Boston Cream Pie
Sue Kleber |
Boston cream pie is a piece of culinary nostalgia from a time when Moms wore starched aprons and had your after school snack waiting for you when you got off the school bus. This recipe makes two “pies” and might be more approachable if you use one of the perfectly acceptable cake mixes available because what is special about this recipe is the pastry cream and the bittersweet chocolate glaze, both of which are pretty simple to make from scratch. The only trick to the pastry cream is mixing the edges of the mixture into the center as it cooks to keep it smooth and the glaze practically makes itself. |
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Basic Yellow Cake Layers
2 3/4 cup cake flour 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 4 large eggs, separated 2 sticks (1 cup) butter at room temperature 2 cups sugar 1 cup whole milk 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Preheat over to 350 degrees. Coat two 9 inch cakepans with cooking spray, line bottom of pans withparchment paper, spray paper and dust each pan with flour. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip egg whites until stiff, but not dry and remove from bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and the sugar together in the mixing bowl until very light. Add the yolks, one at a time, and blend completely. Add half of the flour mixture and mix just to blend. Add half the milk and the vanilla and mix. Add the second half of the flour, blend and add the rest of the milk and blend. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites and divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until done. Cool completely. Vanilla Pastry Cream Scald the milk and cream together in a saucepan and remove the film on top. Put the sugar, flour, and egg yolks in the top section of a double boiler and cream until light with an electric hand mixer. Blend in the scalded milk and cream and place the pan over simmering water. With the mixer on a low speed, continually beat until the mixture gets very thick, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the water section and continue to beat for another 2 minutes. Blend in the vanilla and transfer the mixture to a clean bowl to cool. (Don’t let the mixture sit in the hot pan, unattended or it will cook and curdle) Chill until completely cold. Makes enough to generously fill two “pies.” When the cake layers and the pastry cream are both completely cool, slice each cake layer horizontally and fill with one half on the pastry cream. Top each layer with a thin film of glaze and chill for 10 minutes. Top each layer with one half of the remaining glaze. Store cakes in the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing. Bittersweet Ganache Glaze Put ingredients into a quart glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 60 seconds. Stir to blend and zap for another 30 seconds. Zap in 30 second intervals until glaze is smooth. Enjoy! |
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