Recipe: Purple Yam’s Buko Pie

Buko Pie

(From Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan’s Memories of Philippine Kitchens)

This is the most famous dessert of the province of Laguna, south of Manila, where coconut country starts. We have many customers who come to the restaurant just for this dessert, and it is pure comfort food. We like to serve this pie with vanilla or purple-yam ice cream. You can make the filling a day ahead, refrigerate it, and let it come back to room temperature before proceeding.

Makes one 9-inch pie.

1 recipe Basic Pie Pastry (see below), chilled

Filling

1 cup young coconut juice

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups sugar

Four 1-pound packages frozen grated unsweetened

young coconut, thawed and drained (juice reserved)

or 4 cups shredded young coconut, juice reserved

Egg wash

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon milk

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut juice and cornstarch until smooth.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the heavy cream and sugar and bring just to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar, about 3 minutes. Add the coconut and bring back to a simmer, stirring. Slowly pour in the coconut juice–cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely.

3. Preheat the oven to 425° F. To roll out the pie pastry, divide the dough in half and roll each piece out on a lightly floured work surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into two 14-inch circles (about 1/8-inch thick). Use one of the pastry circles to line a 9-inch pie pan, pressing the crust into the sides and bottom of the pan. Pour in the cooled buko filling, spreading the filling out evenly over the pastry. Fit the second dough circle on top of the pie and roll the edge of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust, fluting the edges.

4. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with the milk to make the egg wash. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash. Using a kitchen fork or a paring knife, prick 6 vent holes in the top of the pie.

5. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350° F and bake until the crust is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before serving.

BASIC PIE PASTRY

Makes enough for one 9-inch double pie crust

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted

butter, cut into small

pieces and chilled

4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

1. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour using your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) until the texture resembles coarse meal with visible bits of butter. Drizzle 4 tablespoons ice water evenly over the mixture and gently stir with a fork or pulse until incorporated. Pinch off a small handful of dough; if it doesn’t hold together, add more water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring or pulsing after each addition.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the ball of dough in half, and pat into disks about 1/2-inch thick. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.