Mom's Coconut Custard Pie

1 (9 inch) unbaked refrigerated pie crust 

3 large eggs, beaten

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 full tablespoon vanilla extract

1 more egg separated (total of 4 eggs in recipe)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Separate one egg…keep the yolk for now and save the white for your egg wash later in the recipe. 

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and heavy cream. Heat until just starting to boil – be sure to watch it because it will go from barely simmering to heavy boiling rather quickly. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, combine the one egg yolk, the three whole beaten eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Mix well. Now slowly (it is important to pour very slowly) add in the hot milk mixture continuing to whisk vigorously and continuously so that the egg mixture already in the bowl does not cook. Once the hot milk mixture is completely blended in, add in the coconut and mix well. 

Place the unbaked pie crust on a cookie sheet lined with a silicon mat. Brush the insides (bottom, sides and top) with that egg white you put aside to help prevent the crust from getting soggy. Carefully pour the custard mixture into the pie crust.

Bake for 35 minutes then carefully place strips of aluminum foil over the exposed crust to prevent it from getting too dark. Reduce the oven temp to only 250 degrees and put pie back into the oven to bake for about 20 minutes or until the filling is just about set. It should not be wet and jiggly but not completely firm or solid.

Remove from oven and cool on rack. When pie is just about room temperature then place in refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Delish!