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Why I Love This Boston Cream Pie Recipe
Boston cream pie is most likely not at the top of your baking list. But let me tell you why it needs to be. This entire recipe starts with a simple yellow cake. The cake batter is truly homemade but made with ingredients you’ll likely have in your pantry. While the two layers of cake are baking, you make the pastry cream.
If you haven’t made pastry cream before, here’s a fair warning: you’ll fall in love with it. Pastry cream is really a rich pudding. Egg yolks, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract come together and are thickened with some cornstarch. The outcome is pastry cream. If you’re trying to imagine the taste, think of the cream in the middle of your favorite donut or the filling on a fruit tart at your favorite bakery.
The cooled pastry cream lies between the cake layers and topped with chocolate ganache. No fussy frosting needed.
Boston Cream Pie Ingredients
While the flavors of the cake are pretty basic, when they’re combined, each ingredient really shines through. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- Cornstarch – Helps thicken the pastry cream so it sets up silky and sliceable.
- Neutral oil – Lightly greases the pan so the cake releases cleanly without adding extra flavor.
- Salt – Balances the sweetness in both the cake and pastry cream and makes all the flavors pop.
- Butter – Adds richness and tenderness to the cake and gives the ganache a smooth, glossy finish.
- Buttermilk – Brings moisture and a slight tang to the cake, creating a soft, tender crumb.
- Eggs – Give structure to the cake and help the pastry cream set into a smooth, custardy layer.
- Whole milk – Creates a creamy base for the pastry cream and keeps the cake batter moist.
- Vanilla extract – Infuses the cake and pastry cream with warm, classic flavor in every bite.
- Chocolate – Melts into a rich ganache topping that finishes the cake with deep, bittersweet flavor.
- Sugar – Sweetens the cake, custard, and ganache while also helping with browning and texture.
- Cake flour – Keeps the cake light and tender with a fine, delicate crumb.
- Heavy cream – Enriches the ganache so it is velvety, pourable, and perfectly smooth.
- Baking powder – Helps the cake rise in the oven, creating a soft, fluffy layer to hold the filling.
How to Make This Boston Cream Pie
This Boston cream pie has three main components: two round yellow cakes, a pastry cream that is placed between the layers, and a rich chocolate ganache that’s swooped over the top. While it may seem like a few steps, the overall cake is pretty simple, with each step allowing for plenty of prep time. Here’s how to make it:
- Prepare the yellow cake batter. Cream the room temperature butter and sugar. Once complete, it should be light and fluffy, with all of the butter and sugar fully incorporated. With the mixer running, add the egg yolks to the butter mixture, one at a time. Adding egg yolks increases the richness and provides a yellow color to the cake. Mix each egg one at a time. This will ensure that the mixture is homogenous. Next, whisk together the dry ingredients: cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Separately, combine the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and neutral oil. Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Start with a third of the dry ingredients, then add half the wet ingredients, and so on. Mix together until fully combined.
- Divide the yellow cake batter between two cake pans and bake. Make sure to butter the sides of the cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper as well to ensure the cakes release nicely from the pans once baked. This also imparts a bit of extra butter flavor to the top of the cake. Once divided equally into two pans, place them in the preheated 350°F oven and bake for 24 to 26 minutes. While baking, prepare the pastry cream and chocolate ganache. When an inserted toothpick returns mostly clean, remove the cakes and let cool on a rack.
- Prepare the pastry cream. Combine the egg yolks, whole milk, sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Heat the mixture over medium heat until thick, continually whisking the mixture so that it does not burn. Remove from heat when it’s a pudding-like consistency that has some resistance to the whisking. Once off heat, add the cold butter and vanilla extract, whisking until everything incorporates. Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any lumps. Place a layer of plastic wrap on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent any “skin” from forming. Then, set aside to cool to room temperature until you are ready to assemble the Boston cream pie.
- Prepare the chocolate ganache. To speed up the dissolving, chop the chocolate into somewhat small, even pieces. Place the chocolate in a bowl and pour the scalding cream over the top. Allow the chocolate to dissolve for about five minutes before whisking. Add the vanilla extract. Mix until combined, then set aside to cool before assembling the cake. The ganache will thicken as it comes down to room temperature.
- Assemble the Boston cream pie. Place one of the cakes on a serving dish and slice off any “dome” that remains from the baking. Flattening the top surface of the cake will allow the pastry cream and the second layer of the cake to sit more evenly. Spread the pastry cream on top of the first cake layer, making sure to leave about half an inch around the edge. When placing the final layer of cake, the weight pushes some of the pastry cream to the edges. Top with the remaining cake and finish with the chocolate ganache as desired.
Pro Tips
- Cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is truly light and fluffy. Depending on the softness of the butter, this can take anywhere from three to five minutes.
- When preparing both the yellow cake and pastry cream, crack your eggs into a separate bowl before adding them to the mixture. This way, any shell that could accidentally make its way into the mixture can easily be removed.
- Make sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl when mixing together the yellow cake. This ensures that the ingredients caught in the bottom of the bowl also incorporate into the batter.
- For the pastry cream, use whole milk. Higher-fat milk will impart more richness and flavor to the resulting mixture.
- Use good-quality chocolate for the ganache. Since the ganache has only a few select ingredients, the flavor of each ingredient needs to be top-notch.
- When preparing the ganache, use a spatula to whisk together the cream and the chocolate. This will prevent adding air to the ganache, which is not desirable.
- All three parts of this Boston cream pie should cool before assembly begins. If the cake, pastry cream, or ganache are too warm, the cake may not set up correctly.
Follow These Tips
Serving & Storage
To serve – Serve at cool room temperature so the cake is soft, the pastry cream is set, and the ganache is glossy but sliceable. Use a sharp knife, wiping between cuts for clean slices.
To store – Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days due to the pastry cream. Freeze slices (without ganache if possible) tightly wrapped for up to 1 month.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can still make this recipe! It’s not a perfect solution, but to a one-cup measure, add one tablespoon of cornstarch. Fill the remainder of the cup measure with regular all-purpose flour. This will create cake flour in a pinch. Since this recipe calls for 2 ½ cups of cake flour, you would need to combine 2 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch and 37 ½ tablespoons of all-purpose flour.
Neutral oils are avocado, grapeseed, and safflower oils. Personally, I like to use avocado oil as my neutral oil. Corn oils and vegetable oils can also be used, but I find that they have flavors and don’t have the best health benefits.
Yes, but don’t do it for too long. The heat generated by the food processor can cause the chocolate to melt before you want it to. Using a knife is the safest route, but the processor does work as well.
Yes! Here’s how:
Yellow cakes: Bake these up to a few days in advance, wrap tightly, and place in the freezer. Remove the cakes from the freezer and allow them to thaw to room temperature three hours prior to preparation.
Pastry cream: This can be made up to three days in advance. Once the mixture is cooled, place a layer of plastic wrap on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent skin from forming and refrigerate. When the cake will be served, simply remove the pastry cream from the fridge and assemble.
Chocolate ganache: This can be made the day before, but should not be placed in the refrigerator. If the ganache is still a bit stiff when the cake is ready to assemble, place it in the microwave for a few seconds at a time (no more than five seconds) the desired consistency is achieved.
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Boston Cream Pie
Equipment
- 2 9-inch round cake pans
- 2 parchment paper rounds
Ingredients
For the yellow cake
- 10 tbsp (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- 3 large eggs
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
For the pastry cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter cold
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
For the chocolate ganache
- 4 oz chocolate
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans, fit with parchment in the bottom, and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl. With the mixer running on low, add the egg yolks and eggs one at a time until each one is mixed in. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.10 tbsp (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 3 large egg yolks, 3 large eggs
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.2 ½ cups cake flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp kosher salt
- In a small measuring glass, whisk the buttermilk, vanilla, and oil.1 cup buttermilk, 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract, 2 tbsp neutral oil
- With the mixer running on low, add ⅓ of the dry mixture followed by ½ of the milk mixture. Allow to incorporate and repeat the steps, finishing with the final ⅓ of the dry mixture.
- Divide the cake batter between the two cake pans and smooth out to an even layer. Bake in the preheated oven until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, 24-26 minutes.
- Once baked, remove the cakes from the oven. Allow the cakes low to cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Once slightly cooled, remove the cakes from the pans, discard the parchment paper, and cool completely on a wire rack.
For the pastry cream
- In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the egg yolks, milk, sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Set the mixture over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens. Continue to whisk until mixture is thick with bubbles forming, 6-8 minutes.4 egg yolks, 1 cup whole milk, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ tsp kosher salt, 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch
- Once thickened, remove the pastry cream from the heat. Add the butter and vanilla. Whisk until the butter dissolves and immediately push through a sieve. Allow the pastry cream to cool. I find this best to make the day before and store in the refrigerator.2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
For the ganache
- Chop the chocolate into fine, uniform pieces and pour them into a small bowl. Heat the heavy cream until it's steaming and almost boiling. Once the cream is steaming, immediately pour the cream over the prepared chocolate. Allow the chocolate and cream to rest for 5 minutes.4 oz chocolate, ½ cup heavy cream
- Once the mixture has rested, slowly stir until smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. As the ganache cools, it will thicken.1 tsp vanilla extract
To assemble the cake
- Place a room temperature or cool layer of cake on a serving platter. Spread the chilled pastry cream over one layer of the cake, staying about ½-inch from the edge. Place the second layer on top of the pastry cream. Pour the ganache over the top layer. If the ganache is too thick, heat for a few seconds in the microwave. Allow the ganache to slightly drip down the sides. Serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below!
I made this for Father’s Day and it turned out amazing! My family was very impressed. Thanks so much.
This was so easy to make and delicious. I was unsure what kind of chocolate to purchase so I went with Ghirardelli’s Bittersweet. Not sure that was the right choice. Any suggestions are appreciated when I make this again 🙂