Dessert

Aunt Mae’s Coconut Pie

Aunt Mae brought two of these pies to any social gathering and we knew we had better get a piece early ’cause if we waited, it was gone.

I am so thankful to my brother and his wife, who called and got her recipe. Of course it was a dab of this and a dollop of that, so they had to test it several times to get a recipe that we all could follow.

I tweaked the recipes to make them user friendly and also used the microwave to make the filling; a process that keeps the filling from scorching. Enjoy!

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Aunt Mae’s Coconut Pie

This recipe makes two pies. Never worry, you will need two!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword coconut, cream pie, meringue, pie
Servings 16
Author stevens1951

Equipment

  • 2 pie pans
  • 1 wire whisk

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup evaporated milk
  • 3 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 14 oz bag coconut
  • 2 pie crusts baked
  • 2 recipes Swiss Meringue

Instructions

  • Combine sugar, flour and salt in microwave safe bowl. Stir to break up lumps.
  • Combine both milks in a microwave safe measuring cup and warm in microwave for 2 minutes.
  • Add milk to flour mixture and stir with a wire whisk to blend.
  • Microwave on high at 2 minute intervals until thickened, stirring well in between.
  • Separate egg yolks from the whites being careful not to break the yolks. Place the whites in a stainless steel mixing bowl to make the meringue later.
  • Slightly beat the yolks, then blend in a few spoonfuls of the hot pudding mixture to temper the yolks. Add the yolk mixture to the hot cream mixture and blend well. Microwave for an additional 2 minutes then add vanilla and butter blending until butter melts.
  • Add approximately two thirds of the coconut stirring until blended. Pour into baked pie shells and top with meringue made from the egg whites then top with the remaining coconut. Bake in a 400 degree oven until slightly brown. Cool and serve at room temperature.
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Pie Crust

A flaky crust made with butter
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword buttermilk, pie crust
Servings 16
Author stevens1951

Equipment

  • 2 pie plates or pans
  • 1 Rolling Pin

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks butter unsalted
  • 2 2/3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

  • Place flour and salt in a bowl.
  • Grate cold butter, a little at a time, over flour. Toss the butter into the flour every few minutes to prevent the butter from sticking together.
  • Sprinkle cold water over the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the dough starts forming a ball.
  • Divide the dough in half and place on floured pastry board or counter. Roll dough into a circle to fit pie plate. Sprinkle a little more flour over pastry if it sticks to the rolling pin.
  • Fold dough over and lift into pan. Press dough to fit pan. Fold top edge under and flute. Prick bottom and sides of shell with a fork to prevent shrinkage. Repeat with remaining dough.
  • For a baked pie shell, heat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
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Swiss Meringue

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword egg whites, pie
Servings 16
Author stevens1951

Equipment

  • 1 stainless steel mixing bowl
  • 1 saucepan
  • 1 wire whisk

Ingredients

  • 6 egg whites no yolk or fat can be in whites
  • 12 tablespoons sugar
  • dash cream of tartar

Instructions

  • Add 1 inch of water to saucepan and bring to a simmer.
  • Combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a stainless steel mixing bowl and place over simmering water.
  • Stir constantly with a wire whisk or the beaters of the electric mixer until sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is slightly warm. Test by rubbing mixture between two fingers.
  • Remove from saucepan and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
  • Spread meringue on top of pie filling. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees F. until meringue is browned.

Notes

“Weeping” is the watery liquid that often collects under the meringue and causes the pie to be soggy.  This is caused by the sugar not dissolving completely.  High humidity also does not help.  The Swiss method of dissolving the sugar in warm egg whites helps to prevent weeping. 

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Bananas Flambe’

Spirited cookery is a favorite of mine. I’ve made a few mistakes. I remember my friend and I making dinner for our boyfriends. We wanted to impress them so we decided to make something to flame. Two Home Ec. majors and we failed to heat the liqueur so it would be hot enough to flame. First try–didn’t flame so we stirred it in. Second try– still didn’t flame so we stirred that it. On the third try it didn’t flame. What the heck, we will serve it anyway. My husband says he got drunk on eating chicken! And it tasted horrible with all that brandy stirred in.

Not to be defeated, I went on to Cherries Jubilee and when they made Bananas Flambe” table-side at Culinary School, I knew I had to make it at the local Charity Ball. It was a hit and very impressive. I always included the recipe at my couples cooking lessons. The men loved flaming it. Guess they always love playing with fire. Don’t be intimidated, it is a easy recipe and worth the try. Enjoy!

  • Couples Cooking Class
  • Have all supplies ready
  • Great for dinner party
  • A little help from my friend
  • Flaming is the best part
  • Show confidence
  • Ready to serve over ice cream or pound cake, Yum!
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Banana Flambe’

A very impressive dessert inspired by Johnson and Wales Culinary School
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword bananas, flaming, ice cream
Servings 4 servings

Equipment

  • medium skillet

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 bananas peeled, cut in half crosswise, then cut in half lengthwise
  • 1/4 cup rum
  • 1/4 cup banana liquer

Instructions

  • Prep all ingredients. Place a medium skillet over medium heat. Add butter and sugar stirring until caramelized. Add bananas and coat with caramel. Remove skillet from flame and add rum away from flame, return to heat tilting pan slightly to flambe'. Let the flames die down. Lower flame, remove pan from heat. Add banana liqueur and return to heat. Cook slightly to reduce sauce. Serve bananas over vanilla ice cream or pound cake and nappe' with sauce.

Notes

Safety Practices:
  • Store liqueurs away from heat.
  • Remove pan from heat before adding liqueur.
  • Tilt pan gently towards flame to ignite, show confidence.
  • Do  not leave unattended
  • Never pour liqueur in a flaming pan
  • For an electric range, heat rum in a small saucepan over medium heat (do not boil).  Quickly pour rum over banana mixture, and immediately ignite with a long match just above the liquid mixture to light the fumes (not the liquid itself).

    Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

    My daughter, Carrie, called me from college one night at 11:30 pm asking what could she make with buttermilk. I told her “Nothing, throw it away!”, hung up the phone and went back to sleep. Later I asked her what she did with it–she made her favorite pound cake. Enjoy!

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    Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

    From According To Taste, Lufkin Service League, 1985, page 218
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Keyword buttermilk, lemon, pound cake

    Equipment

    • tube pan
    • electric mixer

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup butter softened
    • 1 cup shortening
    • 2 1/2 cups sugar
    • 4 eggs
    • 1 tablespoon lemon extract
    • 1 teaspoon butter flavoring
    • 1 tablespoon boiling water
    • 31/2 cups flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 cup buttermilk
    • 1 cup finely chopped pecans opt.
    • Glaze:
    • Juice of 2 lemons
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

    Instructions

    • Cream together the butter, shortening and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add the flavorings and water to the batter. Sift the flour and baking soda together and add add to the batter alternately with the buttermilk. Add optional pecans. Blend well. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. While still hot, brush with glaze.
    • Glaze: In a saucepan, over medium heat bring the lemon juice and sugar to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add lemon extract.

    This site contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links, at no cost to you. Products are examples of what I own or what I recommend in order to help you make the best choice for you. Thank you for your support.

      French Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

      When we needed dessert for a crowd, Stevens Catering would serve bread pudding. We would put three recipes to a hotel pan, bake it and hold it in a warmer until arriving on site. We kept it warm in a chafing dish and served it with its own sauce. We often served two kinds: French Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce and Very Berry Bread Pudding with Orange Sauce. Both recipes are very light and were a hit every time we served them. Here is the recipe for French Bread Pudding. Enjoy it!

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      French Bread Pudding

      Inspired by Southern Living
      Course Dessert
      Cuisine American
      Keyword french bread, Rum sauce
      Servings 8

      Equipment

      • 8 inch square baking dish

      Ingredients

      • 1/2 cup pecans toasted and chopped
      • 1/2 cup butter softened
      • 1 cup sugar
      • 4 eggs
      • 1 3/4 cups milk
      • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
      • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
      • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
      • 5 cups French bread cubes 1 inch

      Rum Sauce

      • 3 tablespoons butter
      • 1 tablespoons flour
      • 1/2 cup sugar
      • 1 cup whipping cream
      • 2 tablespoons Rum
      • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
      • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

      Instructions

      • Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, and beat well. Stir in milk, cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg, and vanilla, mixing well. Stir in pecans and bread cubes mixing just until moist. Spoon into a greased 8 inch square baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes; uncover and bake 10 minutes. Serve warm with Rum Sauce.
      • Rum Sauce: Melt butter in a small saucepan; whisk in flour and cook 5 minutes. Stir in sugar and whipping cream; cook 3 minutes. Stir in Rum, vanilla, and nutmeg, and simmer 5 minutes. Yield 1 1/2 cups

      For Very Berry Bread Pudding with Orange Sauce click here.

        Chocolate Chip Cookies

        Who can resist Chocolate Chip Cookies, especially when they are served on an ice cream bar? The ice cream was scooped ahead of time, stored in the freezer then brought out when guests arrived. Chocolate Ganache, caramel syrup, toasted pecans, sprinkles, cinnamon tortilla chips and whipped cream completed the bar.

        There were a few things we did at Stevens Catering that made these cookies extra special. First, we used milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet. We also made them ahead of time, scooped up the dough, froze them on a tray and then stored them in a plastic bag until ready to bake. This process allows the dough to re-hydrate and makes a cookie that does not spread out. I like to keep cookie dough in the freezer and bake only a few at a time as needed. While you might not want to do this at home, I suggest you at least refrigerate your cookie dough for 30 minutes or more to allow the flour to hydrate. Your cookies will be so much better!

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        Chocolate Chip Cookies

        Inspired by recipe from Betty Crocker Cookbook
        Course Dessert
        Cuisine American
        Keyword chocolate chips, cookie
        Servings 4 dozen
        Author stevens1951

        Equipment

        • cookie sheets or baking pans
        • parchment paper
        • 1 ounce scoop

        Ingredients

        • 2/3 cup shortening
        • 2/3 cup butter softened
        • 1 cup sugar
        • 1 cup brown sugar packed
        • 2 eggs
        • 2 teaspoons vanilla
        • 3 cups flour
        • 1 teaspoon soda
        • 1 teaspoon salt
        • 2 packages milk chocolate chips 6 ounce packages
        • 1 cup chopped nuts optional

        Instructions

        • Mix thoroughly shortening, butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Chill dough 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking. If planning to bake another day, use a one ounce scoop to measure out dough and place touching on a cookie sheet. Place in freezer overnight. The next day place frozen dough in a gallon plastic bag and store in the freezer.
        • To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and scoop refrigerated dough 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheet or place frozen dough 2 inches apart on paper. Bake 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool slightly before removing from baking sheet.

        Notes

        Dough can be baked immediately, but will spread more than chilled or frozen dough.

        This site contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links, at no cost to you. Thanks for your support.

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