Pi Day: Creamy Chocolate Coconut Pie
We're celebrating Pi Day with a very easy, very rational 5-ingredient pie.
It’s one of our favorite days of the year, when Mathletes everywhere rejoice in celebration of our favorite mathematical constant, Pi. It’s not rocket science, guys, it’s 3.14. March 14th is our favorite of the unofficial holidays, mainly because it’s an excuse to make and eat pie, which is (thanks for asking) my favorite thing to make.
You’ll probably see a lot of photos of pie today: pizzas with pepperoni arranged in the shape of Pi or double crusted fruit numbers with a cut-out crust embellishment. All well and good, those options, but they have their flaws. Namely, that when arranged as such, one doesn’t get pepperoni in every bite. And, while crust decorations are great in theory, they’re almost never as good in practice. The more you fuss with any dough, especially a traditional pie crust, the tougher it becomes. Fine if your end goal is an instagram post with many many likes. But if the point is to simply indulge in a delicious celebratory Pi Day Pie, we suggest you go with something uncomplicated.
Enter our dead simple 5-ingredient Creamy Chocolate Coconut Pie. Here’s how to make it:
Creamy Chocolate Coconut Pie for Pi Day
Serves 8
4 large egg whites
1 14-oz package sweetened shredded coconut, plus more toasted coconut for serving
12 oz. chopped bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1 13.5-oz. Can coconut milk, well shaken
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Splash vanilla or coconut extract, optional
Preheat oven to 325°F. Place egg whites in a large bowl and beat to break up. Add coconut and mix until evenly moistened. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate and, using a flat-sided measuring cup, press the coconut firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the plate (it will kind of mound around the edge--that’s OK).
Bake coconut crust until golden brown around the edge and light golden in the center, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool.
Meanwhile, place chocolate in a large bowl. Heat 1 ¼ cups coconut milk in a small saucepan until just simmering; pour over chocolate and let sit a few minutes. Starting in the center, stir mixture until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth and evenly combined; pour into coconut shell and smooth top. Refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Whip remaining coconut milk, cream, and extract if using, with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Top pie with coconut cream just before serving. Top with more toasted coconut if desired.
Whatever you decide to bake up for Pi Day take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of this unofficial holiday: The celebration of an irrational number.
