Today I busted out my mom’s old Betty Crocker cookbook, her old Pyrex bowls, and got baking. I had never made Boston Cream Pie, but I figured if I were going to start I might as well use the recipe I grew up on. If you aren’t familiar with Boston Cream Pie, it is actually a cake and not a pie. The words pie and cake were used synonymously back in the 1800’s when cakes and pies were made in the same pans. It was created and served at the opening of the Boston Parker House, now the Omni Parker House, in Boston in 1856. All good things really do come from Boston don’t they?
The cake in the recipe calls for Betty’s Dinette cake recipe which is made all in one bowl, and baked in one pan. The ingredients for the cake are:
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one round cake pan. I only had a 9″ pan and the cake was quite thin, an 8″ pan will make it a little thicker.
Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer beat on low speed for 30 seconds while scraping the bowl constantly. Continue beating on high speed for 3 minutes scraping the bowl occasionally.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.
Once the cake is cool prepare the cream filling.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsps cornstarch
1/3 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tsps vanilla
In a medium saucepan whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Combine the milk and egg yolks in a large measuring cup or small bowl and gradually stir into the sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Cool to room temperature.
Before cutting the cake I suggest refrigerating the cake as it is easier to work with if it is cold. To cut the cake in half use a small knife and cut around the cake. With a long serrated knife continue cutting except go all the way through. Using the long knife lift one half and put it on a cake stand or plate.
Cover the bottom half of the cake with the cream. Add the top half of the cake and start making the chocolate glaze.
Glaze:
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
3 tbsps butter
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
2 tbsps hot water
In a saucepan melt the chocolate and butter over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla. Add hot water starting with a tsp at a time, and stir until the glaze is the correct consistency. You want it thick, but soft enough that a little can fall over the side.
Spread the glaze over the top of the cake and let it spill over the edge a little.
Refrigerate before serving, and any leftovers. So good!
