Coconut Custard Pie ♥

 A very strange thing happened on February 1st. It was a gorgeous day! Absolutely unheard of in New England! It was 64 degrees.  I had the heat OFF and my slider open.  It was wonderful! Last year at this time we were buried under 37 feet of snow! I prefer this much better!

 

 

 

 

Since it was such a nice day I took the opportunity to put away all traces of winter in my house.  Wishful thinking, I know.  Could we be getting a free pass this year? Probably not. I'm sure we are not out the winter woods yet, but it was nice thinking about Spring, even if just for a little while.

 

I ran some errands in the morning and made a quick trip to Barnes & Noble.  Just long enough to get some Valentine inspiration from Jane Austen....  Thank you Jane ♥

 

 

 

 

I picked myself up some flowers at Trader Joes - along with my favorite Crumpets (but that's for another day).  Flowers always make the house feel better, don't you agree?

 

 

 

 

 Especially with a few Valentine decorations in the mix. 

 

 

 

 

I have a special love for Valentines Day décor, mostly because I adore anything with hearts on it.

 

Clearly ♥♥♥

 

 

 

 

I'm trying to bring little splashes of red into the living room this month. 

 

 

 

 

 The Valentine tree is back... ♥

 

 

 

 

Now onto my favorite part of the day.  I had been craving a custard pie for some reason.  Custard is one of those old fashioned desserts that is like nostalgia to me. I love that it can be made entirely by hand.  No electric mixer need. I imagine a custard pie might be something Mrs. Patmore would be whipping up in the kitchen at Downton. That actually gave me a little chuckle. 

♥

I couldn't decide if I should make a plain custard or mix in some fruit.  (I've made a nectarine custard pie that was delicious).  I was thinking an apricot custard might be good, but I couldn't find any apricots. Strawberry would have been nice too.  In the end I went with a classic coconut custard pie.  We all love coconut in my house.  Especially me.  

 

Here's how I made it....

 

Recipe slightly adapted from Baking Bites (which is an awesome site with tons of yummy recipes! :)

 

Unbaked 9 inch pie crust

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter, melted & cooled

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

 

 

 

In a large bowl whisk together sugar, flour, and salt until well combined.  Add in eggs and mix until well incorporated.  Whisk in milk, melted butter, and vanilla.  Stir in coconut. 

 

Pour mixture into prepared, unbaked pie shell. 

 

Bake for about 50 minutes, until pie is set.

 

Allow to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

 

 

 

 

And there you have it.  I served mine with little dollops of whip cream on top.

 

 

 

The custard is very dense and I could really taste the coconut.  It was so yummy!!!

 

 

 I suppose since it's February I should have made something chocolaty, but there will be plenty of time for that. 

 

 

 

 

For now I'll put my feet up, and think about what Mrs. Patmore would make next.  

 

 Did they celebrate Valentine's Day in Downton times?

 

Yes, I believe they did. No doubt with pretty flowers and hand written notes.

 

And probably.... chocolate cake ♥

 

 

 

 

I hope you take time to smell the flowers and enjoy the day, wherever you are!

 

 

 

 

Happy February! ♥♥♥