SHF #33 - Tropical Paradise - Frangipani Pie

Here comes the sun,

Do do do do,

Here comes the sun,

And I say, it's alright ...

George Harrison, Here Comes the Sun

I have been a long time admirer of the Sugar High Friday Event, which this month is being hosted by Alpineberry. She has chosen "Tropical Paradise" as the theme, which fits in perfectly with my last two posts from cookbooks with a summer theme. Alas, in Melbourne in winter, one can only dream of a tropical paradise, and this winter has been one of the coldest in years. However, as I am a native Queenslander, I know what a tropical paradise should be like. Accordingly, I have chosen to make one of the sunniest, sweetest desserts that I know for Sugar High Friday #33 - namely, Frangipani Pie.

Frangipani pie has nothing to do with the almond cream filling used by pastry chefs known as "frangipane". Rather, it is a pie comprised of alternating layers of coconut cream, pineapple and meringue. The resulting white/yellow/white pie resembles the frangipani flowers which grow in tropical regions. I love the delicate looking frangipani flower, and hence have always had a special affinity for the delicious dessert which bears its name. The yellow pineapple in the filling evokes daydreams of sunny, lazy summers at the beach, soaking up the sun, surf and sand. This makes frangipani pie the perfect dessert for this "Tropical Paradise" version of Sugar High Friday.

The recipe is as follows:

Pie shell

1/2 cup self raising flour

3/4 cup plain flour

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

120g butter, cubed

1 egg

Coconut cream filling

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornflour

1/4 cup cold water

1 cup dessicated coconut

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pineapple filling

440g can crushed pineapple (I used Golden Circle brand from Queensland, just like me!)

1/4 cup cornflour
1/4 cup cold water

2 lightly beaten egg yolks

Meringue topping

2 egg whites

4 tablespoons sugar

Pie shell

Place flours, sugar and butter into a food processor and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg and blitz until the mxiture forms a ball of dough. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove from fridge and roll out until approximately 3mm thick and covers a 22cm pie plate. Carefully place the rolled pastry into a greased pie plate, and press to cover the plate. Cut off the hanging edges and press edges around the top of the pie plate with a fork. Line the pie shell with baking paper and fill with uncooked rice, then bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Remove baking paper and rice, then return the pie shell to the oven for another 1o minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cooked pie shell from the oven and cool.

Coconut cream filling

Blend the cornflour and water into a smooth paste and set aside. Place milk and sugar in a small saucepan, and stir over a low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cornflour paste, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens and boils. Take the saucepan off the heat, and stir in the butter, coconut and vanilla. Cool.

Pineapple filling

Place the pineapple and cornflour in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring continuously. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolks. Cool.

Meringue topping

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then beat in the sugar, one tablespoon at a time.

Place one half of the cooled coconut cream into the pie shell, cover with the pineapple filling, then cover with the remainder of the coconut cream (so you end up with white/yellow/white layers), and top with the meringue. Bake the pie in an oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes or until the meringue has browned. Cool on the bench, then refrigerate until set. Cut into generous slices to serve.

Frangipani pie is visually appealing because of its sunny colour scheme. For a Queensland girl stuck in a "long cold lonely winter" in Victoria, there's nothing like frangipani pie to say, "Here comes the sun!"