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Home » Thanksgiving

Harry's Roadhouse Coconut Cream Pie

Modified: Jan 13, 2021 · Published: Apr 10, 2011 by Anna · This post may contain affiliate links · 11 Comments

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Harry's Roadhouse Coconut Cream Pie was recommended by my friend KAnn who adapted it from The Harry's Roadhouse Cookbook. It's very similar to Richard Sax's Claremont Diner coconut cream pie, a lighter textured cream pie with a filling stiff enough to pile above the shell.

Coconut Cream Pie

You can make Harry's Roadhouse Coconut Cream Pie in a 9 inch pie dish with a homemade crust or halve it and put the filling in a smaller dish. The first time I made it I halved the filling and blind baked it in a Marinex 7-Inch Fluted Small Round Pie Pan lined with a baked crust from Cook's Illustrated.  Here's a picture of my 7 inch pie.

Roadhouse Coconut Cream Pie

But now I usually make it as a 9 inch deep dish pie.  The filling has gelatin, cornstarch and egg yolks in it so it's thick enough that you can pile it in the shell.  It's also not overly stiff, which is good considering all the thickeners!

harry's roadhouse coconut cream pie

Best Type of Coconut

Over the years I've tested Harry's Roadhouse Cream Pie with different kinds of coconut and think that sweetened flaked coconut works the best.  If for whatever reason you have to use unsweetened, make sure to add more sugar to taste and leave out the salt or add only a pinch.  I always use more whipping cream than the original recipe.  In the original recipe 1 cup of whipped cream is folded into the pie.  I add 1 cup to the pie, but then I whip more cream and spread it over the top.

Update: Harry's Roadhouse Coconut Cream Pie freezes very well!

Recipe

Harry's Road House Coconut Cream

Harry's Roadhouse Coconut Cream Pie

Cookie Madness
A coconut pie recipe that is supposed to be similar to the one served at Harry's Roadhouse
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 4 hours hrs
Total Time 4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Amercian
Servings 8

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pre-baked pie shell blind-baked or a graham crust -- 9 inch
  • 3 cups whole milk divided use
  • 2 teaspoons gelatin
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 egg yolks
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter I used unsalted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla paste
  • Pinch of salt (can use more if necessary **
  • 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut plus an extra ¼ cup for toasting
  • 1 cup heavy cream or if you prefer 1 ½ to 2 cups (extra whipped cream is for the top)

Instructions
 

  • Put ½ cup of milk in a mixing bowl and sprinkle in the gelatin. Allow it to soften.
  • Stir egg, egg yolks, cornstarch, and sugar into the milk mixture.
  • Put remaining 2 ½ cups of milk in a non-reactive saucepan over high heat to scald the milk. When milk is scalded, gradually whisk it into the gelatin mixture.
  • Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and return to the stove, whisking all the time. When the mixture begins to boil and thicken, remove from heat and add butter, vanilla, salt, and coconut.
  • Whisk until all the butter is melted and incorporated. Place custard in a container to cool. Cover with plastic wrap against the custard to keep a skin from forming. Alternatively, place custard in an 8 inch square pan and put it in a larger pan with ice water coming up the sides. This will help it cool quicker.
  • When the custard is cool, whip 1 cup of cream until peaks start to form, then fold into the chilled custard until smooth. Try not to overmix. Pour mixture into prebaked crust and chill for several hours or until very cold. Sprinkle top with coconut.
  • If desired (and I always do this), whip another ½ to 1 cup of cream, sweetened to taste with powdered sugar, add a little vanilla and spread over the top of the pie. If you like frozen whipped topping you can thaw out some Cool Whip and use that instead. Sprinkle more toasted coconut over the pie.

Notes

** The original version calls for ½ teaspoon of salt, so feel free to add more if you think you need it. I think it's fine with just a pinch. Also, sweetened coconut works best, but if for some reason all you have is unsweetened you can use unsweetened and add an extra tablespoon of sugar to taste. I think sweetened works best, though.
The original recipe uses 1 cup heavy cream. After I whipped up the first 1 cup of cream, I whipped up a second ½ cup of cream, added a little powdered sugar and spread it over the top.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

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Comments

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  1. Addicted Baker says

    April 12, 2011 at 9:10 am

    Saving this recipe for summer for sure! Absolutely beautiful

  2. KAnn says

    April 11, 2011 at 10:18 pm

    Now I can hardly wait to get into Santa Fe on May 19th and head to lunch at Harry's Roadhouse on Saturday! Best coconut cream pie ever!!

  3. Mackenzie@The Caramel Cookie says

    April 11, 2011 at 6:54 pm

    Yum, this pie is like a big slice of summer :).

  4. Emily says

    April 11, 2011 at 4:44 pm

    Coconut cream pie is one of my absolute favorite desserts. This one looks great! I will have to remember it.

  5. Anna says

    April 11, 2011 at 9:38 am

    Todd's favorite is definitely the White Chocolate Coconut Pie. He almost cried when it was gone. This one is a tad bit lighter, so I prefer this one. However, for more of a splurge the White Chocolate Coconut Pie is probably the best.

  6. d.liff @ yelleBELLYboo says

    April 11, 2011 at 9:34 am

    Your white chocolate coconut cream pie was HANDS DOWN the best dessert I made in the last year. If this is even close to that good, I'll have to make it asap!

  7. Holly says

    April 11, 2011 at 7:58 am

    Anna, of the coconut cream pies you've made, do you have a favorite?

  8. Maureen says

    April 11, 2011 at 7:45 am

    Your photo is lovely and brings back memories of pies like that when I was young. I can look at that photo and feel the texture in my mouth.. velvety sweetness.

    Thanks for the recipe and I'm definitely making it soon and I'm NOT sharing. 🙂

  9. Sue says

    April 11, 2011 at 7:18 am

    Every time you post a recipe for coconut pie I feel guilty that I never make one for my husband.

  10. Gloria says

    April 10, 2011 at 10:14 pm

    I meant "too" lazy. I was even too lazy to type the extra "o"!

  11. Gloria says

    April 10, 2011 at 10:13 pm

    This is a decadent pie! All that cream and coconut! My mouth is watering! I have the worst time with prebaked pie crusts...I've used pillsbury ( to lazy to make my own) and they always shrink. I like a slightly savory crust with a sweet pie so I don't want to use graham crackers. Do you have any tips to prevent the shrinking? How did you like it compared to others you've made? And, final question: could you use coconut milk as a substitute for some of the milk? I just noticed some on sale at our local grocery store Byerlys.

Peanut Butter Fudge Jumbles recipe baked in a 9-inch square Pampered Chef stoneware pan.

Hello!

I'm Anna, and welcome to Cookie Madness. To learn more about me, check the About page.

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