Page 445 - Pie Squared

COCONUT CREAM SLAB PIE

WITH A SALTINE CRUST

Serves 12 to 15

Coconut cream pie is either loved or loathed. I’m in the love
category. Because the balance of crust to filling is crucial, and
because the filling can be so sweet, I couldn’t stop thinking about a
salty undercarriage. And that’s when I remembered the iconic

Atlantic Beach Pie, a lemony cloud with a salty crust, created by chef
Bill Smith at Crook’s Corner (Chapel Hill, NC). His pie is an
orchestrated balance of a tart-sweet citrus filling and a salty crust. A
nod to Smith’s originality, my pie offers chewy coconut and shattering

saltine crackers. It’s textural and smooth, sweet, salty, impossible to
resist.

Make Ahead: The crust and filling may be made up to 2 days ahead.

SALTINE CRUST

1½ sleeves (170 g) saltine crackers (about 60 crackers) (about 2 cups

crushed)
⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar

10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

FILLING
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar

⅓ cup (60 g) cornstarch

1 cup (235 ml) full-fat coconut milk

2 cups (480 ml) half-and-half

3 egg yolks