The Easiest Boston Cream Pie
A delicious cake filled with creamy custard and topped with chocolate. It's made of soft sponge cake layers with a sweet, creamy center. On top, there's a smooth layer of chocolate ganache that adds a rich and indulgent touch!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Pastry Cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- 6 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Ganache
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate (chopped or chips)
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
Ready, set, go!
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
Make the Cake
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of sugar until thick and pale.
- Gradually add the milk and vanilla extract to the egg yolk mixture, beating until well combined.
- Gently fold the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture until just combined.
- In a separate clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
- Fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter until evenly incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cakes are golden brown and spring back when lightly touched.
- Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
Make the Pastry Cream
- In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Remove from heat.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until well combined.
- Gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs. (For help with tempering eggs, see tip #6 in above post.)
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (making sure the wrap touches the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming), and refrigerate until chilled and set, about 2 hours.
Make the Chocolate Ganache
- Place the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl.
- In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat until it just begins to simmer.
- Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for a minute.
- Stir the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
Assemble the Boston Cream Pie
- Place one cooled cake layer on a serving plate.
- Spread the chilled pastry cream evenly over the top of the cake layer.
- Place the second cake layer on top of the pastry cream.
- Pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.
- Refrigerate the assembled Boston Cream Pie for at least 1 hour to allow the ganache to set.
- Slice and serve chilled. Pat yourself on the back because you've created a masterpiece!