Blue Ribbon Group Bali Hai Tropical Pie
Best Pie Winner
Bali Hai Tropical Pie is a show-stopping, mic-dropping, tropical-themed award-winning best pie recipe you don’t want to miss.
Shredded coconut, fresh mango, fresh lime, cream cheese, and Malibou coconut rum are just a few of the ingredients comprising this marvelous masterpiece. It features a prominent citrusy creaminess, thanks to the heavy whipping cream you combine with cream cheese. You’ll be tempted to eat this mixture/filling by the spoonful. Macadamia nuts give it a nice texture contrast on top.
Recipe Inspiration
Recipe credit goes to Peggy Linberg. The Californian won first place with it at the San Diego County Fair (2014). Peggy’s Bali Hai Tropical Pie was inspired by her favorite musical, South Pacific. With a strong love of passionfruit, she made her pie a combination of the fruit she grew up with in Hawaii and other favorite Polynesian flavors. From the coconut in the pie crust, to the mango, rum and lime flavors infused into its layers, everything about this pie was a hit with the judges. Peggy wanted to transport herself to Hawaii when making and tasting it. Mission accomplished! We were too!
Extra Effort, Ingredients for the Win
Heads up: This pie isn’t for a first time pie baker. It is one of the more involved recipes we’ve tested, but after tasting it, you’ll be convinced…totally worth the extra effort and ingredients! Plan for several hours, start to finish, mainly because of the chill time once you’re done.
Special Recipe Tips & Tricks
- For the tropical fruit juice concentrate, Peggy, used an orange peach, mango combination. We used a variation on that. Choose your favorite.
- Peggy’s preferred whipped topping mix is Rich’s Bettercreme. It gives the top decoration more stability, i.e. holds up well while moved or carried.
More like this
If you like unique and creative recipes like this pie, check out these other original recipes:
- Bourbon Molasses Sandwich Cookies (These ooze boozy deliciousness)
- Boston Cream Pie (Like the classic dessert, but deconstructed)
- Mounds of Joy Cake (This dessert will bring you lots of joy)
Bali Hai Tropical Pie
1 refrigerated pie crust, such as Pillsbury
1/4 cup shredded coconut
Layer 1 Filling:
2 cups mango chunks, pureed
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
Dash of sea salt
3 tablespoons Malibu coconut rum
Zest of a lime
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Layer 2 Filling:
1/2 cup passionfruit puree (or equivalent)
1/3 cup tropical fruit juice concentrate
1 package unflavored gelatin
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Malibu coconut rum
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Whipped Cream Topping:
2 cups whipped topping mix (such as Rich’s Bettercreme)
2 tablespoons Malibu rum
1/2 cup rough chopped macadamia nuts
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare the Pillsbury pie crust according to the package directions. Press coconut into the bottom of the pie crust. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool.
For Layer 1 Filling: Put ingredients, except lime juice, into a saucepan over low heat and cook until mixture bubbles and becomes thick like pudding. Add the lime juice and stir well. Set aside to cool. Once this mango mixture is cooled, reserve and chill 1/4 cup of it (for decoration later). Spread remaining mango mixture on the bottom of the cooled crust. Refrigerate all while you proceed.
For Layer 2 Filling: Put the passionfruit puree and the concentrated juice in a saucepan over low heat. Sprinkle in the gelatin. Heat on low until gelatin is mixed in and melted. Set aside to cool. Put the cream cheese, sugar, rum and butter in a mixing bowl and beat until blended. Stir in the gelatin mixture. In another mixing bowl, whip the cream on high until stiff peaks form. Whip in the powdered sugar. Fold in the passionfruit/cream cheese/gelatin mixture. Spread this on top of Layer 1.
Decorations: Use the reserved mango mixture to drizzle on the pie. Whip the whipped topping mix until stiff peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons of Malibu rum. Pipe onto the pie. Add macadamia nuts. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
