Young Coconut Cream Pie

1. Whisk together flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Rub 8 tablespoons butter into flour until pea-size crumbs form. Add 4–5 tablespoons ice water; stir with a fork until a dough begins to form. Briefly knead dough; flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour.

2. Heat oven to 425°. Roll dough into a 12'' circle about 1/8'' thick. Place in bottom of a 9'' pie plate; trim edges to fit. Freeze for 20 minutes. Prick pastry with fork; line with parchment. Fill pie with dried beans; bake until set, 15–20 minutes. Remove paper and beans; bake until golden, 8–10 minutes. Let cool. Reduce oven to 350°.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together remaining salt, 3/4 cup sugar (try using 1/2 cup sugar instead, for a less sugary, and in our opinion more delicious result), and cornstarch in a 4 quart nonreactive saucepan along with yolks, coconut meat and coconut water, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring, until thickened, 1–2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in remaining butter and vanilla. Pour filling into pie shell; set aside.

4. In a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk remaining sugar and whites until a thermometer inserted into mixture reads 120°. Remove from heat; whisk whites to stiff peaks. Spread meringue over pie. Bake until golden brown, 12–15 minutes. Let cool.