April 30, 2008

Buco (Young Coconut) Custard Pie

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There are three baked treats in the Filipino magazine called FOOD that have been in my to-bake list: Buco Custard Pie, Ube Roll Cake, and 7-Layer Toffee Crunch Cake. Up first is Buco Custard Pie, a rather rich version of the buco pie with the addition of a layer of custard. The pie is yummy, the crust is flaky, the filling is very creamy and not overly sweet. I don't know why I added the custard layer because I am not a fan of egg pie, I guess I was just curious. It came out very yummy, we finished the pie in 2 days! For the buco filling I used the meat and water of 2 fresh young coconuts. I was lucky both have thick but still soft meat. Hacking the bucos open was a real chore. This is the first time in my life I ever opened a coconut. I had to use a hammer after draining the water into a bowl, I was so scared of shards flying...I tell you, it is hard work. In the Philippines when we bought them in the markets or by the roadsides going to the provinces the sellers opened them after draining the water into a separate plastic bag. In restaurants they are served very cold with a straw in it and a spoon to scrape the meat. At home, the housemaids did all the hacking, I never bothered watching how it's done. I'm thinking of buying a machete which is the right tool to open a coconut but where will I cut it?*sigh*. Or I'll use frozen young coconut next time.


Buco Custard Pie

crust
2½ cups pastry flour
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoonp salt
¾ cup very cold diced butter
½ cup ice water
2 egg whites
  • In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter, I prefer using my fingertips, until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle water slowly, toss with a fork until the dough comes together. Divide dough into 2 equal parts, shape into balls, flatten and wrap individually in plastic film, and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out one dough into an 11-inch circle. Ease into a 9-inch pie pan. Smooth the dough into the bottom and sides of pan. Trim off excess to about 1 inch wider than pan. Prick bottom and sides all over with a fork. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Let cool. Brush with egg whites, set aside.
buco layer
4 cups young coconut meat cut into 1-inch strips
2 cups young coconut water, divided
1 cup evaporated milk
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup cornstarch
  • In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut meat, 1 cup coconut water, evaporated milk, sugar, and condensed milk. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often for 8 minutes. Stir cornstarch into the remaining coconut water. When the coconut meat mixture begins to boil, add cornstarch mixture, stirring quickly until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
custard layer
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten in a small bowl
1 teaspoon vanilla
  • In a small saucepan, combine sugar, flour, salt, and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring often until the mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Slowly stir in half of the mixture into the egg yolks. Beat until smooth and return to the saucepan with the remaining mixture. Cook until thick, stirring often. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool slightly.
to assemble the pie:
1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons water
  • Pour the buco meat filling into the crust, smooth top. Add custard on top of buco, smooth top. Roll out the second dough round into an 11-inch circle. Ease on top of the custard. Pinch edges of crust together and crimp or press with a fork. Brush top of pie with egg wash. Bake in the preheated 400°F oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

How do you get a Filipino magazine in the states? Do you have a subscription?

The pie looks fantastic btw. Very rich.

raissa said...

oh the pie looks so delicious. I love buco pie those that we buy along the road from Laguna are the best. And I love egg pie so having both of them in one is like having the best of both worlds

Oggi said...

Marvin, the magazine is one of two that the hubby brought home from the Philippines called Special Recipe Collection (of about 150), the recipes are from past issues of FOOD magazine. I have been drooling at the recipes most specially the desserts.
It's rich and creamy and I didn't expect to love the custard but I did.:)

Raissa, Laguna is famous for their buco pie and (I think) pancit guisado. You should try it if you love both kinds...I will probably use canned buco meat plus store bought pie crust next time I make this. I'll let you know if it's as delicious as fresh buco.

Chibog in Chief said...

thanks for this post oggi, i dont need to go to laguna to savour this dessert that i love so much!! lovely photo too :-)

Oggi said...

Thanks Dhanggit!

Anonymous said...

what is pastry flour?

Oggi said...

anonymous, pastry flour is used for biscuits, pie crusts, and pastry. It has lower protein than all-purpose for more tender and flaky pastries. If you can't find pastry flour in your groceries you can combine, in equal amounts, all-purpose and cake flours.

Anonymous said...

thank you very much oggi for the pastry flour info..now i can bake your yummy buco custard pie :)

Oggi said...

anonymous, you are most welcome...let me know how it turns out.:)

Anonymous said...

Wow Oggi, finally! I will try this one. My first buco pie was from different recipes in the internet. There was one comment that said, it (recipe) was good but it looked like sweetened elmer's glue. LOL. I think mine was okay since my cousins demanded me to make it. I'll try this one next....abangan.

Oggi said...

Laura, let me know if it turned out good.:)

Anonymous said...

I'm trying to master this as well and I was thinking of using frozen, but good point on the canned too.
My mother showed me how to open a coconut. You can use the tip of the knife, a good butcher knife is fine, and work a hole through the soft one of those three craters -drain, and then take the back of the knife, the dull side, and holding the coconut firmly in your opposite palm give it a good and quick thwack as you rotate it and continue to hit it until it cracks, the second way is to not make the hole and just thwack/crack it until it breaks and pour the water into a cup, but that's messier.
Can you rush the post on the Ube Roll or e-mail the recipe? I want to make this so bad!

Oggi said...

MasPinaSarap, thanks for the coconut opening technique!:)
I will make the ube next week.:)

Unknown said...

Thanks for the recipe, but I have to say that after trying this, mine came out much more "gummy" than "yummy." The buco layer in particular. Are you certain you've given the right measurements here? In retrospect, 3/4 of a cup of cornstarch may be too much…

Oggi said...

Info, sorry the recipe did not work out for you. I checked the cookbook and the recipe says ¾ cup of cornstarch, which I agree seems a lot. I can't remember how much I used in my buco pie, though, which had the perfect consistency. I'll try to make one and will update the recipe. Try using maybe half then add more cornstarch mixture if the filling seems thin.

Anonymous said...

thanks for the recipe, mamaya punta ako sa asian store and ask if they have fresh buco. sana next time egg pie recipe naman.

Oggi said...

A, I have not made egg pie...I might make it one of these days.:)

wifey246 said...

The frozen "young coconut" available in the filipino stores are not young at all, not even good for buco salad, IMHO. Do you think I can adjust the recipe and use macapuno instead?

Is there a ready-to-bake flaky pie crust that can be used? I don't trust my skills in rolling pie dough.

Your pie looks like Collette Buco Pie in Tagaytay City. Good job!

Oggi said...

Miay, yes, you may substitute macapuno strings. Incidentally, I made macapuno ube pie a few days ago. They are as good as the buco if not better. I agree the frozen bucos have mixed buco and mature meats. I use the Thai canned buco for the meat and always use at least one fresh for the water and the meat too.

There are ready made pie crusts at the grocery stores already shaped and set on an aluminum pie pan; there are also shaped, I think, and ready to go on a pie plate sold in pairs. I haven't tried those so I can't tell if they are good or flaky.:)

Anonymous said...

Oggi, I made your Buco Pie with shortcuts as I don't know how to make a pie crust. I used the ready-made frozen Pillsbury pie crust shell on a pan, made a lattice top out of a ready-made Pillsbury pie crust, and used canned young coconut meat - it turned out GREAT! My husband who avoids anything with coconut couldn't stay away from the pie. I was only able to eat one slice, he ate the rest. Thank you for this wonderful recipe :) - RR

Anonymous said...

for cornstarch, the recipe here says 1/4 cornstarch.will try this recipe.didn't know what to do with the young meat, so I froze them..will get a couple of fresh young coconuts and try this..thank you for the very interesting Buco pie

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