This coconut cream pie with meringue is an old family recipe from the restaurant. It's a creamy and delicious classic dessert from my great aunt Ruth. This recipe uses a pre-made pie crust to make it a bit simpler, so all you need to focus on is the filling and meringue topping.
In a pan over high heat: mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt - stirring in the scalded milk slowly. Keep everything boiling, stirring constantly until thick and smooth. Let it cook for about 2 minutes.
Add a few tablespoons at a time of the hot mixture unto the egg yolks to temper, then once tempered add the rest of the hot mixture. Cook 1 minute over low heat stirring constantly, and add the butter. Cool slightly, stir in the vanilla and coconut. Pour into pie crust shell and cool.
Beat egg whites until stiff, gradually beating in the sugar. Spread over cooked filling, sealing the edges of the pastry. Sprinkle with coconut. Brown in moderate oven (375 degrees) for about 10 minutes.