I have never understood why a Boston Cream Pie is called a pie. It’s a cake, not a pie. I guess it is something like how the British call all desserts puddings. It is a general term applied to all. Most things in America have changed and are now called what they are. For some reason, this cake was never updated from a pie.
The cake is a traditional yellow cake. It is moist and soft, but not too soft that it doesn’t hold up to the layers. The recipe called for greasing the pans, which I did. It was tricky trying to get the cake out of the pan. I would highly recommend flouring the pans in addition to greasing them.
The creme patisserie was lovely. It seems like something that would be complicated. It isn’t, it just needs attention. I used a spoon to stir, but I think next time I would use a whisk. I didn’t have any huge lumps, but there were a few small ones.
The icing was thicker than I expected. It is very chocolatey and delicious. The cream cheese really does make it super creamy.
Assembling the cake is tricky. The custard stays fairly loose, so when adding the cake layer some of it oozes out.
Some things I would do differently - I already mentioned flouring the pans. The second thing I would do differently would be to wrap the bottom cake with waxed paper before adding the creme patisserie. I think this would help the cream stay in place better. I would also frost the top cake before placing it on the creme. Icing the top cake causes you to press down a bit causing more of the cream to ooze out.
I also added a few toothpicks into the top cake that were long enough to go into the bottom cake. This helps the top cake not slide off. Just make sure you warn whoever is eating the cake that they are there!
The overall taste was good, it is just messy.
BOSTON CREAM PIE
CAKE
2 Cups Cake Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup Sifted Sugar
3 Egg Yolks
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 Cup Milk
CREME PATISSIERE
1 1/2 Cups Milk
1 Vanilla Bean
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Flour
2 Eggs
2 Egg Yolks CHOCOLATE ICING
3 Ounces Unsweetened Chocolate
3 Ounces Cream Cheese
1/4 Cup Milk
4 Cups Confectioners’ Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
For Cake - Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt. Cream butter until soft. Add sugar and cream until light. Beat in egg yolks. Add vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Stir the batter after each addition until smooth. Bake in greased round cake pans for 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks. For creme patisserie - Scald milk with the vanilla bean. Mix in the top of a double boiler over boiling water the vanilla bean, sugar, flour, whole eggs, and yolks. Beat this mixture until light. Remove the vanilla bean and add the scalded milk gradually. Cook, stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat and continue to stir to release any steam and prevent crusting. Cool completely. For Icing - Melt chocolate. Combine softened cream cheese and milk. Slowly blend in chocolate. Combine with confectioners’ sugar and salt. Beat until smooth. To Assemble - Spread creme patisserie between two layers of cake. Ice top of cake only. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Comments