I've been longing to make Grapefruit and Coconut Angel Pie ever since I first got the Gourmet Cookbook.
Why? It's so weird! A meringue shell with a grapefruit/cream cheese/whipped cream filling--who ever heard of such a thing?
Unfortunately I have some serious coconut haters, both at work and in my book group--the two major venues I have for producing desserts. So when Eve, who hates both grapefruit AND coconut, announced that she wouldn't be coming to book group last night because she had hospice training, I grabbed my opportunity.
This is an absolutely delightful dessert. The counterplay of the grapefruit with the sweetness of the coconut meringue is the kind of thing that sends you back for seconds...and thirds...and leaves you wondering when you could have an excuse to make it again.
The technique is a little involved--your beaters get a workout what with the egg whites for the meringue, the cream cheese filling twice(which also has to be cooled in an ice bath twice--the second time while you're beating it, which is not so easy when you have a stand mixer), and the heavy cream to fold into the filling. Although I love my stand mixer to pieces I have to confess a handheld electric mixer would have served me better here.
The final person who will get to enjoy this dessert is Mrs. S. Before I left last night I told them what I was making for the book group...her eyes lit up and she said, "Yum!" Dr. S. grumbled, "It would be yummy without the coconut."
Maybe, if he's lucky, Mrs. S. will give him a taste of the filling.
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