What To Do If Your Coconut Cream Pie Filling Won't Set

Coconut cream pie is a classic delight, with its mild nuttiness and sweet, familiar flavor that can skew summery and tropical, or be paired with warming spices for a cooler weather treat. But making it from scratch can be a little bit tricky, especially when it comes to that critical filling. If you've ever attempted to whip up this pie at home and found that your silky middle didn't set, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Believe it or not, you can actually save your filing with a super simple step — just boil it again. This should give you the chance to cook it down a bit longer, concentrating the mixture into a more satisfactory filling. 

Many recipes already call for cornstarch in the filling, but if you're still concerned your center won't set after boiling again, you can add a bit more of this stuff (or if your recipe didn't call for it in the first place, you can incorporate it for the first time at this point). Make a slurry of cornstarch and milk (a ratio of about 1 tablespoon starch to ¼ cup of dairy), and once you have that whisked up and ready to go, you can add it into the filling mixture. This is the same culinary principle that works in easy classic vanilla pudding. After boiling a second time, this combination should thicken up well. 

There are some factors that might cause this issue that you can try to sidestep as well so you can prevent the problem in the first place. For one thing, you'll want to be sure you're using ingredients that don't qualify as low-fat. Some recipes call for canned cream of coconut or canned coconut milk, which differ from some of the boxed products when it comes to fat content. If you accidentally bought the wrong kind, that's okay. You can always use the cream from the canned coconut milk for a variety of other purposes. Other recipe formulas rely on cow's milk with coconut extract or the shredded version folded into the filling. In this case, you'll also want full-fat, whole milk or half-and-half. Low-fat options in either scenario will likely be too thin and lack the richness to give you a full-bodied filling that will easily set.

When you serve your pie will also impact your filling. If it's too warm, you will end up with runny results once you slice into it, so be sure to give it enough time to cool to room temperature. However, once your coconut cream is fully set and ready, plate up slices topped with toasted macadamia nuts, a drizzle of chocolate sauce, or toasted coconut flakes, and float away on a cloud of that classic flavor.