Recipe for milk pie

Momofuku’s Christina Tosi’s Cereal Milk creations are legendary. It’s to the point where they sell the prepared Cereal Milk in pint bottles so you can feed that itch on-the-go. As I was drinking the remaining milk from a bowl of cornflakes I wondered, “Why not Cereal Milk Pie? And why not add some coconut into the mix?”

I’ve always found traditional coconut cream pies kind of frustrating. You either get the flavor by adding “flavor”—that’s a no for me—or you add flaky coconut to the creamy filling, which is kind of a textural oxymoron and not always pleasant for some people. Or you do what I usually do and use a healthy portion of either coconut milk or coconut milk powder together with the milk. It’s delicious but the texture changes and becomes a little more viscous than creamy.

I looked up Christina’s recipe for Cereal Milk. She calls for toasting the cornflakes before soaking to increase caramelization. I figured that could work for the coconut, too, so I lightly toasted some coconut. Good Pie.

Cereal Milk Cream Pie with Coconut

Cream Pie made with Milk-flavored with toasted cornflakes and coconut

Ingredients

Cereal Milk

• 100gms – unsweetened flaked coconut
• 100gms – cornflakes
• 1qt – whole milk, yields approx. 2 1/2 cups Cereal Milk after soaking

Filling

• 1/4 cup – brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 tbsp – sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup – cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp – kosher salt
• 2 1/2 cups – cereal milk (see recipe above)
• 1/2 cup – half & half or coconut milk (your choice)

Assembling the Pie

• 1 pint – heavy or whipping cream
• 2 tbsp – sugar (optional)
• 1 - baked pie shell (crumb, traditional or coconut)