Boston Cream Pie

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Having recently come back from Boston, I am inspired by the historical Bostonian foods, including this Boston Cream Pie from the Union Oyster House.

Some sources (like Wikipedia) say that the original recipe was from an Armenian-French chef, M. Sanzian, at Boston’s Parker House Hotel (which is also the source of Parker House Rolls, a type of dinner roll). Other sources say that cream pies (sponge cakes filled with custard cream) were common in the 1800s, although chocolate icing didn’t enter the scene until the 1900s.

Boston Cream Pie isn’t actually a pie; it’s a yellow layer cake (with a hint of lemon), filled with custard and topped with chocolate icing. Many of the cakes we saw had their sides coated with custard and toasted, sliced almonds. They add a nice crunch to an otherwise baby-soft cake. I added the almonds to the recipe, but I didn’t have any at home so they aren’t in my photos. Sorry!

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in Susan Branch’s Sweets to the Sweet: A Keepsake Book from the Heart of the Home.  I changed the chocolate icing recipe to omit the raw egg yolk – I don’t want to risk food poisoning my guests!

Boston Cream Pie

 

Author:

Kiku Corner

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Serves: 8-10

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 1 hour 20 mins

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Ingredients

Cream Filling

• 2 egg yolks
• 1½ Tbsp flour
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• ¼ cup confectioner's sugar
• 1½ cup milk
• 1 Tbsp butter
• ½ cup whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla (or 1-inch vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped)

Sponge Cake

• 3 eggs, separated
• ¼ cup cold water
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp lemon zest
• ¾ cup cake flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ⅛ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cream of tartar

Chocolate Icing

• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate (2 squares)
• ¾ cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 Tbsp water
• 3 Tbsp cream
• ½ tsp vanilla

Topping

• 1 cup sliced almonds

Instructions

For the Cream Filling:

1. Beat the egg yolks in a double boiler; stir in flour, cornstarch, sugar, milk and butter.
2. Cook over boiling water for about 20 minutes, until thick, stirring constantly.
3. Chill mixture.
4. When cold, whip the cream with the vanilla and fold together. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Sponge Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Separate eggs - yolks into a large bowl, whites into a smaller one.
3. Beat the yolks for 5 minutes; gradually add cold water and beat 1 more minute.
4. Add sugar gradually and beat 3 more minutes.
5. Stir in vanilla and lemon zest.
6. In another bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt with a fork. Add to yolk mixture in thirds, folding it in.
7. With clean beaters, beat the whites with the cream of tartar till they form soft peaks. Fold into yolk mixture.
8. Spread the cake mixture into two ungreased 8" springform cake pans. Bake 15-20 minutes till golden and springs back to the touch.
9. Cool upside down. Then run a sharp knife around the outside and remove cakes from the pan. Refrigerate.
10. When ready to frost (when cream and cake are chilled), make the chocolate icing.

For the Chocolate Icing:

1. Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler; remove from heat.
2. Beat in sugar and water at once.
3. Beat in cream, 1 Tbsp at a time, then vanilla.

For the Almonds:

1. In a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium heat, toast the sliced almonds, stirring often until golden brown. Set aside and cool.

To assemble the Boston Cream Pie:

1. Put the cream filling between the cake layers. Spread a thin later on the sides of the cake as well.
2. Gently press the almonds onto the sides of the cake.
3. Spread the chocolate over the top, allowing some to dribble over the edges.
4. Keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve!

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