Haupia Pie with Macadamia Crust
Haupia Pie with Macadamia Crust is a cherished Hawaiian dessert. It is rich, chocolaty, coconutty and all with a nutty crust. Eating this is as exciting as going to your first luau.
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I had my first Haupia Pie on the North Shore of Oahu as a reward after being traumatized.
A few days before my North Shore experience there had been a large earthquake in Alaska that put the state of Hawaii on a tsunami alert.
Being from California I was used to the earthquakes, not being eaten alive by a giant wave.
Visions of the 2011 Japanese tsunami played in my head like a bad horror movie.
A few hours later all was fine and life went back to the normal Hawaiian style happiness.
Fast forward a few days to the afternoon on the beach of North Shore.
My cousins and I are happily soaking up the sun and beauty of Hawaii while having a cold drink when it hits. The dreaded “you are going to dye a drowning death today” siren.
Yes the tsunami siren went off and sent us into a state of panic.
My cousin, being the diligent wonderful mother that she is said, “My kids, I HAVE TO GET BACK TO MY KIDS.”
Her first thought was her precious babies in school.
My first thought was gathering every precious item we had brought to the beach and RUNNING FOR MY LIFE.
So what do I do?
I grab my beer and I RUN.
Yep, that is right.
Forget my purse and my camera, I had my beer and I was going to save my life.
That is until we realized that those around us were enjoying the show we were putting on for free.
They were testing the tsunami sirens…Yep, it is amazing what fear and panic can do to a person.
After our horrific experience we decided to drown our sorrows in a piece of Haupia Pie and let me tell you, it made everything better.
Everything stood still for me that afternoon with the first bite of the heavenly coconutty dreaminess.
So you can imagine my delight when my Cousin Niki (who was a chef in the Coast Guard) said she would make this Haupia Pie with Macadamia Crust for the blog.
If you make no other dessert this Holiday season, your Holidays will be complete because of this pie.
Tips about Haupia Pie with Macadamia Crust:
- The Haupia Pie with Macadamia Crustis is with out a doubt one of the best pie’s I have ever had in my life. Warning: it is a rich pie but to me that is just part of what makes it so wonderful. The flaky, buttery and nutty crust is a big part of why I love it. Oh and the chocolate coconut makes my heart sing. I can’t forget about creamy coconutty layer that is truly divine. All of this topped with fluffy whipped cream and toasted coconut….HEAVEN!
- Arrowroot can be substituted for the cornstarch. but make sure to use 1/3 cup instead of the 1/2 cup that the recipe calls for. Interestingly, arrowroot has been a thickener of the past for awhile now. It was something that our grandparents cooked with, not us. I am very excited to say it is starting to make a come back with all the concerns of genetically engineered corn. In my kitchen there are both. I use organic cornstarch and arrowroot powder and there are times I prefer arrowroot. Generally you use it just like you would cornstarch.
- When making the crust you will want butter that is cold, straight from the refrigerator. One trick is to cube the butter and place it back in the refrigerator until needed. If the butter is becoming too warm, cube it and place it in the freezer for about 10- 15 mins.
- Also while making the crust the ice water should consist of mostly ice and a little water. Cold, cold water is the name of the game.
- Another important trick while rolling out the crust is to touch is minimally. The warmth of your hands will cause the dough to warm up and you will want the dough to still be cold when it goes into the oven.
Forming of crust. - If you have ever made pie dough with out a pie weight you already know what a disaster the crust can turn into. It basically buckles and turns into a foreign looking object. I highly recommend to use a pie weight. It will just save you so much pain and agony making the crust from scratch.
- While toasting the coconut stay close and keep a watchful eye on it. It will turn brown fast. Just lay the coconut pieces out flat on a cookie sheet and place in a pre-heated 350℉ oven. It can be as quick as 5-7 mins. (affiliate)
A great food processor makes pie crust so much easier to create! Click Photo for Product.
Haupia Pie with Macadamia Crust
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 ¼ - 1 ½ cups flour
- ½ cup butter *cold & cubed
- ½ cup macadamia pieces
- ½ tsp salt
- 3-5 tbsp ice water
For the Filling
- 1 can coconut cream *13.5- 15 ounces can, See Note #1 below
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tsp. coconut extract
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup chocolate chips or chucks of choice
For the Slurry
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 cup water
For the Topping
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1/4-1/2 cup coconut shavings *toasted
Instructions
- In food processor, pulse macadamia nuts until fine bits. Be careful not to over process nuts or you will have macadamia nut butter. Yummy, but not what we want. Remove from food processor. Set aside.
- In food processor, pulse cold cubed butter and flour. Add water one tablespoon at a time to dough. Add macadamias. Dough should be crumbly but able to pinch together. Pour onto plastic wrap. Form a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes to 1 hour. Remove. Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Roll dough out on a floured surface. Avoid dough becoming too warm by overworking with hands. Carefully press dough into 8" pie dish. Place crust into oven and bake until golden brown-approximately 15 mins at 350℉.
- Set aside to cool completely.
- While the crust is cooling, create a slurry by dissolving cornstarch into water. Set aside.
- In a saucepan whisk together the coconut cream, milk, and sugar. Warm over medium heat until mixture begins to simmer and sugar is dissolved.
- Lower the heat and add extract. Add slurry to coconut mixture. Continue cooking on low just long enough for filling to thicken. Pour half the coconut mixture into a bowl and immediately add chocolate to remaining mixture in saucepan. Mix to melt chocolate into filling.
- Evenly pour chocolate filling into the cooled macadamia crust. Pour coconut mixture on top of chocolate and with an offset spatula smooth evenly over the chocolate layer.
- Cool the pie on counter top until room temperature. Place into the refrigerator.
- Whip heavy cream with sugar until stiff peaks form.
- lay coconut flat on a cookie sheet & toast in a 350℉ oven for 5-7 mins making sure to not burn. Let cool.
- When pie is cooled completely, top with whipped cream, toasted coconut, chopped macadamias, chopped chocolate, etc.
Notes
Nutrition
Follow along on Facebook and Pinterest for more sweet inspirations.
If you love this recipe then you will love these:
Vanilla Bean Blueberry Cream Cupcakes
What is coconut cream and where can I buy it?
Good Morning Niki,
Coconut cream can be found at most grocery stores usually in Thai food section. It comes in a can and is a thick, creamy and rich. If you are near Trader Joes they carry an excellent one that is very affordable. If not here is one on Amazon. http://amzn.to/2fVxWxg
I hope this helps and I am so excited for you that you get to have Haupia Pie. It is so unbelievably delicious.
What temperature should the oven be at for cooking the crust?
Hi Jane,
Thank you so much for catching that. It should be baked in a preheated 350℉ oven. I will immediately fix the recipe. Thank you!!
I have had such a nice day and your post made me smile/laugh and your wonderful recipe just made it perfect, thank you so much…
Thank you Gail! I actually forgot I wrote about my Tsunami scare until I read your comment…lol… It was definitely and adventure!
Quick question….answer might be late since I’m making a pie now, what size pie pan does this go with? An 8″? Or larger? I have a pretty one but it’s bigger. I’ll plan to use the regular 8″ for now 🙂
I popped over to good ole Target and got a nice 9″ one 🙂
It might be too early to be baking as I just saw the 8″ in the recipe…oops 🙂
Hi Dany,
I am so sorry for the hub bub while baking. I hope it turned out great. I am super jealous as I love Haupia pie.
How many ounces should the can of coconut cream weigh?
Hi Randi,
First off I want to apologize for the extremely late response. My Father passed away and I have been caught up in a whirlwind this last month. I am so embarrassed that I have not responded to all of my comments in a timely manner.
13.5 – 14 oz can of coconut works perfectly for this recipe. I hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season!
I was just in Hawaii and had some awesome pie and want to make this. The pie was very creamy. What is the consistency of the filling? Is it creamy or thick?
Welcome back Susan! I am so jealous as I would love to go back to Hawaii. I hope you had a wonderful time! The Haupia Pie has the consistency of thick pudding so it falls in both the thick and creamy category. I hope this helps.
How far in advance can you make the pie (without the whipped topping on)? Do I just Lee it in the fridge?
Hi Amanda,
You can safely make the pie the day before serving and refrigerate over night. The next day the whipping cream can be made and added. Just as a note, let the pie cool to room temperature before refrigerating. I hope you enjoy! It’s such a yummy pie.
That is exactly what I did, although my bf ate a piece before I added the whipped cream.
🤣
Has anybody done this in a 9″ pie plate? If so what were the results? I don’t want to buy an 8″ just for one pie
Hi Becky,
This is such a good question and I hope one of the readers responds also.
The pie should work out beautifully in a 9 inch pie pan. There will just be a few things to take note of. 1) The baking time for the pie crust may be adjusted. I would suggest to start watching carefully after 10 mins of baking. 2) The pie will not be a thick. Outside of these 2 things it will still taste amazing. I hope you enjoy and please let me know how it turns out.
I’ve made this pie three times and absolutely love it. My mom is from Oahu so we’ve rated lots of chocolate Haupia pies and this is the best. Love the shortbread texture of the crust and the richness of the filling. I tried it with arrowroot starch and my family did not like it as well – personal preference. Thanks so much for sharing an incredible gem of a recipe!
Liv that makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for taking the time to come back and rate the recipe and Happy Holidays!!!
I’ve made this a few times now and everyone seems to love it (even hubs that doesn’t care for coconut). I’ve chosen to make the crust with more ground nuts and less flour. It makes a really pretty company pie but, fair warning, as they say on the web site, it’s a really rich pie! 😉
This makes me so happy to hear and I love the idea of using more ground nuts. Thank you so much for taking the time to make the recipe and coming back to rate it.
I made Haupia Pie the other night for the first time. It is amazing! My bf is very picky about nuts in things so I didn’t mention the macadamia nuts in the crust. He liked it but thought the crust was kind of hard to cut. Interestingly enough, I had no problems slicing it. It truly is absolutely delicious! Thank you for posting it.
Thank you so much for trying the pie and it makes me so happy to hear how much you enjoyed it. I have had so many times when my husband has said he doesn’t like something and then gobbles it down when I make it. I usually don’t mention it either or at least until after he tries it. What they don’t know won’t hurt them.😉
Hi, do you think the pie crust would work with gluten free flour?
Hi Karyn! I haven’t tried it yet with gluten free flour. However, I do recommend try Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour https://amzn.to/3CHzVwT (affiliate) because they have done such a good job working out the kinks when transitioning a recipe. Please let me know if you have any questions and I hope you enjoy!
What size can of coconut cream? Mine is 15oz. The Amazon link is 5.4oz. Thanks!
Hi Bonnie, I apologize for the delay. Thank you for drawing attention to this and I have updated the recipe. Yes, your 15 ounce can of coconut cream is perfect for the recipe.
Need help. Making now. Instructions for crust left off what yo do with salt. Also I can only find canned coconut milk (not very sweet) and can cream of coconut (coco Lopez which is very sweet). Which should I use? Thanks
Hi Cary. Thank you for reaching out.
Add the salt at the same time as the butter and salt.
Ideally you would want coconut cream that is the thicker and richer version of coconut milk. The coconut milk will be the next best option. However, it will not be quite as rich and luxurious with coconut milk but still delicious.
Please let me know how it turns out.
The recipe is really delicious, but I would change a couple of things. First, there is just too much filling for the pie crust. I’d make about 75% of the slurry recommended here. Second, in addition to toasted, coconut shavings. I would also add chocolate shavings as a topping. Really good pie!
Hi Jim. Thank you so much for your feedback and kind words about the recipe! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the pie. The amount of filling is designed to be generous for an 8-inch pie pan, but I understand your preference. Reducing the filling and adding chocolate shavings sound like wonderful adjustments. This will be very helpful for other readers.