Best Boston Cream Pie
Submitted by illeauna2
Boston cream pie from scratch: two tender cake-flour layers split by a thick vanilla pastry cream and finished with a glossy chocolate glaze that drips down the sides. The classic Massachusetts dessert, every component homemade.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
35 minREADY
3 hrsHere’s the running joke about Boston cream pie: it isn’t a pie at all. It’s a cake, two tender yellow layers split by a thick vanilla pastry cream and slicked with chocolate glaze. The name stuck from the 1800s, when cakes and pies were baked in the same round tins, and Massachusetts loved the dessert enough to crown it the official state treat.
Three components, all from scratch. The cake leans on cake flour for a fine, soft crumb, and adding the dry mix and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour, keeps the batter from curdling or turning tough.
The filling is a proper pastry cream: milk and egg yolks thickened with cornstarch right on the stove. The key moment comes once it reaches a boil. Let it bubble a full minute so the cornstarch fully activates and the cream sets thick instead of running out the sides.
A simple chocolate glaze poured over the top, left to drip down the edges, finishes the whole thing.
Chef Tips
- Boil the pastry cream a full minute, whisking constantly. Stop too soon and it never sets, so the filling oozes the moment you cut a slice.
- Cool the cake and the pastry cream completely before assembling. Warm cake melts the cream into a soupy mess.
- Glaze while it’s pourable but no longer hot, so it coats the top and drips just to the edges instead of sliding right off.
Variations
- Spike the pastry cream with a tablespoon of dark rum or a scraped vanilla bean for a dressier filling.
- Use a bittersweet chocolate ganache in place of the cooked glaze for a richer, shinier top.
Ingredients
Directions
Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of an electric mixer.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Mix after each addition.
Stir in vanilla.
Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃). for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
Spread cream filling between cake layers.
Spread chocolate glaze over top of cake, letting excess drip down sides of cake.
Chill until ready to serve, cornstarch and salt in a heavy saucepan.
Add milk and egg yolks, stirring with a wire whisk until blended.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil; boil 1 minute or until mixture is thickened, stirring constantly; remove from heat.
Stir in vanilla; let cool completely, chocolate in top of a double boiler; bring water to a boil.
Reduce heat to low; cook until chocolate melts, stirring occasionally.
Let cool slightly. Add sugar and water, beating until smooth.
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