Boston Cream Pie

We just returned from a holiday in Boston MA and enjoyed touring the historic area of North Boston. We saw the Parker House Hotel where this dessert was created for its grand opening in 1856. (The original recipe is here) Boston Cream Pie is a hot milk sponge cake with a custard filling. It is topped with chocolate ganache or fondant. 

I posted an old family recipe for Hot Milk Sponge cake on this blog a few years ago. It has 2 eggs rather than the 7 in the original recipe. I used our recipe and it was just fine! 

Here is the link to the hot milk sponge cake recipe.

Custard Cream:

4 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups milk ( I used 1 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter 
Whisk the eggs, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan until well combined and no lumps remain.
Then whisk in the milk until well combined. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat for 2 to 4 minutes, or until thickened stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Add the pieces of butter, and stir until melted.
Pour the custard into a bowl and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Ganache:

Heat 3/8 c heavy cream in a pot or in the microwave until it is steaming. Add 1/2 chocolate chips. I used dark chocolate. Stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth and well blended.

Assemble to cake:

Slice the cooled sponge cake in half horizontally.

Spread the cooled custard on the bottom half of the cake.

Place the top of the cake over the custard.

Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and spread it around. It will drizzle over the edge.

Chill the cake for a few hours or overnight for the best flavour. 

Pizza Beans

 

I love the creamy texture of dried giant lima beans that have been cooked slowly, preferably in a slow cooker for eight hours. This dish comes together quickly after the beans are cooked and can be varied in as many ways as pizza is prepared. 

Soak 2-1/2 cups of dried giant lima beans overnight. In the morning, add them to a slow cooker, drain and cover them with fresh salted water, and let them cook all day on low heat. Alternatively, they could be cooked on a stovetop. 

Add two tablespoons of oil to a wok or large frying pan and add:

• 1 diced onion
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1 large sweet pepper, diced
• sliced mushrooms
• 1 tsp each of dried basil and oregano

To a 9x13 pan or equal capacity baking dish add and stir together:

• 1 28 oz jar of good quality passata or tomato sauce
• the drained, cooked lima beans
• the cooked vegetables from the frying pan or wok
• 4 ounces of grated cheese

Bake the beans in a 350 F oven for 30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.

Serve on plates or bowls and garnish as desired with olives, cilantro, meatballs, parmesan cheese, etc.

Sourdough Focaccia

My sourdough starter is almost a decade old and is used weekly for bread making. I have a few favourite recipes and this is a newer variation we have enjoyed a couple of times this year. I use a food scale for this recipe as the dough is very soft and sticky. 

100 g sourdough starter

10 g salt

435 g water

512 g flour ( use 50/50 whole wheat and white flour)

Mix ingredients in a large bowl, cover with a lid or cloth and allow it to rise overnight or for 10-12 hours.

Once the dough has risen, drizzle it with oil, fold and deflate it and place it on an oiled 9x13 baking pan for a single recipe. Spread the dough out evenly and let it rise for 2-3 hours. It will develop bubbles on the surface.

Preheat oven to 425 F

The dough can be baked without garnishes. It is good sprinkled with coarse salt and dried spices such as rosemary.

It is fun to make flowers or other designs with raw tomatoes, red onion, sliced garlic, sweet peppers and herbs such as thyme, rosemary, parsley and scallions. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and coarse salt. 

Bake for 25-35 minutes. It takes a little longer to bake the garnished bread.

The baked focaccia is thick enough to slice in half for sandwiches.

(See this post for more information on sourdough bread and starters)