Cloud Nine Coconut Pecan Pie (GUEST POST!)

I’ve teamed up with Dru, a fellow high schooler, from Teenage Cakeland to bring you two guest posts (one on my blog, the other on hers)! You’ll soon discover that we are pretty similar bakers, so please visit her fantastic blog for more posts and check out her recipe below for this delicious Cloud Nine Coconut Pecan Pie!

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Hello, At 350 Degrees readers! My name is Dru and I am a junior in high school. I’ve been baking since my freshman year and it’s become one of the best and most important things in my life, so much that I often neglect my history homework to make a cake instead. The best thing about baking for me is being able to make people happy. It’s incredible how some chocolate and a smile can impact a person’s day. Obviously, I don’t eat everything I make or I would weigh more than an elephant does, so I usually bring things in for my friends at school. I’ve been known to show up in English with cupcakes at least once a week, and to approach complete strangers in the hallway to offer them a cookie. Plus, I’m pretty sure I’m maintaining a decent average in Physics mostly because my teacher is a major fan of my baking. My blog is just a baby at a month old, but the experience of blogging has already made me a more conscious and creative baker. I have lots of ideas for the future, starting with this Cloud Nine Pie!

I bet you’re wondering what was in this oh-so-amazing pie. I’ll let you into the loop. Coconut. AND, the secret surprise inside: pecans. This was a really great pie. I was inspired to make this pie while flipping through The New York Times Cookbook, looking for their famous chocolate chip cookie recipe (sadly, the cookie recipe wasn’t there!), and came across the pie section. I decided it was high time for me to make a pie. Originally, it was just going to be a coconut cream pie, but on a whim, I decided to throw in some pecans. Pecans are one of my absolute favorite things, ever. Like, really, ever.  The pecan layer is actually just something created on the spot. Aren’t I cool. It all started with a carefully prepared crust. If you missed my pie crust post from yesterday, check it out here. However, I did make a slight alteration to the original recipe. I substituted 1/2 cup pecans, finely crushed, and 1/2 whole wheat flour for one of the cups of all purpose flour. It was reeeaallyyy yummy and I recommend you do this, too. After making the crust, I made the pie filling, consisting of three layers: a short layer of (loosely termed) pecan pie filling, coconut cream custard, and a meringue to top it off. I told you this was a great pie.

Recipe: Teenage Cakeland Cloud Nine Pie

Conclusions: This was dubbed the Cloud Nine Pie because the first reaction from my taste tester was, “OMG, it tastes just like a cloud!” I’m sure this is a very accurate description based on the many clouds my friend has tasted. No, but really, this pie was that good. The crushed pecans in the crust give it a very sweet flavor, and it was actually one of the best pie crusts I’ve ever had. I think the next time I make a crust, I might reduce the amount of butter. Despite how complicated the custard recipe sounded (to me at least), it’s actually quite simple as long as you follow the steps. I’ve never made a meringue before, either, and this was surprisingly the easiest part. Each layer of the pie was scrumptious on its own, and together, this pie was an absolute dream.