Coconut Pineapple Rum Pie by Dereth Salchak

Custard:
1/2 C sugar
1/3 C cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C 1% milk
1 1/2 C heavy cream
3 egg yolks
1/2 vanilla bean
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C shredded sweetened coconut

Pineapple Whip:
3/4 C Whipping Cream
1/2 C crushed pineapple, drained

Rum-caramel sauce:

1/2 C butter
3/4 C brown sugar
3 Tbsp dark rum
1/2 C cream

Your favorite 9 inch pie crust.

For the custard:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add milk
and cream. Add the yolks and whisk it all together. Scrape the seeds
from the vanilla bean and add them to the pan, as well as the seed. Whisk
all together over medium heat until is starts to thicken and boil,
stirring constantly. (I find that as soon as there is one bubble, it is
thick enough.) Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla extract. Remove vanilla bean and transfer to a bowl. Stir in coconut. Let cool for about an hour. Then cover and chill. Can be made a day ahead.

For the pineapple whip:

Beat whipping cream in a chilled bowl on medium high speed until soft
peaks form. Gently fold in pineapple. In an effort to reduce excess
liquid, I press the pineapple through a clean kitchen towel, however
that’s not necessary. Just a good drain over the sink (or juice glass) is
sufficient.

For the Rum Caramel:

Melt the butter and rum together in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add brown sugar and mix with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil. Allow to
boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let stand
for 5 minutes. Mixture will harden a bit. Add cream and stir until it is
mixed well. It will be almost “soupy”. Let sit until it is the desired
drizzling consistency, about an hour.

Layer custard, then whipped cream into pie crust and drizzle with caramel
sauce. Chill for at least an hour before serving.