Ingredients
Pastry
- 400 gplain flour
- 200 gcold butter or shortening
- 1 tspsalt
- 2 tbspsugar
- about 100 ml iced water
Filling
- 600 gyoung coconut meat, buko, in strips
- 400 mlcoconut water
- 200 mlevaporated milk
- 150 gsugar
- 60 gcornflour
- 3 tbspcondensed milk
- a pinch of salt
To glaze
- 1egg, beaten
To serve
- warm or at room temperature, from a box, bought on the road
Directions
- Cut into the top with a heavy knife to make an opening and pour out the water, which is used in the filling. Then split the nut and scrape the soft meat out with a spoon.
- Take care with the knife, since young coconuts are awkward to hold and the blade slips. Cut the meat into strips rather than dicing it, since strips are characteristic of a buko pie. Use the water from the nuts as part of the liquid in the filling.
- Strain it, since it often contains fragments of shell. Cornflour is the usual thickener, and it must be mixed into cold liquid first. Whisk the cornflour into a little of the cold coconut water before anything is heated.
- Heat the coconut water, evaporated milk and sugar, then whisk in the cornflour slurry. Stir continuously until it thickens, which takes only a few minutes. Let it bubble gently for two minutes to cook out the raw floury taste. It must be genuinely thick, thicker than seems right for a pie filling.
- Fold in the buko strips off the heat. Fold them in rather than cooking them, since young coconut is delicate and long cooking makes it slippery and characterless. Let the filling go completely cold before it goes anywhere near the pastry. Warm filling melts the butter in the pastry before it reaches the oven, giving a greasy sunken crust. Now the pastry, which must be cold.
- Rub the cold butter into the flour, salt and sugar, leaving pieces the size of peas. Chill it for at least an hour before rolling. Line the tin, prick the base, and blind bake it for fifteen minutes with paper and beans. Then remove the beans and bake for five minutes more to dry the surface.
- Fill the cooled base with the cold filling and level it. Lay the second sheet of pastry over the top and seal and crimp the edges firmly. Cut several slits in the lid, or prick it all over.
- Steam must escape or it lifts the lid and the filling boils out at the edges. Now baking it in a hot oven properly. Brush with beaten egg and bake at 190°C for forty to fifty minutes until deep golden. Let it cool completely before cutting. Cut warm, the filling runs and the slice collapses, and it needs time to set. It is genuinely better after several hours.
Technique
- Buko is young coconut with soft jelly-like flesh, not mature coconut.
- The coconut water from the nuts goes into the filling.
- The filling must be very thick and completely cold before the pastry goes on.
Substitutions
- Frozen buko strips, which are what most people use.
- Tinned young coconut, reducing the sugar accordingly.
Variations
- Buko pandan, flavoured with pandan.
- Made as small individual pies.
- With macapuno, the mutant sweet coconut.
History
Associated with Los Banos in Laguna, where roadside bakeries sell it to travellers heading to and from Manila.
Frequently asked questions
What is Buko Pie?
Buko Pie is a dessert from Philippines: flaky double-crust pie filled with strips of young coconut in sweet custard. Associated with Los Banos in Laguna, where roadside bakeries sell it to travellers heading to and from Manila.
How long does Buko Pie take to make?
Buko Pie takes 45 min plus 1 hr chilling of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large pie. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Buko Pie?
Yes, within limits. Frozen buko strips, which are what most people use. Tinned young coconut, reducing the sugar accordingly.
What is the most important thing to get right in Buko Pie?
Take care with the knife, since young coconuts are awkward to hold and the blade slips. Cut the meat into strips rather than dicing it, since strips are characteristic of a buko pie. Use the water from the nuts as part of the liquid in the filling.
