Hawaiian Inspired Fresh Pumpkin Pie

Pie Crust:

Mix flour and salt in a food processor. Add shortening. Mix until well incorporated. Add the ice water and mix until the dough forms a ball.

By hand: In a medium bowl, mix flour and salt together. Add the shortening and cut together with a pastry cutter until it comes together, like dough. Add the ice water and gently mix together with a knife. Form a ball.

Form a flat thick disk and place on a well floured surface. Roll out starting from the center, going out until you have a nice large circle. Roll the pie crust loosely around the rolling pin; unroll the crust over the pie dish. Trim the edges one inch longer than the edge of the pie dish. Fold the over hang under and crimp the edges. Roll out the excess dough and cut out any decorative shapes. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven 400 F. With the tines of a fork, poke holes all over the bottom of the pie and the sides (about 1 inch apart)  to prevent the pie shell from bubbling up. Bake pie crust (and decorative pieces) for 10 minutes. Take out of oven and set aside while making the filling.

Fresh Pumpkin Puree:

Microwave: Place the cleaned out pumpkin on a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 20 minutes. Let cool.

Oven: Cut pumpkin in half. Lay the halves flesh side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Tent with foil. Roast at 400 F for 1 ½ hours. Let cool,

Peel skin off the flesh or scoop out the flesh with a large metal spoon and place flesh in a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth. Use immediately or store in a sealed container or freezer Ziploc bag and keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or the freezer for months.

Pumpkin Filling:

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree and all the spices. Blend well. Add the brown sugar, evaporated milk, and eggs. Mix well. Whisk in the melted butter, vanilla, and salt until well blended. Pour into the pie crust. Bake 55-65 minutes or until the center of the pie is slightly jiggly. Let cool completely. Once cooled, top with the chilled coconut custard (stir the chilled coconut custard first as smooth as you can get it) and refrigerate preferably overnight.

Before serving, top with decorative pie crust cutouts if desired.

Coconut Custard:

In a small saucepan, over medium high heat, combine the coconut milk, sugar and water. Whisk the cornstarch in the ¼ cup water until completely mixed together; Add to the coconut mixture. Stir constantly until it comes to a boil. Stir for one minute more. Take off the heat and add the vanilla extract. Let cool a bit. Pour on top of the cool or cold pumpkin pie.  If making this ahead, Place in a sealed container and place in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours over overnight.