Dessert-ed Island 🏝 🥥🍍
Coconut Cream Tart! Before “Sex and The City“, before “Friends“, there was the all-time classic, “Gilligan’s Island”. Before anyone asked if you were a Miranda or a Carrie, a Samantha or a Charlotte, or a Rachel or a Monica. We asked if you were a Ginger or a Mary-Ann.
I am and I always will be a Mary-Ann. I’m not glamorous like a 🤩 movie star, but I’m definitely someone who can whip up a 🍌 banana cream pie or a 🥥 coconut cream pie 🥧 with almost no ingredients or special equipment. Okay, maybe I’m not that good. I do require some special equipment and an oven and ingredients. But if you grew up watching Gilligan’s Island 🌴, didn’t you always want a piece of that banana cream or coconut cream tart (pie) 🥧 by the end of the episode? It honestly made the thought of being marooned on a tropical island sound pretty good to me.
So if you were stranded on a desert Island 🏝 and you could choose, who would you want to bring with you? The glam movie star or the one who could 👩🏻🍳 bake up an amazing tropical dessert? Try this 🥥 Coconut Cream Tart with Sweet, Grilled Pineapple 🍍 first, then let me know.
The Crust of It!
This is a basic tart recipe for 1, 9 inch tart pan. You can use this recipe for almost any sweet tart.
In a small bowl, mix together 1 egg yolk, 2 tablespoons of ice water, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Into the bowl of you food processor, add 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup sugar. Pulse a few times to mix well. Cut one cold stick of unsalted butter into small cubes. Add the butter to the bowl of the processor and pulse about 3-4 times.
Then, add the egg mixture and pulse another 3-4 times just until it all comes together.
Pour the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. With your hands, pull the dough into a ball, then wrap with the plastic, then flatten to a disk shape. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
To roll the dough, lightly dust your work surface and a rolling-pin with flour. Roll the dough to about 1/8 inch square shape, about 2 inches wider than all sides of the tart pan. Lift the dough with the roller and lay it across the tart pan. Press into the pan and trim the edges. This is a very forgiving dough, so if any of the dough cracks, just seam with more dough and push together with your fingers. “Dock” the dough by sticking a fork in the dough over the entire surface. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes, then rotate and bake another 15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven, then set aside to cool completely.
Coconut Cream Custard
Combine 1 cup whole milk and 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk into a small, non reactive, heavy bottomed sauce pan.
Bring to a simmer over low heat. In a separate, medium size bowl, whisk 4 egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch together. Very slowly, whisk some of the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture, then return to the pot and whisk all together over medium heat. Whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil to thicken.
Remove from heat and add the coconut extract, mix well. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until very cold, at least a few hours.
NOTE: Heating coconut milk will cause the coconut to lose much of it’s flavor. To ensure you’re getting enough coconut taste, using coconut extract is important to the final flavor of the custard. Plus, there’s never enough coconut flavor or delicious sweet fragrance for me!
PS – Whenever I use egg yolks in a recipe with no other use for the whites, I freeze them. Just put the egg whites into a freezer bag and label with the number of whites and the date. Freeze flat. I use them for anything that calls for extra egg whites. Just defrost for a few hours in the refrigerator and they are good as new! Don’t freeze egg yolks, if you have extra, you must use them within a few hours or throw them out.
Sweet Grilled Pineapple 🍍
This is a delicious addition to so many recipes and it’s a tasty dessert on it’s own. (When you’re having a cook out, serve everyone some BBQ pineapple and they will be thrilled!) Added to this coconut cream tart, it’s out of this world.
Just melt 4 tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Slice and core your pineapple. Heat your grill pan to medium high. Brush the pineapple with the butter mixture and let it grill until it’s lightly caramelized. Let cool completely.
Put It All Together – 🥥Coconut Cream Tart with Sweet, Grilled 🍍 Pineapple
Fill the chilled tart crust with the chilled coconut custard. Top with grilled pineapple. Toast a 1/2 cup of sweetened coconut and sprinkle over the top. Just lay the coconut in a thin layer on a small baking pan either in the toaster oven or on light broil in the oven. Don’t walk away from it for a second as it will toast in just a minute or two. This Coconut Cream Tart will make you feel like you took a short trip to the islands!
Aloha, little buddies! Enjoy!
Coconut Tart With Sweet Grilled Pineapple 🥥🍍
Notes
Toasting Coconut - add 1/2 cup of sweetened coconut flakes to a shallow baking pan. Toast on light broil for only 1 or 2 minutes watching it carefully. Coconut will toast very quickly. Let cool, then sprinkle over the top of the tart.
Whenever I use egg yolks in a recipe with no other use for the whites, I freeze them. Just put the egg whites into a freezer bag and label with the number of whites and the date. Freeze flat. I use them for anything that calls for extra egg whites. Just defrost for a few hours in the refrigerator and they are good as new! Don't freeze egg yolks, if you have extra, you must use them within a few hours or throw them out.
Ingredients
Sweet Tart Dough
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons ice cold water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
For the Coconut Custard Filling
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons coconut extract
- 4 large egg yolks (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
For the Grilled Pineapple
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 pineapple, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
Garnish: 1/2 cup sweet coconut flakes, toasted
Instructions
- This is a basic tart recipe for 1 9 inch tart pan.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the Dough
- In a small bowl, mix together 1 egg yolk, 2 tablespoons of ice water and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Into the bowl of you food processor, add 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup sugar. Pulse a few times to mix well. Cut one cold stick of unsalted butter into small cubes. Add the butter to the bowl of the processor and pulse about 3-4 times. Then, add the egg mixture and pulse another 3-4 times just until it all comes together. Pour the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. With your hands, pull the dough into a ball, then wrap with the plastic, then flatten to a disc shape. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- To roll the dough, lightly dust your work surface and a rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough to about 1/8 inch square shape, about 2 inches wider than all sides of the tart pan. Lift the dough with the roller and lay it across the tart pan. Press into the pan. "Dock" the dough by sticking a fork in the dough over the entire surface. Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate and bake another 15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
For the Coconut Cream Custard
- Combine 1 cup whole mile and 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk into a small, non reactive, heavy bottomed sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over low heat. In a separate bowl, whisk 4 egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch together. Very slowly, whisk the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture, then return to the pot and whisk all together over medium heat. Whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil to thicken. Remove from heat and add the coconut extract, mix well. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until very cold, at least a few hours.
For the Sweet Grilled Pineapple
- Melt 1/4 cup of butter with 1/4 cup of light brown sugar. Slice and core your pineapple. Heat your grill pan to medium high. Brush the pineapple with the butter mixture and let it grill until it's lightly caramelized. Let cool completely.
Assembly
- Fill the chilled tart crust with the chilled coconut custard. Top with grilled pineapple. Top with 1/2 cup of lightly toasted sweet coconut flakes. Enjoy!
