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Boston cream pie on a raised serving platter.

Boston Cream Pie

By Jennifer Segal
Cake portion adapted from Alice Medrich
With its tender sponge cake layers, rich custard filling, and luscious chocolate glaze, Boston Cream Pie is an iconic and wicked-good American dessert.
Servings: 8 (One 9-inch cake)
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes , plus at least 1½ hours to cool and set

Ingredients

For the Pastry Cream Filling

  • 1¾ cups whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 egg yolks
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon rum

For the Cake Layers

  • 1 cup cake flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the Soaking Syrup

  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon rum

For the Chocolate Ganache Topping

  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Pastry Cream

  • Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and add the butter. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, keeping a close eye on it so it doesn't boil over. Immediately remove from the heat and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until pale and no lumps remain, 1 to 2 minutes (the mixture will be very thick at first). While whisking, slowly pour in about ¼ cup (60 ml) of the hot milk mixture, mixing until incorporated. Gradually whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture. Pour the contents of the bowl back into the pot and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and bubbling, a few minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, for one minute more. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla and rum. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl; cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly against the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a film from forming, and refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours.

For the Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray two 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray with flour and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Spray the paper with nonstick spray.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk or beaters, whip the whole eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla at high speed for 3 to 5 minutes until the batter is pale and voluminous, and when the whisk is lifted the mixture falls in a thick fluffy rope that dissolves slowly on the surface of the remaining batter in about 4 seconds.
  • While the eggs/sugar are beating, heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan until the butter is melted and the mixture is extremely hot to the touch. (It does not need to boil but must be very hot when you add it to the batter.)
  • Remove the bowl from the mixer. Add half of the flour mixture over the eggs and fold with a whisk until the flour is almost blended into the batter. Repeat with the remaining half of the flour mixture. Pour all of the hot milk mixture over the batter and fold with the whisk until evenly combined. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
  • Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the cakes are set, golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the pans on a rack to cool for about 20 minutes.
  • Run a thin icing spatula or butter knife around the inside of each pan to loosen the cakes from the sides. Invert onto a rack and peel off the parchment liners; turn the cakes right side up to finish cooling. The cake layers should be completely cool before filling and glazing, about 30 minutes.

For the Soaking Syrup

  • Combine the water and sugar in a small pan and heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Off the heat, add the rum and set aside to cool.

To Assemble

  • Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and whisk vigorously until smooth; it will be quite thick.
  • Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Brush the top with half of the soaking syrup. Spread the pastry cream filling evenly over top. Top with the second cake layer, and brush the top with the remaining soaking syrup.

For the Chocolate Ganache Topping

  • In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Off the heat, add the chocolate and let sit for 1 minute to soften the chocolate. Whisk until smooth.
  • Pour the ganache onto the center of the cake. Use an offset spatula to spread the ganache to the edge of the cake, letting excess drip decoratively down sides. Set the cake aside for 30 minutes to allow the chocolate to set before slicing and serving, or refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 1 day ahead of time. Let the cake sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The assembled cake can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Let it sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. The cakes (without the cream filling/soaking syrup/ganache) can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 day or frozen for up to 3 months after wrapping them tightly with aluminum foil or freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before assembling.

Nutrition Information

Per serving (8 servings)Calories: 520kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 9gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 227mgSodium: 257mgFiber: 1gSugar: 53g
Nutritional Data Disclaimer

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.