Sunset's Triple Coconut Cream Mini Pies

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut (finely shredded)
• 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 9 pie crusts, 3-1/2 inch (see our "coconut pie shells" posted separately)
• 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (3 ounce) chocolate, 3-oz chunk, at room temp
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut ("chip" or large-shred, see notes below) or 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (shredded , toasted)

Recipe

• 1 make the pastry cream: put milk and coconut in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. scrape seeds from vanilla bean and add both seeds and bean to saucepan. bring mixture to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally.
• 2 in a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and flour. while whisking, drizzle about 1/3 of the hot milk mixture into egg mixture, then slowly whisk egg-milk mixture back into saucepan. cook over medium-high heat, whisking, until pastry cream thickens and begins to bubble, 4 to 5 minutes. remove from heat, stir in butter, and discard vanilla bean.
• 3 spoon hot pastry cream into a bowl and set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water, stirring occasionally, until cooled to room temperature. cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill until cold, at least 3 hours.
• 4 fill the pies: carefully remove baked shells from brioche molds. spoon pastry cream into shells, filling each a little more than halfway. with an electric mixer, whip cream with sugar and vanilla until it holds stiff peaks. fills a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (no. 6) with whipped cream and pipe a double layer of cream onto each pie, or simply spoon it on (use all the cream--the pies should look like beehive hairdos).
• 5 garnish the pies: with a vegetable peeler, scrape wide curls or shavings from the chunk of chocolate. sprinkle curls or shavings over pies, dividing evenly, and top with toasted coconut. serve immediately.
• 6 notes: pastry cream can be made ahead and kept, refrigerated, for two days; unbaked, formed pastry shells keep, frozen, a few weeks. the baked shells can be filled with the pastry cream several hours ahead, then topped with whipped cream and garnishes just before serving. "chip"--or large-shred--coconut, which is sold at natural-foods stores and whole foods markets, looks like little curls and makes the prettiest garnish, but regular shredded coconut works just fine. toast coconut in a 350-degree oven until golden, 10 to 15 minutes.