One of my favorite desserts is Boston Cream Pie and more importantly, one of Blayne’s favorite desserts is Boston Cream Pie. In an effort to express just how much he is loved on Father’s Day, I decided to take on this challenging cake as a symbol of our love for such a great Dad.
I won’t lie to you…this is a time consuming cake to make. A special cake for a special occasion indeed. Like many other baking projects that I embark upon, the individual components of this cake are not difficult to achieve, however, it comes with several steps to reach the final product.
Traditionally, Boston Cream Pie consists of sponge cake layers filled with vanilla pastry cream and drizzled with chocolate ganache. It is believed that this cake was created by a baker in the 1850’s at the Parker House Hotel in Boston. Why is it called pie? In the mid 19th century, it is believed that pie plates were the bake ware of choice for many bakers.
While the traditional flavors of Boston Cream Pie are amazing, I decided to add my own twist on it and incorporate the rich flavor of coffee. I doubled the cake recipe so that I could have a 3-layer cake (I froze the 4th cake) filled with one layer of vanilla pastry cream and one layer of coffee pastry cream…yum.
The recipe begins with the vanilla and coffee pastry cream which you can make a day ahead. Don’t let it intimidate you. Pastry cream is not difficult to make and there are a few tips that will ensure a perfect pastry cream every time.
First tip: Tempering the egg yolks. This is a slightly nerve racking step, but as long as you slowly add a small amount of the warm cream into the egg yolks and whisk quickly, you shouldn’t get scrambled eggs. Tempering is simply warming the egg yolks to the same temperature as your cream mixture. Once you’ve incorporated a small amount of the warm cream to the egg yolks, you can then add all of the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan with the cream, again whisking quickly.
Second tip: Once you’ve added the egg yolks to the cream, DO NOT take your eyes off of this mixture while it’s heating in the saucepan and DO NOT step away even for a second. Make sure to whisk constantly as the mixture thickens.
Third tip: Professionals will tell you to strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve once thickened. I find this step to be tedious and not entirely necessary…don’t tell anyone I told you that. I find that because pastry cream consists of egg yolks and not egg whites, it doesn’t tend to scramble. In addition, with pastry cream being so thick, it is really time consuming and difficult to press through a sieve. However, if you find that the mixture has some cooked egg remnants, strain it through a sieve, pressing with a spatula or spoon, so that the pastry cream has a smooth consistency.
Boston Coffee Cream Pie {Print Recipe}
Vanilla Pastry Cream:
2 cups half-and-half
6 large egg yolks
½ cup (3 ½ oz) sugar
Pinch table salt
¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Making the Pastry Cream:
Heat the half-and-half in a medium saucepan over medium heat until just simmering. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Add flour to yolk mixture and whisk until incorporated. Remove half-and-half from heat and, whisking constantly, slowly add ½ cup to yolk mixture to temper. Whisking constantly, return tempered yolk mixture to half-and-half in saucepan.
Return saucepan to medium heat and cook whisking constantly, until mixture thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer, whisking constantly, about 8 minutes.
Increase heat to medium and cook, whisking vigorously, until bubbles burst on the surface, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla until butter is melted and incorporated. Strain pastry cream through fine-mesh strainer set over medium bowl (if necessary). Press plastic wrap directly on surface and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated
Making Coffee Pastry Cream:
Same as recipe above, but add 2 tsp of espresso powder to warmed half-and-half mixture and stir until blended before tempering with egg yolks. Reduce vanilla extract to 1 tsp.
Sponge Cake:
1 ½ cups (7 ½ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp table salt
¾ cup whole milk
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups (10 ½ oz) sugar
Making the cake:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in medium bowl. Heat milk and butter in small saucepan over low heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat, add vanilla and cover to keep warm.
In stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip eggs and sugar at high speed until light and airy, about 5 minutes. Remove mixer bowl from stand. Add hot milk mixture and whisk by hand until incorporated. Add dry ingredients and whisk until incorporated.
Working quickly, divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake until tops are light brown and toothpick inserted in center of the cakes comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes.
Transfer cakes to a wire rack and cool completely in pan, about 2 hours. Run small knife around edge of pans, then invert cakes onto wire rack. Carefully remove parchment, then re-invert cakes.
Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated
To assemble:
Place one cake round on a large cake board or plate. Whisk pastry cream briefly, then spoon onto center of cake. Using offset spatula, spread evenly to cake edge. Place second cake layer on vanilla pastry cream, bottom side up, making sure layers line up properly. Repeat with coffee pastry cream layer and another cake layer, this time placing the cake top side up. Press lightly on top of cake to level. Wrap cake in plastic wrap to hold it’s shape and refrigerate while preparing ganache.
Chocolate Espresso Ganache:
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tsp espresso powder
Making Ganache:
Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Bring cream, espresso powder and corn syrup to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add to chocolate. Let sit for about 1 minute and then whisk gently until smooth, 30 seconds. Let stand, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes.
Pour ganache onto the center of the cake. Use an offset spatula to spread the ganache to the edge of the cake, letting excess drip down the sides. Chill finished cake about 3 hours before slicing. Cake may be made up to 24 hours before serving.
OK…There is a reason that it is called sponge cake…although absolutely moist and delicious, it soaks up anything in its path. Clearly the cake and I agreed that the ganache was tasty as I watched the ganache slowly seep into all of the pores of the cake. As much as I love the look of an elegantly decorated cake, I must admit that I’m an ooey gooey cake lover. I love cakes filled with delicious custards and fillings that ooze out of the sides of the cake. This is very apparent in the photographs of this cake.
This is an utterly amazing cake. The sponge cake is so moist and fluffy, the vanilla and coffee pastry creams are decadent and the chocolate ganache leaves me speechless…
I hope that as a family, we can cherish this moment relishing the deliciousness of this cake and our wonderful Daddy, because given the amount of time this cake took to create, it might be a while before it comes around again.
Enjoy!
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The dessert was very similar to Crème Brulee or even Flan, but the almond infused custard took it WAY over the top. I’m enjoying some even as I type this post…I just can’t believe how good it is…my waistline seems to love it too.
