Boston Cream Pie - American Cake - Oh, yes.

Boston Cream Pie Cake! 

What makes a cake a cake and a pie a pie? Apparently back in the day the term was interchangeable. This is decidedly a cake but we call it pie. There are kangaroo rats and rat kangaroos. I didn't name any of these things.

This cake however is a winner. I have never made a Boston Cream Pie before. Little did I know just how popular this cake is until I was sharing this beauty and a few people told me that it was a favorite, or they had a recipe they make regularly. I was genuinely surprised. I thought this was a vaguely obscure cake which just goes to show I don't know how people relate to their cakes. I'm happy to learn.

The filling, it's not a traditional pastry cream thickened only with yolks and flour, but more like pudding with gelatin and cornstarch. It was good. Certainly better than custard you find in filled donuts at the grocery.

The cake was decent. I made mine with all purpose flour. The book calls for cake flour.

The glaze is a simple ganache with corn syrup added. I don't know how close to 1856 this actual recipe is, but it's a keeper. Should I have reason to make this cake again, I'll follow this recipe for sure.

Filling
1.25 cup whole milk +.25 cup milk for cornstarch slurry
.33 cup sugar
.5 heaping teaspoon gelatin, or 1 packet
2 large egg yolks
1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
1.5 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cake
1.5 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
.25 teaspoon salt
.3 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
.75 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
.5 cup milk

Chocolate Glaze
.75 cup semisweet chocolate
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
.5 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling put the 1.25 cup milk, sugar and gelatin in a sauce pan, simmer and stir until the sugar is dissolved. In a bowl combine the yolks, cornstarch and .25 cup milk. Stir until there are no lumps. Temper the eggs with some of the hot liquid. Pour it back into the milk and stir gently, scraping the bottom of the pan until thick. Cool with plastic wrap covering.

For the cake preheat the oven 350 degrees. Grease 8 or 9 inch pans, line with parchment. I'm going to cake hell for this but what I did was Cream the butter, vanilla and sugar. Add the eggs. Beat and scrape down the sides. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix gently then add the .5 cup of milk. Beat the cake for 2 minutes in the stand mixer. Scrape the sides and beat again. Pour into prepared pans. Bake 20-25 minutes until they spring back one pressing. They will be thinnish. Cool completely.

For the Glaze: heat the cream and corn syrup in a narrow pan. When hot pour in the chocolate, swirl the pan to hit the chips with the hot cream. Let sit 3-4 minutes. Add vanilla and whisk together.

To assemble the cake: Put a layer top side up. Spread the filling to nearly the edges of the layer. Cool to set the filling. Add the second layer, top side up. Pour the chocolate glaze over, pushing some dribbles over the edge as you spread the glaze. Cool the cake completely.