Name: Cream Cocoanut Pie
Ingredients: 1 quart cream; 1 tablespoon of corn starch; 1 cup sugar; 4 eggs; one crust; two pies

Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Cream Cocoanut Pie

two pies

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the crust

Bake the pie crust until golden.
Make a lining for the crust.

Make the filling

In a double boiler, combine 1 quart cream (or milk) with a small piece of butter and cook.
Add 1 tablespoon corn starch (or flour) to the hot mixture and stir.
Grate coconut, add 1 cup sugar, and pour the boiling mixture over the grated coconut.
When the mixture is cold or nearly so, add the beaten whites of 4 eggs.

Assemble and bake

Pour the filling into the lined crust and bake for about 10 minutes in a moderate oven.
Make two pies.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

633Calories

20 gProtein

12 gFat

109 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Pie	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By North End Club (Chicago, Ill.). Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Corn + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together7,168 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together42,166 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream + corntop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cream: Provides richness and a smooth, moist body to the filling.
Corn starch: Thickens the hot liquid into a custard-like filling as it cooks.
Eggs: Beaten whites add lightness and help the filling set.
Sugar: Sweetens the filling and balances the richness of the cream.
Coconut (in the method): Adds coconut flavor and a tender texture to the filling.

The step that matters

Add the egg whites only when the mixture is cold or nearly so. Beaten egg whites added to a very hot mixture can cook unevenly, weep or turn grainy. Letting the filling cool first lets the whites blend in smoothly and keeps the pie light and tender.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Corn Cake90 recipes

Corn Starch Cake89 recipes

Corn Cakes22 recipes

Green Corn Pudding14 recipes

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Cream Cocoanut Pie