Blow Your Mind Coconut Mango Pie wins contests! It’s that good. A year-round dessert that touts crazy delicious mango flavor and coconut crust.
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That moment when you bite into the most perfectly ripe mango and it blows your mind. There’s really no fruit like it. Very few fruits blow minds. It’s a fact. This is all researched by me. So why not make a mango pie?
For multiple years now, this pie has won my friend’s very competitive, family pie-making contest at Thanksgiving. I shared it with her a few years back and now it holds its place as the best pie she has ever made!
Find out what makes the graham cracker crust in my Blow Your Mind Coconut-Mango Pie so amazing!
This show-stopping pie has sweet coconut mixed into the graham crackers for the toasty crust. Toasted coconut has got to be one of my favorite things on this earth. There’s nothing like that crispy, tropical flavor in your mouth. I love graham cracker crusts, but wanted the coconut flavor to pair with my mango filling, so adding a little toasted coconut was the perfect touch.
The smooth mango filling is reminiscent of Key lime pie with a creamy but intense fruity flavor. As in a key lime pie I use the richness and sugary flavor of sweetened condensed milk to create the filling. With pure mango puree or nectar, a little lime to bring out the fruitiness, and a few eggs, this filling bakes into a dense, luscious custard.
Keep reading to find out why you have to use pure puree or nectar in this mango pie.
Like key lime pies, this mango pie is a custard, of eggs, juice and sweetened condensed milk (in the place of a custard’s usual cream, or milk and sugar). Other custard pies, like my Chocolate Covered Pretzel Pie are made with eggs, sugar and milk. Those ingredients make a rich and smooth, pudding-like filling. I used this pudding-like custard method for my Black Bottom Pie and Pumpkin Cream Pie recipes too.
My mango pie is a custard because it has eggs, but the filling gets cooked in the crust, like a traditional pecan or pumpkin pie would. These baked custards can often feel curdled on your tongue if the recipe isn’t just perfect. Using sweetened condensed milk helps this baked filling stay silky smooth and even dense, just like I love it!
If you are buying mango nectar, be sure it’s pure mango. Most juices and nectars have fillers like pear or apple so you don’t get the intense mango flavor. This Perfect Puree, and Ravifruit purees are my favorite. They keep well in the freezer, so you can make pie after pie after pie!
The fluffy topper is a Swiss meringue (a Swiss meringue is different from a regular meringue in that the sugar is cooked into the egg whites before whipping) a more stable and easy-to-pipe meringue. Use the back of a spoon to swoosh it into delectable designs, or an #826 piping tip to make designs like mine. Can’t stop, won’t stop!!
Make this Blow Your Mind Coconut-Mango Pie now, in the summer, spring or winter! Or make it for your Thanksgiving Pie-Off! It will win hands down!
Blow Your Mind Coconut Mango Pie wins contests! It's that good. A year-round dessert that touts crazy delicious mango flavor and coconut crust.
Ingredients
- 12 graham cracker sheets
- 3 tbsp confectioners' sugar
- ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 6 tbsp butter, melted
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
- ¾ cup pure mango puree
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- To make crust, heat oven to 325°F. Pulse crackers, confectioners' sugar and coconut in a food processor until finely ground. Add butter and blend. Press mixture firmly into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake until lightly browned, 12 to 15 min. Crust can be stored for up to 1 day, loosely covered with foil.
- For filling: Beat egg yolks until thick and light in color, about 4 min. Stir in sweetened condensed milk, mixing another 2 min. Stir in mango puree and lime juice. Pour mixture into crust and bake at 325°F until just set in the center when gently shaken, about 30 min. Cool pie completely and refrigerate before topping.
- For meringue topping: Whisk together egg whites, granulated sugar and salt in a mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water. When sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch, remove from heat and whip until firm peaks form, about 12 min. Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a #826 large open-star tip and pipe onto chilled pie. Set under a broiler until just toasted. Top with extra coconut.
Notes
Look for mango puree in the health food section of your grocery store or make your own by blending fresh or frozen mango with a little water, then straining it through a fine-mesh sieve.
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If you love this pie be sure to check out my Chocolate Covered Pretzel Pie. It touts a fantastic crust made with salty pretzels for that savory, sweet taste we love.
Recipe Tara Bench. Food Styling Sara Neumeier. Prop Styling Cindy De Prima. Photography Maura McEvoy. Originally published in Ladies’ Home Journal 10/11.
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Looks delish!!! Can’t wait to try this!
I just made this and the only sweetened condensed milk we had on hand was caramel flavored. I thought it was going to turn out way too sweet but it was actually amazing! I can’t wait to try it again with the regular sweetened condensed milk. I’m so happy to have found a new and unique dessert recipe!
Samantha that sounds amazing!! I absolutely love when people adjust my recipes to be their own. That was a great idea and innovation. Yes! Let me know what you think when you make it with regular sweetened condensed milk. Until then, I may just have to try the caramel flavor!