Boston Cream Pie
Boston Cream Pie is a classic American dessert that’s really not a pie at all. It’s a sponge cake, layered with a custard center, and topped with a river of chocolate ganache. Its origins hail back to the late 1880s, when a French chef at Boston’s Parker House Hotel created it. Apparently, cakes used to be baked in pie tins back then, hence the name. I was inspired to try a recipe from Ina Garten’s cookbook, “Modern Comfort Food,” but made a couple of changes. The first was cooking it in a springform pan and cutting it into the traditional two layers, not four as her recipe calls for. I also took a shortcut and didn’t make the pastry cream from scratch, substituting a box of instant vanilla pudding with some whipping cream added in. I took the photos the first time I made it during a big snowstorm, but I’ve made it again several times and it always disappears quicker than a melting snowflake.
I topped it with a little gold leaf just to gussy it up a little, but the taste is so good, it really doesn’t need any help. Please use all the liquid called for in the soak. It may seems ike a lot, but the cakes just absorb it all and the flavor it adds is crucial.
- FOR THE CAKE:
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon grated orange zest
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 extra large eggs, at room temperature
- 1½ cups sugar
- FOR THE SOAK:
- ⅓ Cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange flavored liqueur
- FOR THE PASTRY CREAM:
- 1 small box instant vanilla pudding
- 1½ cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon instant coffee granules
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Butter a 8 or 9 inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper, buttering that too.
- Sprinkle flour over the pan, then tap out the excess.
- For the cake, scald the milk and butter in a small pan over medium heat.
- Off the heat, add the vanilla and orange zest.
- Cover the pan and set aside.
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium high speed for 4 minutes, until thick and light yellow and the mixture falls back on itself in a ribbon.
- By hand first whisk in the warm milk mixture and then slowly whisk in the flour mixture.
- DO NOT OVERMIX.
- Pour the batter evenly into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan, then release the sides and place on a baking rack.
- Cool to room temperature.
- FOR THE SOAK
- Combine the orange juice and sugar in a small pan and heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Off the heat, add the orange liqueur and set aside.
- FOR THE PASTRY CREAM:
- Follow the directions on the pudding box, but instead of using 2 cups milk, mix the powder with 1½ cups milk.
- Whip the cream until stiff peaks form, then fold into the pastry cream.
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
- Combine the havy cream, chocolate, corn syrup, vanilla and coffee in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Stir occasionally with a spoon, just until the chocolates melt.
- Remove from the heat and set aside for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is thick enough to fall back on itself in a ribbon.
- TO ASSEMBLE:
- Cut the cake in half horizontally.
- Put the bottom layer back in the springform pan.
- Brush half of the orange liqueur soak over the cake.
- Spread the pastry cream over the cake.
- Place the second layer over the pastry cream and brush with the rest of the orange liqueur soak.
- Pour the chocolate ganache on the cake, allowing it to drip down over the sides of the cake.
- Place in the refrigerator to firm everything, then serve.
- Spread the pastry cream