Buko Pie

Buko pie is a traditional Filipino baked young-coconut (malauhog) custard pie.

Popular with Filipinos, it resembles a coconut cream pie, except that it is made with young coconuts (buko in Tagalog) and has neither cream in the coconut custard filling or meringue swirls on top of the baked coconut custard. Instead, the pie uses sweetened condensed milk, making it denser and healthier. The pie is made with buko meat. There are also variations of the pie, which are similar but use slightly different ingredients, such as macapuno pie, that uses a special type of coconut which differs from ordinary coconut as it is thick and sticky. The pie was originally a delicacy only available in the Philippines, but blast freezing technology has allowed buko pie-makers the ability to export. Buko pie is traditionally plain, but other flavorings may be used, such as pandan, vanilla, or almond essences.

Buko pie is similar to the Dutch-Indonesian klappertaart and the South African klappertert. Klappertaart differs from the Filipino buko pie as it is a baked creamy coconut custard without the crust, and contains raisins and nuts. Klappertert is most akin to the Filipino buko pie as it also has a crust, but differs in that it also adds apricot jam and a dash of cinnamon to the coconut custard.

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