Boston Cream Pie: Ode to a Fair City

Yes, it's been forever since the last post. (Deepest apologies to my 3 followers.) And this post is a bit of a rebellious one, as I've dared to deviate from the recipes of Death by Chocolate in order to pay homage to my recent trip to Boston. That fair city is now officially on my list of Top 5 Cities of All Time. If Boston were a man, I'd be head over heels (a girl's dream: sophisticated, well-educated, gorgeous).
But back to baking. While in Boston, I spent 45 minutes dragging my poor friend around the North End in a focused hunt for a slice of Boston Cream Pie. (Learning in the process that Boston Cream Pie is actually cake, not pie. I believe it was called pie because when it was first concocted in the 19th century, it was baked in a pie pan.)
I finally settled for a slice from Bova's Bakery (which, it should be noted, is famous for Italian bread. Not Boston Cream Pie.). Their version looked like something you'd find in Barbie's kitchen. And its taste reflected its appearance: plastic. As I've never had Boston Cream Pie, I wasn't sure whether Bova's version was just bad, or whether it was truly what Boston Cream Pie is meant to taste like. Bova's was a white, flavorless sponge cake sandwiching a cream filling - of cheap donut ilk - and topped with a glassy layer of what appeared to be chocolate glaze. In a word: gross.
Not ready to give up on Boston Cream Pie just yet, I decided to make my own using a recipe from my beloved The Best Recipe cookbook, which has only failed me once (don't try the brownies). So I spent the better part of this afternoon whipping up my first-ever Boston Cream Pie.
I'm happy to report that the homemade version is much better than the plastic pretender at Bova's.
I must admit, though: I could never give Boston Cream Pie 5 stars. When it comes to desserts, I'm a bit high-maintenance. I need flavor - deep valleys of flavor (intense chocolate that's worth its weight in Tums). And texture - steep pinnacles of texture (fluffy meringue counterbalancing a crispy crust).
Boston Cream Pie is a nice cake. The sponge cake is good, but it's sponge cake, you know? The cream filling is creamy, but it doesn't really have a lot of flavor (I'm tempted to advise that you double the rum). And the chocolate glaze, when done well, is good. But overall, the cake is just a nice cake, with all the flavors and textures blending together into a mellow dessert. I probably wouldn't make it again unless someone asked me to.
However, for those of you who also have been dying to try a true Boston Cream Pie, with this recipe you can skip visit to Bova's on your trip to Bean Town, and enjoy a decent version from the comfort of your own kitchen.

Start with Foolproof Sponge Cake:

• 1/2 c. plain cake flour


• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour


• 1 t. baking powder


• 1/4 t. salt


• 3 T. milk


• 2 T. unsalted butter


• 1/2 t. vanilla


• 5 large eggs, room temperature


• 3/4 c. sugar
  
  Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans and cover the bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until butter melts. Remove from heat and add vanilla; cover and keep warm.
  Separate three of the eggs, placing whites in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment (or large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) and reserving three yolks plus remaining two whole eggs in another mixing bowl. Beat the three whites on low speed until whites are foamy. Increase mixer speed to medium and gradually add 6 T of the sugar; continue to beat whites to soft, moist peaks. (Do not overbeat.) If using standing mixer, transfer egg whites to a large bowl and add yolk/whole-egg mixture to mixing bowl.
  Beat yolk/whole-egg mixture with remaining 6 T sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until eggs are very thick and a pale yellow color, about 5 minutes. Add beaten eggs to whites.
  Sprinkle flour mixture over beaten eggs and whites; fold very gently 12 times with a large rubber spatula. Make a well in one side of batter and pour milk mixture into bowl. Continue folding until batter shows no trace of flour and whites and whole eggs are evenly mixed, about 8 additional strokes.
  Immediately pour batter into prepared baking pans; bake until cake tops are light brown and feel firm and spring back when touched (about 16 minutes for 9-inch pans; 20 minutes for 8-inch pans).
  Immediately run a knife around pan perimeter to loosen cake. Invert cakes onto cooling racks and cool to room temperature.

Pastry Cream

• 2 c. milk
  
• 6 large egg yolks
  
• 1/2 c. sugar
  
• 1/4 t. salt
  
• 1/4 c. cornstarch, sifted
  
• 1 t. vanilla
  
• 1 T. rum
  
• 2 T. unsalted butter (optional according to The Best Recipe, though I definitely don't consider it as such)
  
  Heat milk in a small saucepan until hot but not simmering. Whisk yolks, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan until mixture is thick and lemon-colored, about 3-4 minutes. Add cornstarch; whisk to combine. Slowly whisk in hot milk. Cook milk mixture over medium-low heat, whisking constantly and scraping pan bottom and sides as you stir, until mixture thickens to a thick pudding consistency and loses all traces of raw starch flavor (blech) - about 10 minutes.
  Off heat, stir in vanilla, rum, and butter (if using) and transfer to another container to cool to room temp, placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of mix to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate pastry cream until firm. (Can be refrigerated overnight.)
  To ensure that pastry cream does not thin out, do not whisk once it has set.

Rich Chocolate Glaze

• 1 c. heavy cream
  
• 1/4 c. light corn syrup
  
• 8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
  
• 1/2 t. vanilla
  
  Bring cream and corn syrup to a full simmer over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Off heat, add chocolate; cover and let stand for 8 minutes. (If chocolate has not completely melted, return saucepan to low heat; stir constantly until melted.) Add vanilla; stir very gently until mixture is smooth. Cool until tepid so that a spoonful drizzled back into pan mounds slightly. (Glaze can be refrigerated to spped up cooling process, stirring every few minutes to ensure even cooling.)
  While glaze is cooling, place one cake layer on a cardboard round on cooling rack set over waxed paper. Carefully spoon pastry cream over cake and spread evenly up to cake edge. Place the second layer on top, making sure layers line up properly.
  Pour glaze over middle of top layer and let flow down cake sides. Use a metal spatula, if necessary, to completely coat cake. Use a small needle to puncture air bubbles. Let sit until glaze fully sets, about 1 hour. Cut and serve.