Hey there! Coming back to the blog with a recipe and a confession…
Jim really digs Boston cream pie. His family is all about the east coast, (I mean…I’m also all about that oxford-button-down-and-pearls-and-Hamptons-hair life…yeah, I’m #bougie) and Boston cream pie is the state dessert of Massachusetts! I can 100% get behind official and patriotic desserts.
So we were watching Throwdown! with Bobby Flay–the show, that is; sadly, Bobby Flay was not in our living room watching Throwdown! with Bobby Flay with us–and I was all amped up by the throwdown between Bobby and Ree on Thanksgiving. Ree kicked butt and made Midwestern home cooks proud! Yeah! And Jim was already looking for another episode to watch when he came upon Boston cream pie. I leapt off the couch and took out the KitchenAid attachments before he could even start the episode.
As a side note, Jim and I have dessert at 9:00 p.m. every night together. I started on my Boston cream pie at 8:00 p.m.
I thought I’d be smart and make a smaller cake. Smaller cake means less baking time, right? Yeah. If you reduce the recipe.
…
If you end up not reducing the recipe and making it the same as usual, just in smaller pans, it actually makes the baking time A LOT LONGER. DUH. Same volume, smaller heat transfer area. Alex, you do this kind of food engineering for a living! I think I’ll chalk up this lapse in judgement to Ree’s pecan pie. The sugar was getting to my head via the TV.
So, around 8:40 p.m., I finally had two cute little yellow cakes that were piping hot. At least this part was a learning moment: I lined a cooling rack with wax paper and turned out the cakes. Well, of course, because the cakes were still hot, the bottom stuck to the pan. And it happened to both cakes. Of course it did.
So I took out a serrated knife and cut the cakes in half lengthwise, reserving the messed-up bottom for something else and letting the decent part finish cooling on the rack while I made the custard.
Well, at this point I knew I wouldn’t have time to make actual pastry cream. But I got a lucky break and had both instant French vanilla pudding and a half gallon of heavy whipping cream. Two cups of heavy cream and a little packet of instant pudding whips up in a jiff! And it is thicker than whipped cream and almost identical in texture to custard. Perfect! I will remember that trick!
The chocolate topping was easy–melt Ghirardelli dark chocolate wafers (I get the 6 oz bag at Target) with a little splash of whipping cream.
It was finally all assembled when Jim asked if we should wait to eat it tomorrow so it could chill. Oh, I gave him quite a chilling look! I did not bust my chops for the past 55 minutes to wait until tomorrow!
Alas, I didn’t get the cute little eight layer Boston cream pie I had envisioned, but the result was still really yummy and I have no regrets.
After we finished up our dessert, I turned back to my pans still caked in the sticky yellow crumbs. It was time for executing the “something else” with the scraps. I scraped those golden crumbs out, tore apart the bottom cakes, and folded them in with the remaining “pastry cream” and drizzled the rest of the chocolate ganache in. I let it sit in the bowl overnight to give it the full icebox cake effect. By the next night for dessert, it was fairly scoop-able, so I drizzled a martini glass with chocolate syrup and plopped in a healthy ice cream scoop’s worth. (And a half. Okay, maybe it was two scoops?) Garnished it with a fancy Luxardo cherry (which I HIGHLY recommend!) and got a spoon…
Lessons learned:
If you’re going to make a smaller version of a dessert, remember to cut back the recipe.
Let your cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then let them cool outside the pan for another 10 to maybe 30 minutes before gussying them up with toppings.
If you don’t remember either of the above two lessons, just pull off what I will fondly now dub Disaster Cake and grab two martini glasses: one for you and one for the cake.
Boston Cream Pie Recipe by Bakers Theory
Ingredients
The cake (from the NYT)
3/4 cup softened butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 tbsp vanilla (yes, TABLEspoon, not TEAspoon!)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 cup whole milk
For the pastry cream
3.4 oz instant French vanilla pudding mix
1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup whole milk
2 tbsp fine sifted powdered sugar (no lumps!)
For the ganache (this part is also quick!)
For the chocolate top
10 oz. bag of Ghirardelli dark chocolate melting discs
Serves 12
Procedure
The cake
Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
Add eggs and yolk, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each. Add in vanilla and mix more until fully incorporated.
Turn off mixer and add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Turn mixer on low speed and slowly drizzle in milk. Mix until smooth and thick, but do not over mix.
Bake in two greased nine inch pans at 350F for 25-35 minutes (times vary depending on your oven so check at 5 minute intervals.)
Cool the cakes on wire racks in the pan for 10 minutes. Then line the racks with wax or parchment paper and invert the pans to remove the cakes. Allow to cool completely.
For the pastry cream (this is the part that is quick!)
Whip all ingredients together until stiff and fluffy! Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
For the chocolate top
Pour chocolate discs into a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Take out, stir, and microwave again for another 30 seconds. Allow to cool for about 3-5 minutes. With a silicone spatula, scrape the chocolate ganache out of the bowl over the top of the cake. You can let the chocolate harden a bit by refrigerating the cake or you can eat it immediately. I prefer the latter!
Assembly: Slice cakes in half lengthwise so you have four cakes. Place a thick layer (1/2-3/4” thick) of pastry cream between each cake layer, leaving the top bare. Pour chocolate ganache on the top cake layer.
