Oui Oui Pie

What would you do for a dollop, a dollop, a dollop, of daisy? Okay, now I feel better getting that little Daisy Sour Cream jingle out of my head. It's been dancing around in there for a few days, now. My apologies if you are now singing it.

This recipe has nothing to do with sour cream at all. This recipe is for Oui Oui Pie (In French that would be "yes" pronounced WeeWee, or if you asked me, I'd say..."YES, PIE!!") so there you have it.

Imagine a creamy coconut custard meets roasted marshmallow flavored filling in a flaky crust with a billowy cloud of exuberant meringue and bits of toasted coconut. It's pretty much like tasting heaven and it's actually quite simple to make.

For the custard filling
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
4 eggs
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flaked coconut
1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked per directions below

For the meringue
4 large egg whites
5 tablespoons granulated sugar

Heat the oven to 375°. (I learned how to make the degree symbol, I can hardly contain the excitement!!! .....it's the little things I know.)

Line a 9-inch pie pan with your favorite pastry crust, then crimp the edges decoratively.
Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill it with dried beans or rice or pie weights.
Bake until the crust is lightly browned (about 10 minutes). Remove the pie pan from the oven, carefully lift out the parchment paper and weights, and return the pie crust in the pan to the oven until it is dry and nicely browned, 10 minutes more.

Let it cool to room temperature.

Now, let's make the custard:

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt over a medium heat; gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Reduce heat to low and cook 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from heat.

Separate the egg yolks from whites (keep the whites, you'll use them for the meringue). Beat the egg yolks slightly. Gradually stir 1 cup of the hot mixture into yolks to temper the eggs. If you add the eggs to the mixture you'll end up with scrambled eggs in your custard. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and bring the entire mixture to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes before removing the pan from heat.

Stir butter, vanilla, and coconut into the hot mixture. Pour the hot filling into the baked pie crust. Cool slightly.

Now, let's make the meringue!!
Reduce oven heat to 350° Beat the egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and gradually add the sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time. Beat the egg whites until they swell up into plump, shiny, soft clouds that hold firm, curly peaks.

Scoop the meringue on top of the cooled custard filling, spreading the meringue all the way to the crust and mounding the meringue up slightly in the center of the pie. Create swoops and swirls in the meringue for decorative effect and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of the coconut over the top of the meringue.

Place the Oui Oui pie on the middle rack of the oven and bake until the meringue is a beautiful golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Place the pie on a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature.