Boston cream pie is a delicious and satisfying cake made of buttery layers filled with pastry cream and topped with chocolate ganache. It's often called a Boston cream cake. There's some truth to that — flavor-wise it really is a cream-filled pie, but since it's built from layers, filled with cream, and covered in chocolate, it looks just like a cake. The Boston cream pie recipe (or cake, call it whatever you like!) is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser with minimal effort!
Ingredients:
- Cake Layers:
- 180 g flour
- 180 g butter
- 160 g sugar
- 4 eggs
- 50 g milk
- 20 g starch
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- Soaking Syrup:
- 1 tbsp lemon juice + 3 tbsp water + 2 tsp sugar
- Pastry Cream:
- 200 ml milk
- 200 ml heavy cream 33%
- 80 g sugar
- 20 g starch
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- Ganache:
- 100 g dark chocolate
- 100 g heavy cream 33%
Preparation
Make the cake layers. Beat the softened butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar together until light and fluffy.
Combine the flour, starch, and baking powder together, sifting if needed. Add the dry mixture to the bowl and mix the dough together. Add the milk and stir briefly.
Divide the batter in half — you'll have two layers. Spread one portion of batter into a 20 cm (8-inch) round pan and smooth the top.
Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (350°F) for about 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Bake the second layer the same way. Let both layers cool completely.
Make the pastry cream. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the starch and beat again.
Heat the milk and heavy cream on the stovetop until just boiling, then pour into the egg yolk mixture while beating. Note: if you don't have heavy cream, you can use any cream you have on hand. You can even make it with just milk — use 400 ml total, but in that case add some butter to make up for the lost richness.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until thickened. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pastry cream and let it cool completely.
Assemble the Boston cream pie. Place the first cake layer on a plate and brush with half of the soaking syrup. Spread the pastry cream on top and smooth it out.
Make the chocolate ganache. Break the chocolate into pieces, pour the heavy cream over it, and melt together into a smooth mixture, stirring vigorously. Pour over the cake and decorate as you like. I used sugar pearls on top. I made this pie for my daughter's birthday, so I also added colorful candles later.
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