Prep:
Separate 3 eggs into yolks and whites, and let them come to room temperature. Make sure all ingredients for the ube egg pie filling are also at room temperature (measure 1/2 cup of ube halaya and let it rest at room temperature).

Flakey Pie Crust:

In the bowl of a food processor, add 1 and 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 and a half tsp of granulated sugar, and 1/2 tsp of table salt, and pulse it a couple of times to mix the dry ingredients.

Add 1 stick of cold unsalted butter that's been cut into pieces. Pulse this till the pieces of butter are the size of small peas. Add 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp of ice-cold water, and pulse till the mixture just comes together.

Transfer this mixture into a large mixing bowl. Knead the mixture into the bottom of the bowl with your hands until it forms a cohesive dough. Wrap this dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour, or 15 minutes in the freezer.

Flour your clean counter, place your cold dough on the flour and roll it into a 13 to 14-inch circle using a lightly floured rolling pin.

Gently fold it into quarters, transfer it into a 9-inch pie pan, trim the excess dough that's overhanging over the rim of the pie shell with scissors or a sharp knife, so the edges of the dough are sitting on the edges of the shell. My ceramic pie shells are very slippery, and my pie crusts tend to slip and shrink during par-baking. I press my thumb on the dough, and use my forefinger and middle finger to make a V-shape pressing from outside towards the inside. This way, the crust will cling onto the pie shell rim during the par-baking process, and will create a nice wavy pattern along the outside of the pie. Put the formed pie crust in the freezer for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Place an oven rack in the lowest position, and preheat your oven to 400 F (205 C) for a minimum of 15 minutes. Place your frozen pie shell in the middle of a sheet pan or baking dish. Cut a round piece of parchment paper that has the edges cut into frays so that it folds into the pie shell easily. The parchment paper will prevent the foil from sticking to the crust.

On top of the parchment paper, place a double-layer of aluminum foil that is also circular in shape with the edges folded up, and press the edges of the foil against the edges of the pie crust. The double-layer of foil will help support the walls of the pie crust and prevent it from sagging during the par-baking process. Finally, place baking beans/weights on top of the foil and spread them out.

Par-bake your crust on the lowest rack at 400 F (205 C) for 10 minutes. Then take the crust out of the oven, and carefully remove the foil (with baking beans/weights) and the parchment paper. Dock the bottom and sides of the pie crust with a fork to deflate any puffing up in the crust.

Tent the sides of the pie crust with a ring of aluminum foil to prevent the edges of the pie from getting over-baked. Return this pie crust (along with the baking dish it is on) to the oven and continue par-baking on the lowest rack at 400 F (205) for another 10 minutes.

Remove it from the oven, peel off the ring of foil (save it, as it will get used again later). Dock the bottoms and sides of the crust with a fork again to deflate any puffing up, as needed. And let the par-baked pie crust rest at room temperature. You can keep the oven on at 400 F (205 C) for now.

Ube Egg Pie Filling / Baking:

Separate 3 eggs into yolks and whites, and let them come to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, add in 3 egg yolks, 14 oz (1 can) of sweetened condensed milk, 14 oz (1 can) unsweetened coconut cream, 1/2 cup of ube halaya, 1 tbsp of ube extract, and 1/4 tsp of salt. Whisk these together till they are well combined and smooth.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add in 3 room temperature egg whites, and with a whisk attachment, beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.

One-third at a time, gently fold in the whipped egg whites into the ube filling mixture until everything is well combined. Some of the egg white foam will remain clumpy and not smooth, and that's okay. These whipped egg whites will give the egg pie its signature dark brown crust on top.

Before pouring the filling into the crust, take a small mixing bowl, add in 1 egg and 1 tbsp of water. Beat this egg wash until it is smooth, and brush all surfaces of the crust with the egg wash. This will give the final crust a golden-brown finish, and help seal the bottom of the pie.

Using a sieve or cheesecloth to remove any lumps, strain this mixture into the prepared pie crust which should be cold from the fridge. Use a spoon to help press the mixture through the strainer.

Bake this on the lowest rack at 400 F (205 C) for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn down the temperature to 350 F (175 C) and continue baking for another 15 minutes.

Check on the pie at the 15-min mark at 350 F (175 C). If you see that the exposed edges of the crust are already golden-brown, use the aluminum foil ring from earlier to tent the sides of the pie crust to prevent the edges of the pie from getting over-baked. As before, crimp it down and secure it to make sure it doesn't fall off.

Return the pie to the oven at 350 F (175 C), facing the opposite direction so it's rotated to bake more evenly, for another 45 minutes.

It's done when the sides are set but the center still looks jiggly. The center will firm up as the pie cools. Remove the foil ring, and let it cool completely to room temperature on a metal rack.

Once it has cooled completely to room temperature, refrigerate overnight to let it finish setting. When the ube egg pie is chilled and set, slice and serve. Enjoy!