Hawaiian Chocolate Haupia Pie

What is Haupia?

Haupia is a traditional coconut-based Hawaiian dessert that happens to be one of my favorite sweet things to eat on the islands (in addition to Matsumoto shave ice and Leonard’s malasadas).

This dessert was made famous in the 1940’s and you can now find it all over Oahu (where my side of the family is from). Trust me, it really hits the spot for a warm afternoon snack on the beach or after a Hawaiian cookout with huli huli chicken and lau laus.

It turns out that haupia is a relatively simple recipe, not requiring many ingredients, most prominently being coconut milk. Check out our haupia recipe below for our tips and tricks!

How does haupia get its texture?

Growing up, I had always assumed that haupia gets its texture using gelatin, the same ingredients that gives texture to Jell-o, panna cotta, and other similar desserts. However, it turns out I was wrong!

The true authentic recipe of haupia calls for arrowroot, which comes from the rootstock of several tropical plants. However, for those living on the mainland, this ingredient can be hard to come by. Therefore, many haupia recipes call for substituting cornstarch for the arrowroot. Having tried them both ways, I love them both!

What makes this Haupia Recipe unique?

The most common way to make haupia involves just making the coconut part and cutting it into squares or cubes. However, because coconut and chocolate are some of my favorite flavors and because they pair so well together, I thought this would be a delicious marriage of these two ingredients.

Ted’s Bakery in Haleiwa actually makes a somewhat similar chocolate haupia recipe but also involves a lot of whipped cream on top (not a fan of whipped cream but don’t hate me!) and is not topped with fresh fruit and toasted coconut.

In this sense, I hope you enjoy our take on chocolate haupia pie and let us know if you have any thoughts on it in the comments below!

Other Great Coconut Recipes from GradFood

If you’re as much of a coconut fan as we are and love cooking with this ingredient, look no further! Here are a few of our favorite coconut recipes:

• Dark Chocolate Coconut Avocado Ice Cream
• Crunchy Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp
• Coconut Lemon Ghriba (Moroccan Cookies)

Hawaiian Chocolate Haupia Pie

Haupia is a traditional Hawaiian coconut dessert. This recipe combines it with chocolate and fruit for a rich and decadent tropical dessert.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Cooling Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Hawaiian, Polynesian

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

Crust

• 1.5 cups graham crackers
• 6 tbsp butter melted
• ⅓ cup white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling

• 1.5 cans coconut milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1.5 cups water
• ¾ cup cornstarch
• 1.5 cups dark chocolate chips

Toppings

• Coconut flakes lightly toasted
• Fresh fruit of your choosing

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Use a food processor to turn the graham crackers into a coarse crumble (not too fine but you should use your hands to break up any pieces that are too large). Add these into a large bowl with remaining crust ingredients, mixing until combined.
• Pour this into either the tart dish or a pie dish. Spread it around until it is even and then use the bottom of a flat surface (we used the bottom of a 1-cup measuring cup but can also use the bottom of a drinking glass) to pound the crust until it is even and you can’t see through. Also push it into the sides of the dish.
• Cook in oven for 7 minutes and set aside.
• Meanwhile, combine water and cornstarch in a bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, add coconut milk, regular milk, and sugar and bring to a boil on the stovetop. Remove from heat and stir in the water/cornstarch slurry until it becomes sticky.
• Gently melt the chocolate chips (either incrementally in the microwave or using the double boiler method on the stove. Fold in about half of the coconut mixture into the chocolate, mixing until just combined.
• Pour the coconut chocolate mixture into the crust, smoothing it out with a spatula. Place in freezer for 3-5 minutes to help it set. Then pour the remaining coconut mixture on top, using a clean spatula to evenly spread it.
• Place the pie into the refrigerator for 1 hour to overnight. Once chilled and set, add toppings before serving.

Keyword Chocolate, Coconut, Pie, Tropical, vegetarian

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