Chocolate haupia pie is a no-bake cream pie made with coconut milk. Half of the custard is layered into a flakey pie crust that has been baked and cooled. The remaining custard is mixed with chocolate and poured on top. The pie is chilled and then topped with stabilized whipped cream.
I decided to re-create this chocolate haupia pie after visiting the famous Ted's bakery in Haleiwa, Hawaii.
What's in this blog post
Ingredients
Haupia (how-pee-uh) is just a mixture of coconut milk, sugar, and cornstarch and is often served at Luaus or family gatherings. The texture is a bit firmer than custard and holds its shape well, so you can eat it with your fingers, but it is deliciously smooth and creamy.
The first time I had haupia pie was on our recent trip to Oahu to visit my aunt and cousins I've never met before. My mom passed away when I was 19, so I didn't get a chance to ask her about her family history. It was really awesome to meet my Mother's sister and all her kids and their kids. My uncle served up some delicious burgers, POG, and sweet rolls topped with a sticky-sweet frosting called pani popo.
I was also 3 months pregnant with my son so I wanted to EAT ALL THE FOOD. I asked my followers what places I should visit while I was there and overwhelmingly, Ted's Bakery was high up on the list.
I had never had haupia pie, but I had heard of it. I wasn't sure what to expect. I'll never forget sitting on the beach as I took my first bite, and I had a look of shock on my face. Omg it was so good! Creamy, slightly coconut-y, and the crust was melt-in-your mouth delicious.
Before I took my next bite, I knew I wanted to try and re-create it.
How to make the crust
Haupia pie is so super simple to make. It all starts with blind-baking the pie crust. This is necessary since the haupia pie filling is not baked. You can start with my flakey pie crust recipe or use a pre-made crust!
- Place the flour and salt into a medium-sized bowl.
- Grate your cold butter directly into the flour mixture.
- Toss the mixture until the butter is coated with flour.
- Add in the water in small amounts and mix with your other hand until the flour is almost all gone.
- Press the dough together and wrap in plastic wrap to chill for at least one hour, but overnight is best
- Let the chilled dough come to room temperature for 20 minutes
- Roll out the dough ⅛" thick and place into your 9" pie plate
- Trim off the excess dough but leave ¼" of dough all the way around to account for shrinking
- Poke some holes in the bottom of the crust with your fork and flute the edges of the dough with your fingers if desired.
- Brush the surface of the dough with egg wash (one egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water) to promote browning and a shiny crust.
- Freeze for 20 minutes.
- Place some aluminum foil or parchment paper in the bottom of the pie and fill with pie weights.
- Bake in the oven at 350ºF for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, carefully lift out the aluminum foil and weights.
- Return the crust to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until a golden brown.
- Let cool fully before filling
How to make the haupia filling
- In a medium saucepan combine together the coconut milk, the first quantity of water, the coconut extract, and the sugar over medium-high heat until it begins to simmer.
- Combine the second quantity of water and the cornstarch together to make a slurry.
- Once the mixture is simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low and add in the cornstarch mixture. Whisk constantly until thickened. About 3 minutes.
- Add in your vanilla and stir to combine.
- Divide the mixture into two bowls.
- Add the chocolate to one of the bowls and whisk it together until the chocolate is fully melted.
How to make the haupia pie
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the cooled pie crust *note I accidentally did this backwards on my pie, don't do as I do, do as I say haha
- Chill the crust with the chocolate filling for 15 minutes or until it's set.
- Pour the remaining coconut mixture on top of the cooled chocolate layer and put it back in the fridge to chill for at least an hour or overnight.
- Top with your whipped cream and some shaved chocolate.
Recipe
Equipment
- pie weights
Ingredients
Flakey Pie Dough
- 10 ounces all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces cold butter grated
- 2 ounces ice water
Haupia Pie Filling
- 14 ounces coconut milk one can
- 8 ounces water or milk
- 2 teaspoons coconut extract
- 7 ounces granulated sugar
- 8 ounces water
- 2 ounces cornstarch
- 6 ounces chocolate good quality
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream topping (optional)
- 12 ounces heavy cream
- 2 ounces powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
- 3 Tablespoons cold water
- 1 teaspoon heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF
For the flakey dough
- Place the flour and salt into a medium-sized bowl
- Grate your cold butter directly into the flour mixture
- Toss the mixture until the butter is coated with flour
- Add in the water in small amounts and mix with your other hand until the flour is almost all absorbed.
- Flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Let the dough chill for 30 minutes or overnight before using it. Let warm for 20 minutes or until pliable but still firm before rolling out.
- Roll out dough ⅛" thick and place it into a 9" pie plate. Cut off the excess, leave ¼" of dough all the way around to account for shrinking.
- Brush the surface of the pie with egg wash (one egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water) to promote even browning and a shiny crust
- Poke some holes in the bottom of the dough with a fork.
- Freeze the pie for 20 minutes
- Place some foil or parchment paper in the pie pan then fill to the top with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the foil carefully. Put the pie back in the oven for 15 minutes or until it's golden brown and has pulled away from the sides of the pie plate.
- Set aside to cool
For the haupia pie filling
- in a medium saucepan combine together the coconut milk, first quantity of water, coconut extract and sugar over medium-high heat until it begins to simmer.
- Combine together the second quantity of water and the cornstarch and whisk to make a slurry
- Once the mixture is simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low and add in the cornstarch mixture. Whisk constantly until thickened. About 3 minutes. Add in your vanilla and stir to combine.
- Divide the mixture into two bowls.
- Add the chocolate to one of the bowls and whisk until the chocolate is fully melted.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the cooled pie crust *note I accidentally did this backwards on my pie, don't do as I do, do as I say haha
- Chill the crust with the chocolate filling for 15 minutes or until set
- Pour the remaining coconut mixture on top of the cooled chocolate and put it back in the fridge to chill for at least an hour or overnight.
Stabilized whipped cream
- Sprinkle your gelatin over the water and let bloom for 5 minutes.
- Melt gelatin for 5 seconds in the microwave. If not fully melted do another 3 seconds. You can tell gelatin is melted when there are no granules of unmelted gelatin visible.After dissolving your gelatin, add in 1 teaspoon of heavy cream and mix. If your gelatin is too cold, heat again until it's melted (5 seconds).
- In a cold mixing bowl, whip your heavy cream to soft peaks
- Add in your powdered sugar and vanilla
- Turn your mixer down to low and drizzle in your gelatin and mix until whipped cream forms stiff peaks. Pipe onto your pie as desired.
ST says
Can you substitute arrowroot for cornstarch 1:1?
Elizabeth Marek says
I don't know for sure, I would google how to substitute cornstarch for arrowroot. I think arrowroot is stronger than cornstarch
Sithima says
Hii... I think there is a mistake in conversion of oz to grams regarding flour and butter for the pie.. I flew from instagram to see this recipe and wanted to try this immediately. All ur recipes are A1.. Thank u for making me fall in love with baking.. Love all the way from India...