Can’t you just picture this on your Thanksgiving dessert table?
Boston Cream Pie happens to be DF’s favorite dessert; Sydney and I normally bake him a special Boston Cream Pie for his birthday every year! This year Sydney thought, since DF’s birthday is two weeks prior to Thanks giving, Boston Cream Pie would be the ultimate Thanksgiving dessert, and DF had his second favorite dessert, Belgium Chocolate Cake . You might be wondering about the traditional pumpkin and apple pie, no worries those wonderful Thanksgiving desserts will adorn our table too. When Sydney first approached me with the idea of changing the “main” dessert” I was hesitant, however she was persuasive and her reasoning changed my mind. Sydney described how all our guests would be pleasantly surprised to see a Boston Cream Pie debut on the Thanksgiving dessert table along with the other traditional desserts.
Boston Cream Pie:
For Sponge Cake:
Soft chiffon cake layers with creamy pastry cream and a rich chocolate top!
Adapted from The Parker Omni Hotel
- 250 grams egg white, 8 egg whites
- 1/4-teaspoon egg white powder
- 140grams egg yolks, about 9 egg yolks
- 226 grams / 1 1/8-cup super fine sugar, divided
- Pinch of salt
- 158 grams/1 1/2-cup cake flour
- 28 grams/1 ounce melted clarified butter, room temperature
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.
Spray two 9-inch (or one 10-inch) cake pans with baking spray and flour.
Prepare your mise en place. Separate the eggs and divide the sugar into two bowls.
Egg yolk mise en place
Egg white mise en place
In a standing mixer with the whisk attachment place egg yolks and ½ cup of the sugar. Whip on medium-high speed till pale, ribbons form, and tripled in volume, set aside.
In a very clean copper bowl of a standing mixer add egg whites, salt, egg white powder and cream of tartar, only if not using a copper bowl. Beat on medium speed till soft peaks form and than add ¼ of the sugar. Continue to whip till off-peaks form, slowly add the last ¼ of sugar, and increase the mixer speed to medium-high. Beat until peaked and very shiny.
Once off peaks have been achieved, fold the whites into the yolk mixture a 1/3 at a time.
Sift 1/3 the cake flour at a time into the eggs and fold with a spatula.
Remove about 1/2- cup of the batter to the clarified butter, fold completely, and then fold back into the remaining cake batter.
Pour this mixture into the two 9 inch prepared cake pans. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until spongy and golden. Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 15 minutes or until firm.
For Pastry Cream:
- 14 grams/ 1-Tablespoon butter
- 490 grams/ 2 cups milk
- 480 grams/2 cups heavy cream
- 100 grams/½ -cup super fine sugar
- 84 grams/3½-Tablespoons pastry cream powder, sifted (cornstarch maybe substituted)
- 3 egg yolks, large
- 3 whole eggs, large
- 1 vanilla bean
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-teaspoon dark rum
Pastry cream mise en place
In a saucepan bring the butter, milk, and light cream to a gentle boil.
In a cooper bowl whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture begins to lighten and turn a pale yellow. Add the pastry cream powder and mix well till ribbons form.
When the cream, milk, butter mixture reaches the boiling point, remove pan from the heat and whisk (a small steady stream) ½-cup of hot milk into the egg mixture.
Return the entire mixture to the saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 5 minutes. Boil for 1 minute. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl. Stir in vanilla, vanilla beans, and rum. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the pastry cream, so a skin does not form. Allow to cool completely.
Assemble the Boston Cream Pie.
With a warm cup of cappuccino, what could be better?
In a 9-inch removable bottom pan lined with a parchment circle, cut a strip of food-safe acetate around the inner rim of the cake pan. Cut each cake in 1/2 and place one layer of the sponge into the prepared pan.
Add a layer of pastry cream (2 ice cream scoop sizes). Smooth pastry cream with an off-set spatula.
Alternate between cake layers and pastry cream with the final layer being pastry cream on top.
Place the assembled Boston Cream Pie in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day prepare the Chocolate top (this is not the traditional chocolate fondant top found on most Boston Cream Pies, however DF prefers a hard chocolate top). If you would like the original fondant recipe please send me a message and I will e-mail it to you.
Chocolate Top:
Recipe by Bobbie Noto
- 150 grams/ 5/8-cup melted clarified butter
- 227 grams/ 1 1/3-cup chopped bittersweet chocolate, keep 56 grams/ 1/3-cup reserved
- 18 grams/4-teaspoons glucose
Melt and clarify the butter.
Add all the chocolate, except for 56 grams (set that to the side), clarified butter, and glucose in a baine marie or a bowl over barely simmering water. Melt the chocolate 3/4 of the way stirring continuously.
Remove from heat add the reserved bittersweet chocolate stirring till completely melted. With a thermapen or thermometer take the temperature of the chocolate. It should be registering at 66 degreesC/ 105 degrees F.
pour the chocolate into a measuring jug. From the jug pour directly onto the COLD cake.
Whether you choose to try a mouth-wtaering Boston Cream Pie for your Thanksgiving dessert table or decide to bake this cake for another special occasion
Sydney and I Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Enjoy!
Voila!
Is the Super Fine Sugar, Confectioners sugar? Also, I have never heard of pastry cream powder, can something else be substituded? Thanks, I can’t wait to try this!
Beth, The sugar is super fine sugar; pastry cream powder maybe substituted with cornstarch of the same amount. 🙂
Definitely amazing, what a fantastic post, I can’t wait to try this cake! 🙂
Looks delicious! Please email me the chocolate fondant recipe too!
Many thanks,
Debra K
Debra, thank you. Is the e-mail address you gave the one you want me to use to e-mail the fondant recipe? I probably won’t be able to send it out until tonight or sunday.
Debra, I have tried twice to email you the recipe, but I received a failure. If you have another e-mail let me know.
Sounds and looks heavenly!!
How sweet! 🙂
Wow that looks amazing. I will try this pie tommorow. Can you please also mail me the chocolate fondant recipe?
THank you so much for this wonderfull site
Sana
I will mail to this evening!
I was wanting to give this recipe a try and wondered why the need for egg whites and egg white powder please? also I would love a copy of the Chocolate Fondant recipe too if possible.
Many thanks in advance.
Karen, The egg white powder is optional, and not a part of the original recipe. I find it helps stabilize the liquid egg whites. I can e-mail you the fondant recipe, is the email you gave current?
how much cream of tartar did you use?
I didn’t use cream of tartar; instead I used a copper bowl. in lieu of a copper add bowl 1/4-teaspoon cream of tartar.
please email me the chocolate fondant recipe too
liliana, I will e-mail the recipe when I get back into town!
I have a request to make a Boston Cream Groom’s cake. I wonder if this recipe could be adapted for that? The sponge cake is very tender, and the pastry cream might squeeze out the sides. Can you give me your opinion? Thanks very much. Kathy B
Hi Bobbienoto,
Thanks for your reply to my question….apologies for not answering earlier.
I have just found your cake on Pinterest again after my initially finding it.
If you wouldn’t mind forwarding the chocolate fondant recipe to me again please.
Regards,
Karen
Please accept my apologies….I have just spotted the chocolate top recipe above…. xx
For the custard I see instructions for the three egg yolks but not for the additional three whole eggs. What do you do with those? Thanks!
Making this tomorrow. Fondant recipe please. Also could I use white corn syrup instead of glucose?