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.