Boston Cream Pie
I have always wondered about Boston Cream Pie, since it’s really a cake. I would love to know why it is called a pie, but wikipedia has nothing as to why it is called that.
Anyway, I had never had one nor have I ever made a sponge cake before this. I love trying new things so I was very excited to try it.
Admittedly mine did sink a bit (since I live at somewhere over 5000′ this happens often) but it still tasted amazing and I simply stacked the top layer upside down so you can’t tell until the cake was cut.
So I will have to fine tune my adjustments for making sponge cakes at altitude – I have butter type cakes down pat. There are few different sponge cakes in the vintage cake book I am going through so I should have ample opportunity.
The Boston Cream Pie was not the first sponge cake in the book, I ended up making it because I did not have the ingredients for the first couple cakes in the section – total fail on my part at grocery shopping. But I have the ingredients now so I will go back and make those cakes because they sound amazing and I can’t wait to try them.
My very first taste of Boston Cream Pie went quite well though, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I figured I would since if I eat doughnuts, which isn’t super often, but if I do I pretty much always like the custard filled ones with the chocolate top. Which is pretty much a Boston Cream Pie. The recipe in the book actually called for just sifting powdered sugar over the top but I wanted chocolate, obviously, so I went ahead and just made a simple ganache and poured that on.
Yum.
- 1 cup sifted cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons milk
FOR THE VANILLA CUSTARD - 1½ cups cream
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
FOR THE GANACHE - ¼ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup milk chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- Preheat your oven to 375˚and prepare 2 - 6" cake pans by smearing with butter and cutting out a piece of parchment to fit the bottom of the pan and placing it in, pressing it into the bottom, set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs on high until they are thick and piled softly, about 5 minutes.
- Gradually add the sugar, beating well after each addition. Then add the lemon juice.
- Next heat the milk so it is quite hot but not boiling.
- While the milk is heating, carefully fold in the dry ingredients in fourths.
- Once the flour is thoroughly mixed in and the milk is hot pour the milk in all at once and mix until smooth.
- Turn the batter into the prepared pans and bake until the surface springs back when you gently push on it. About 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool about 20 minutes in the pans and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
TO MAKE THE CUSTARD - Scald 1 cup of the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat (until you see small bubbles around the edges).
- Sift together into a medium saucepan the sugar, flour and salt. Gradually stir in the scalded cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Pour cream mixture into a double boiler and place over simmering water, covered for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir a few tablespoons of the hot cream mixture and then slowly drizzle the egg mixture, while vigorously stirring, into the cream mixture.
- Cook over the simmering water about 3-5 minutes, or until thick.
- Remove from the heat and add the butter and extracts.
- Chill in the refrigerator.
TO MAKE THE GANACHE - Place the chocolate chips in a small saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring the whole time. Once the chips are all melted, pour the cream in and stir until smooth.
- Allow to cool to room temperature.
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE - Simply place one layer of the sponge cake on a serving plate, top with the vanilla custard (I did not end up using all of it, I think I had about ½ a cup left). Next place the second cake layer on top of the custard vey carefully so the custard doesn't ooze out.
- Next top with the ganache, smoothing all the way to edges.
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