Coconut (buko) pie

Sweet tropical coconut (buko) pie

Blogger has changed layout?!?! And I've been in hibernation!  Argh!  Winter!  The least of my favourite seasons!  A thousand photos for uploading, recipes to write, a weather that's been grey and wet, and add a bed that's so warm and cozy!  Choose wisely!

Thanks for the girls behind the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop, my adobo blog at least is not left out in the cold.  At least once a month, I have a deadline to meet.  Well, sort of.  A personal goal if you may.  Last month, was like a race!  Barely made it to the deadline with a few seconds off the clock.  But this month, I think I've got it covered, early on.

When the SABH hostesses announced this month's theme, I thought yes - apple pie!  And apple pie happened twice!  But then after what seemed like an eternity of cold wet rain and a humongous pile of laundry, the sun peeked and shined a bright bright smile!  And why not a summer-tropical inspired pie, right?  Is there anything more tropical than coconut?

Tropical and summer-y!  And they're even smiling!

And this was planned well ahead - what with all the coconut to be chopped open, shelled and scraped.  Important note: you'll need a real big chef's knife or a meat cleaver to chop the hard shells of these coconuts.

Fresh young coconut meat - soft and tender.

  

All efforts were well worth it!  One bite and this was comfort food and a time machine in one!  Brought back so many memories of our childhood, buying form the original buko (coconut) pie stand along the National Highway from Calauan to Los Banos Laguna!  People queuing and waiting patiently to get a hold of a warm sweet buttery our of the oven buko (coconut) pie.  It is one of the many local treats that are famous in that area alongside other local delicacies such as espasol, suman (rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves), panutsa  (peanut brittle which I've made before) and broas (lady finger or sponge finger biscuits).   So for this month, I give you a Filipino pie treat - a tropical twist to the  June SABH!

We had this for afternoon tea in the weekend and it was just divine!  Family sharing food and stories a;lways brings out the warm and fuzzy glow in all of us.

Yes!  We had some lovely sweet fresh coconut juice too!

To make this buko (coconut) pie, I used my dad’s recipe book from 1998 titled “Sarap Pinoy - Mga Lutuing Pilipino” from Maya Kitchen.  The recipes are written in Tagalog and was actually a great exercise.  More Filipino recipes to share in the future from this book for sure.

Ingredients for the filling

3/4 cup caster sugar

 1/3 cup corn flour

 1 cup fresh coconut juice

 1 cup evaporated milk

 1 teaspoon vanilla

 2 cups young coconut meat 

Ingredients for the crust

2 cups plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon caster sugar

165g unsalted butter, room temperature

5-6 tablespoons cold water

egg wash (beat one egg and add a tbsp of water)

Preheat oven to 180* degrees.

Make the filling first.

In a small sauce pan, combine sugar and corn flour.  

Add the coconut juice and milk and stir to combine.

Cook on medium heat until thick, stirring occasionally with a wire whisk to avoid getting lumps.

Add the vanilla and coconut meat.  Set aside to cool.

Make the pastry/pie crust

 In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and sugar and stir to combine.

Add the butter and using the rub-in method, rub the flour and butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add a tablespoon of water at a time and gently incorporate to form a dough.

Divide the dough into two rounds- one part bigger than the other (for the base).

Roll each of the dough separately using a rolling pin until you get about 3-4mm thick disc.

Press the bigger sized dough disc onto the pie plate covering all sides.

Pour the filling into the dough.

Gently place the remaining dough disc. Press the sides of the pie plate to secure the filling.  Using a fork, make indents on the sides.

Prick the top of the pie to form holes to let steam off while baking.

Brush the top with egg wash.

Place the pie plate/pan on a baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes of until the crust is golden.

Let cool before serving.

A few notes:  

1. I chose to spoon the flesh out but you can also grate them using a melon grater usually on the other end of a melon baller.

2. The recipe called for both butter and shortening - the latter of which I've substituted with butter for the same quantity.

3. It is important to let the pie cool completely before slicing and serving, or the filling will ooze out. If you're fine with this, then slice away like we did.
 

Fresh young coconut meat!  So sweet!

Such a great weekend it was.  The sun was out after a week long of rain, and Sydney was bright and cheery again!  For a brief moment, we were in summer, savouring some buko (coconut) pies and sipping some sweet and fresh coconut juice!  Food can transport you anywhere really.  From your childhood to a tropical oasis!  And you don’t need a passport for that!  Good food, good company and great conversation!  Simple pleasures!

Big thanks to the lovely bloggers behind the SABH and specially to the capers of the kitchen crusader for hosting this month's hop!

This is a blog hop!  So go on and hop onto these amazing mouth-watering pies and get transported somewhere/somehow – a childhood memory, a recent trip, or maybe it can remind you of someone special!  Who knows, you might even be inspired to make one of these treats!  Enjoy!