chilled, serve and enjoy!