Taya Starling

So I decided to make a summer mango pie and then I sat around one afternoon thinking about how to make this summer mango pie and then realized…I’ve never made a mango pie before, in fact I’ve never even seen nor heard of mango pie before which is pretty absurd now that I think about it since Thailand is FULL of mango- seriously I had no idea there were even this many kinds of mangos in the world let alone in one country.  This of course left the issue of…. well which mango makes for the best mango tart/ pie? Welllllll I don’t have the answer to that yet, but I will tell you that I liked my first choice just fine.  If you use a different mango I’d love to hear how that worked out- just make sure it’s ripe!

Back to my mango pie contemplation.  The more I formed this recipe in my head the more I realized what I was going to bake was more classically called a tart rather than a pie since I wasn’t using typical pie dough and I wasn’t going to fill a pan with mango as I initially intended.  So this is my revised summer plan to make a mango pie tart.  This tart took a little more effort than my usual attempts at tarts but that’s mostly because I was being picky about the crust.  After a lot of thought I finally decided on a coconut shortbread cookie crust – i think the roasted coconut nuttiness compliments the coconut creme filling & the fresh mango well, you guys will have to let me know what you think.

For the perfect summer pie or tart I recommend bright fruits, maybe even ones a little tart, nothing heavy or chocolately really because, well, it’s summer and chocolate melts in the heat.  What I honestly had in mind while playing around with this recipe was one of my favorite Thai desserts- mango with coconut sticky rice and although I scrapped the idea of putting sticky rice in the pie, I decided to keep the coconut creme idea and add that to the filling instead.  I took quick trips to 4 different markets where I literally ended each trip walking up and down the aisles with my hands in the air exclaiming “MY KINGDOM FOR SOME SHREDDED COCONUT!” – seriously though people with a country literally overflowing with coconuts why don’t any markets carry shredded coconut sweetened or unsweetened?! Anyway, I finally came to my sense and realized… I can shred my own coconut and toast it myself! So there.  And then I really came to my senses and realized that I really didn’t want to do that at all especially when I can buy toasted coconut chips which are essentially what I needed anyway! Thank heavens. So below says toasted shredded coconut but really you can use coconut chips if you’re in a pinch (& that way you won’t have to toast the coconut yourself!).

So here’s what you’ll need for my Mango Coconut Creme Pie with a Coconut Shortbread Cookie Crust…

For the Coconut Shortbread Cookie Crust:

1 cup of toasted shredded coconut

1-1/2 cup of all-purpose unbleached flour

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup of cold butter cut in cubes

{ IF you’re using shredded coconut- first toast sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut in a pan until brown or bake in an oven- at 350F (or 180C) on a sheet pan for 10-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes }

Preheat your oven to 350F or 180C.  Butter a large tart pan with a removable bottom and set aside.

Place the toasted coconut in chip or shredded form in a food processor and pulse until it’s nice & chopped.  Next add the flour, salt and powdered sugar into the ground toasted coconut and pulse until combined. Add the cubes of butter and process until it just comes together (don’t over-process it).  Press the dough evenly on the bottom and the sides of the buttered tart pan.  Place on center rack in oven & bake for 20-25 minutes until cookie crust appears golden brown.  Remove from oven & set aside to cool.

For the Coconut Creme Filling:

8 oz (1 package) cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup of heavy cream

1/2 cup of coconut cream

2 tbsp lime juice

Using the paddle attachment of your mixer, mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, occasionally scraping the sides. Add the heavy cream, coconut cream, & lime juice and whip until it firms up.  The filling should be thick enough that it doesn’t drip but rather peaks slightly when you remove the paddle.  Cover and place in refrigerator until ready to use.

For the Mango Topping:

2 mangos

sugar, optional

I used 2 large mangos for my tart since I made a large one, but depending on the size of the mango I say over buy because at least you’ll have enough for the tart and there’s no harm in extra mango sitting around the kitchen to add to your morning yogurt or smoothie.  Here in Thailand there are more than 20 kinds of mango so picking which one to use for the tart was a little more thought provoking than if you’re buying mangos in say California where you can typically only get two kinds: Mexican or Filipino.  Long debate short we decided on chok anan mangos which are large & long & yellow when ripe.

So what you want to do (regardless of what mango you bought) is peel the mango then cut its “cheeks” off of the seed as shown below.

Then you will slice the mango thinly lengthwise, as seen below.

IF your mango doesn’t seem ripe enough, don’t worry all you have to do is gently toss the slices in a bowl with some sprinkled sugar and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes.  This will sweeten and enhance the mango flavor.  If your mangos are ripe then right on, you’re a badass at picking out fruit and you can proceed on to the next step.

Now to assemble the Mango Coconut Creme Pie with a Coconut Shortbread Cookie Crust…

Your crust should be nice and cool by now so you can fill it evenly with the coconut creme filling- I suggest using a spatula then licking the spatula for added satisfaction and overall quality control.

Finally, starting with the longer mango slices, arrange them in overlapping circles starting at the tart crust and working your way inward.  Don’t worry about being a perfectionist, the mango slices are their own kind of beauty and the uneven overlapping and gradual decrease in slice size will create petals that eventually lead to your pretty mango tart flower.  For the very center of the tart roll a slice and place in the middle. Voila you have now made a Mango Coconut Creme Pie with a Coconut Shortbread Cookie Crust from scratch!  Mine lasted one sitting with my family- almost everyone went for seconds (: Hope your family and friends enjoy it as much as we did.