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Boston Cream Pie


This is the Boston Cream Pie recipe from the Flour, Too cookbook by Joanne Chang, but the recipe is online here. I’ve made similar cakes before, but never with the homemade custard.

I believe the original Boston Cream Pie used a whiskey syrup and this recipe calls for a coffee syrup.

The verdict on this cake is at the end of the blog.

Changes I made:

Ganache: I didn’t have any bar chocolate so I used a cup of chocolate chips and ½ cup heavy cream. I microwaved them together instead of getting the milk hot on the stovetop.

Finishing: The recipe calls for dripping the ganache over the sides, but I had plenty, so covered them.

Notes: The sponge calls for three egg whites, but the custard uses four egg yolks, so it almost balances out. This is a bit of a time-consuming cake, though much of that is cooling and waiting time. The egg yolks and whites are beaten separately and the sponge cools before the syrup can be layered on. The custard requires several minutes of constant whisking and then it is cooled (four hours is recommended). Once the cake is cut and stacked with the custard, the whole thing is frozen overnight. My guess is that this is for looks and making the sides even and straight. Presentation can be important if you have the layers showing but, as noted above, I slathered on extra ganache.

      

Clockwise from top left: whipped egg whites, refrigerated custard, ready to bake, layers with custard

Review

·      Were the ingredients easy to find? Yes, likely found in all but the smallest grocery stores.

·   Were the directions easy to follow? They were quite clear.

·   Did it come out as expected? My layers weren’t perfectly even, but I didn’t measure them. They stacked nicely and there was plenty of custard and ganache. Perhaps the parchment should be greased.

·   How did it taste? It tasted good, though I wasn’t blown away. However, that is not the fault of the recipe, but my preference in desserts.

·   Will I make it again? I like the idea of this cake, but if made it again, I’d do either a chocolate or a lemon custard or perhaps a chocolate sponge with a bourbon syrup.


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Location: Wisconsin, USA

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