Boston Cream Pie

I really don’t know why this dessert is called Pie .. while it really tastes , looks , just like a cake , a sandwich cake . Originally from Boston , this is really easy and delicious cake to make . I am a big fan of vanilla pastry cream , and who doesn’t love chocolate ganache ? In a way , this dessert is like Eclairs , filled with pastry cream , covered with chocolate ganache , except it’s not using pate a choux , eclairs dough , instead it’s being sandwiched in between 2 vanilla white cakes . Doesn’t really matter how it is assembled , but this dessert is really easy and delicious , and i am a fan of it . I made it for my husband to celebrate Father’s day this past sunday . And he thinks the cake is really delicious too .

To save time , you can cook the vanilla pastry cream a day ahead since it needs to be chilled anyway . I made it in the afternoon , it was easy and quick anyway . Didn’t take but max. of 10 mins to make the pastry cream . Then you can worry about the cake later on , while the ganache , obviously needs to be made after the cake is done and assembled .

Ingredients  for the Vanilla Custard  :

200 ml of generous 3/4 cup of heavy cream

1/4 cup of sugar

pinch of salt

1 tbsp. of cornstarch

2 large eggs

2 tsp. of vanilla extract or rum ( the custard has so much better flavor if you add rum instead of just vanilla extract , but if you’re non alcoholic , then you can just use the vanilla extract )

1. In a small pot , heat up the cream until edges started to bubbles , then add the salt and sugar to dissolve , stir , and remove from the heat .

2. Mix the large eggs with cornstarch , and whisk well , and then place the pot back on the stove , medium low heat , pour the cornstarch and eggs mixture in a steady stream while whisking at the same time , make sure you whisk whisk and whisk , keep whisking until the mixture becomes thick enough . You should be able to tell , once it’s started to thick , turn the stove off , and keep whisking , texture should be smooth , but if not , use a strainer to get rid of the curdles . Add the vanilla or rum and stir to mix , cover directly with the plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until ready to be used .

For the cake :

200 grams of unsalted butter , about 1 stick and 6 tbsp.

450 grams of all purpose flour

4 tsp. baking powder

300 grams sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup of milk

4 large eggs

1. Line 2-9 inch round pan with parchment paper , and grease and flour both pans . Preheat oven to 350 F . Sift the flour , baking powder and salt together . Set aside .

2. In a mixer , beat the softened unsalted butter with sugar , until light and fluffy for high speed , for few minutes .

3. Add the eggs one at a time , and add the vanilla extract .

4. Alternately , pour the milk and the flour mixture into the batter . Until it’s all mixed well .

5. Divide the batter into 2 round pans , smooth the top using spatula and bake for about 30 minutes or so until tooth pick comes out clean .

6. Cool about 10 mins before taking it out from the pan , cool totally before assembling the cake .

At this point , once the cakes are totally cool inside outside , you can place it in a plate , and then pour the custard that you made earlier and spread the custard until about 2 inches from the edges . Then place the other cake on top , jiggle the cake smoothly while pressing it down . Set aside , now let’s make the chocolate ganache .

For the ganache :

3 oz real good quality of chocolate , break apart of chop

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1/4 cup of heavy cream

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a small pot , melt the chocolate and the butter and add heavy cream . Heat up until it started to bubbles on the edges of the pot .

2. Remove from heat , add the vanilla and powdered sugar , whisk well until there is no more clumps from powdered sugar .

3. Let it cool , not totally , but sligtly , you want this to be thick a little bit still pourable . If you do it straight after making it , the chocolate ganache will be pooling on the bottom of the cake , your want it to be thick enough to cover the top and not pooling on  your plate . Smooth carefully with spatula .

Serve right away or you can chill it , before serving next time , bring it down to room temperature slightly before serving , it tastes so much better if it’s not too cold .