Preheat the oven to 350º.

Place vanilla wafers in a food processor and process until they are fine crumbs. Add the brown sugar and mix to combine. Add melted butter and process until it begins to clump. Pour out into a pie pan and press firmly on the bottom and up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Separate the eggs. Put the whites in a bowl, cover and refrigerate. Place the yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add sugar to the egg yolks and mix on medium high until it is light in color.

In a small bowl, combine gelatin with ⅔ cup of milk and let sit for 5 minutes.

In a medium saucepan add 1 ⅓ cup of milk and toasted coconut and bring to a simmer over medium heat until small bubbles form on the edges. With the mixer on low, slowly add in about a cup of the hot milk. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and cook over medium heat whisking constantly until it has slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatin. Add the vanilla and salt and pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Do not let it cool for more than 2 hours or it will be too thick to work with.

Remove from the refrigerator, it will be thick and dense but you should be able to stir it. Use a mixer to beat until all of the lumps are gone, it will still look a little lumpy from the coconut.

Beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form and fold into the pudding. In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold it into the mixture. Pour it into the baked pie crust. And refrigerate for at least 2 hours until it is firm.