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Can I substitute coconut milk or coconut cream for milk in a chocolate cream pie?

Kristina Lopez
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Joan Coyle
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  • This is a little off-topic but thought it interesting - I make a chocolate cream pie with packaged pudding mix and just read on the package that if soy milk is used, the pudding will not set! I never knew that. – Kristina Lopez Nov 26 '12 at 19:03

1 Answers1

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Yes. I made a coconut cream pie this weekend using coconut milk.

Cream pies are set mostly by starch with help from the eggs.

The protein in the milk does not play a significant role in the pie structure. The fat from the milk is important to the texture. Pies made with whole milk are much more delightful than those made with skim.

Coconut milk, and especially coconut cream, has plenty of delightful fat and works well. You may find that the color is different and more translucent. Many recipes call for a mixture of coconut milk and regular milk.

Sobachatina
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  • The quality of the coconut milk makes a difference. Many brands have a low amount of cream, but if you have an afro-carribean section at your supermarket get one from there, those brands have much more cream in them. – GdD Nov 26 '12 at 15:52
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    @GdD- good point. The coconut milk I used I made myself. – Sobachatina Nov 26 '12 at 15:58
  • I bet it tasted really good! Now I want to make one, how did you do it? – GdD Nov 26 '12 at 16:21
  • I followed the instructions in this answer: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/27594/how-do-i-extract-coconut-milk-from-coconut-meat I grated the coconut meat, extracted the milk, then toasted the meat and used it in the pie. It was very good. – Sobachatina Nov 26 '12 at 16:24