Receta Macadamia Nut Pie
I’ve written about this before but once upon a time, many moons ago, my ex, who was the night manager at a convenience store when I was expecting Darling Daughter, brought me home a little cookbook that was packaged with a carton of Benson and Hedges cigarettes (yeah, it was a LONG time ago). It was full of recipes from America’s Favorite Resorts, and since Darling Daughter will be 23 in about 2 weeks, it goes without saying that the book is a bit…outdated.
It doesn’t mean the recipes aren’t damn good. Because they are.
And this is one.
The book is titled Recipes from America’s Favorite Resorts, and this one comes from the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii. It’s my understanding that the Mauna Kea was the standard for high-end resorts in Hawaii from the time it opened in 1965 through the 80s; by the time Beloved and I discovered it in 2003 it was a little shabby and outdated (sort of like my cookbook), but still a charming and lovely place. It certainly had one of the nicest beaches in the area – when we Beloved and I weren’t attempting to access remote black sand beaches, we spent hours lounging in a secluded cove at the far end of the Mauna Kea’s beautiful white sand beach (in fact, I learned to snorkel there).
(It also didn’t hurt that Roy Yamaguchi’s restaurant was located in the resort right across the road.)
I heard the Mauna Kea was renovated a couple of years ago, and I’m a little sad because it’s now just another glitzy resort. I’m going to miss that Grand Old Dame of a hotel.
I, of course, knew nothing of this when I first received this little gem of a cookbook – all I knew is that the descriptions of the resorts, including the Mauna Kea (which I never thought I’d ever really see), were wonderful and the recipes made me want to cook them.
So I did, and you should too. This is not an inexpensive pie to make, so I usually save it for special occasions, and it is very sweet and very, very rich – when it says the 9-inch will serve 8 – 12 people, it will serve 8 – 12 people. But it is oh, so delicious.
Note: all ingredients should be at room temperature.
Macadamia Nut Pie
serves 8 – 12
- 7 eggs, slightly beaten
- 3/4 cup melted butter
- 3/4 cup honey
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup flaked coconut (I use unsweetened coconut when I can find it)
- 1 unbaked 9″ pie shell
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
Preheat the oven to 325° F.
Mix the eggs, butter, honey and sugar with an electric mixer on low until smooth. Sprinkle the coconut over the bottom of the pie shell; pour the egg/honey mixture over the coconut. Be careful; the crust will be full. Sprinkle the macadamia nuts evenly over the filling.
Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for at least 30 minutes, but this pie is delightful if served a little warm.