Boston Cream Pie

Scratch-made pastry cream, light and fluffy sponge cake and a shiny chocolate glaze makes this classic cake hard to resist.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 4

Cook Time 30

Total Time 6

Servings

Calories 459kcal

Author Ryan Beck

Ingredients

Pastry Cream

4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
2 cups whole milk
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sponge Cake

1 ⅔ cups cake flour (200 grams)
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ cup whole milk
6 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar

Chocolate Glaze

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
2 tablespoon Karo light corn syrup
½ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Pastry Cream

Add the egg yolks to a medium bowl and beat until combined. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, add the sugar, cornstarch and milk and cook over medium heat until the mixture starts to thicken and bubble. Once it starts to bubble, simmer for 2 minutes and then remove from the heat.
Add a small amount of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks and whisk together to bring it up the temperature so the eggs don't scramble. Then add the egg mixture to milk mixture and whisk until combined. Place the saucepan back over medium heat and bring to a light boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove the saucepan from the heat heat and add the butter and vanilla extract, stirring until smooth. Pour into a bowl and cover with clear wrap pressed against the top so you don't get a film on top. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to a day. Use when ready.

Sponge Cake

Preheat oven to 325°F and prepare two 9" round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and then butter the pans. Toss a tablespoon of flour in the pans and turn to coat the entire pan, tossing the extra flour out. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter over low heat until the butter is melted. Stir in the vanilla extract and set aside, covering to keep it warm.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, cream together the eggs and sugar, until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. You can also use a hand mixer to do this.
With a spatula and hand-mixing, add the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture and mix until combined. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. Batter should be bubbly on top and similar to pancake batter.
Divide the batter between the two cake pans. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the tops are set and no longer wiggly. Inserting a toothpick should come out mostly clean with some moist crumbs, but no wet batter. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the edges of the pan. Invert on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before adding the pastry cream.
Place bottom cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Spread pastry cream evenly on top. Place second cake layer on top and gently press down to adhere to the pastry cream. Refrigerate cake while preparing the chocolate glaze. Once glaze is ready pour it into the center of the cake. Spread the glaze to the edges of the cake allowing it to gently drip down the sides.

Chocolate Glaze

Heat heavy cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Place the chocolate in a heat-proof glass bowl. Once the cream is simmering, pour over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Let sit for 10 minutes before using.

Notes

Parchment paper is a must to get the cake out of the pan. Trace and cut out the parchment paper to fit the pans and then butter and flour them.
All refrigerated items should be at room temperature, which helps the batter mix easily and evenly.
Use baking powder that is less than 1 year old since it has been opened. If you use older baking powder, it won’t be powerful enough to help leaven the cake. You can test it by stirring half a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use.
You know cake is done when you insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.
Allow the cake to completely cool before adding the pastry cream, otherwise it will melt.
Use quality chocolate for the chocolate glaze.

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