I made this just a few hours ago, and I do have a few notes for some people who might be also looking to make this, too! I am an ametuer chef/baker, so these are real-life observations from someone who doesn't do this all day, every day. First, my pastry cream did not come anywhere close to how thick it was in the video (it ended up with a "slightly thicker than ketchup" consistency, not the buttercream frosting-esque one in the video), but it still solidified very nicely and only oozed out from between the layers a small amount when I assembled it. If I had to go back, I would have probably continued cooking it longer than the 8 minutes recommended, possibly up to 10 or even 11 minutes to get that extra thickness. Also, you REALLY need to mix it vigorously, not just stir it. Your arms should be tired by the time it's the right consistency (if you haven't tapped out and tagged another person in lol). Also, make sure your heated half and half is less than 165°F (I aim for 150°-155°) when you mix in the egg mixture, because no matter how much you temper the mix, eggs scramble in anything higher than 165°, regardless. Second, I have a cooking scale which helped keep the batter amounts even when distributing them into the pans, and I highly recommend you do that as well. Also, when I checked the cakes at the 20 minute mark, they were still pretty raw in the middle, and my wooden skewer ended up taking a gob of raw-ish cake with it, leaving a small divot in the top of the cake. I think I ended up baking them for a total of 26-29 mins, and they were fine, so don't be afraid to extend it a little if they need it (they are also very spongey and sticky if you handle them after they are cooled, and mine had a slight dome on the top of each cake which I had to cut off so the chocolate topping didn't just all slide off onto the sides and not stay). And thirdly, the chocolate topping. Same issue as the pastry cream, mine was not as thick as the video's was (which is probably due to different kinds of cream and chocolate), and even after 5 minutes was still VERY hot and too thin to pour onto the chilled cake. I let it cool sitting on the counter in the saucepan, stirring it occasionally, for about 15-20 minutes total. Only then did I pour it out, and it worked like a charm. It needs to be the consistency of hot fudge for the best results, and after some testing I found using 6oz of chocolate works better at achieving that than 4oz. I hope this helps any bakers out there!
Thanks for the warnings. I commented on the grainy dullness of the custard. It also never got as thick as in the video. One can get the same stiffness, with creaminess and shine, in standard custard recipes provided one cooks them a little longer.
Good tips! The only thing I would say, as a professional, the half and half won't cook the eggs if they're tempered properly because the starch in the flour will protect the egg proteins from coagulating. I always make sure the dairy is nearly boiling when I temper, this will shorten the cooking time. This may be why the pastry cream didn't thicken in the time frame they set forth.
Thanks for reporting back! Very helpful. Extra points for “frosting-esque.” Just one note, the fact you use a lower temp for the half-and-half is probably why your pastry cream doesn’t set up properly. It really needs to be just shy of a simmer so the eggs can do their thing.
@@Sweetthang9 I've always ended up with scrambled eggs, even when they're tempered, if I add my egg mix to the dairy on the stove when it's anywhere north of 170°. What I've found works for me is to bring the dairy to a boil, scoop some out, and reduce the heat. Then I sloooooowly drizzle the hot dairy into the eggs to temper them while the dairy on the stove cools a bit to below 165°, and once the eggs are tempered and the dairy on the stove is at the right temp, I add the egg mix into the pot and stir my heart out.
When I was in high school I decided to make this from a Betty Crocker cookbook. My mother said she didn’t care for it so she had never made one. I ended up making it three times that day my family and friends of my sisters ate them as fast as I could make them and I know we weren’t letting it cool down much. The neighbors heard about it so they dropped in for ‘coffee’. It was a mess but probably my biggest success ever. My mother got caught having seconds and licking the spoon. She said ‘well I guess I do like it.’ It’s a lot of fun for a crowd and easy enough for a new baker to have a hit with.
Custard 6 egg yolks 1/2 cup sugar Pinch of salt Whisk 1/4 cup flour Whisk Simmer 2 cups half and half on medium heat Take 1/2 cup of milk to egg mixture Pour egg mixture into pot Whisk until thick Turn to medium- low heat Pour 4 tbs unsalted butter Add 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Strain custard Refrigerate for at least 2 hours Cake 3/4 cup milk 6 tbs butter Melt over low heat with pot covered Dry ingredients 1 1/2 cup flour 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt Beat in stand mixer until foamy: 3 eggs 1 1/2 cup sugar Whisk in milk Whisk in dry ingredients Transfer to two 9-inch pans Put in 325 oven for 20-22 minutes or until light golden brown Take out custard and give a Stack other half of cake Chocolate ganache Heat over medium heat: 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tbs corn syrup Take off heat 4 oz bittersweet chocolate Whisk until melted Pour ganache over cake
My mother used to make this pie/cake - once in awhile (I'm 68) - if I remember correctly,she used vanilla "Instant Pudding" and she made just a regular thin-ish chocolate frosting. I've never made one. Thanks ladies, you have just convinced me to make a Boston Cream Pie,too! :-)
My favorite dessert!! I always use an old recipe for chocolate glaze we used on pound cake when I was a kid. It's easy to make and stays soft even when cold. And you don't need heavy cream! Fudgy Chocolate Glaze 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 2 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon clear corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup sifted powdered sugar Combine first 5 ingredients in small saucepan. Cook at low simmer and stir over medium-low heat until completely smooth. Remove from heat, and beat in the sifted powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake immediately, while glaze is very warm. Allow to cool and firm up before cutting cake.
Thank you so much I am making this for my dad - It is his absolute favorite dessert and you made it doable. You probably don't realize what a wonderful thing that is, but you need to know.
Just made this and it’s amazing. The sponge cake is perfect and stops the ganache and pastry cream from being too heavy and also not too sweet either just a really light vanilla flavour. It’s absolutely amazing with a cup of coffee. Will definitely be making it again!
My favorite dessert! My mother use to make it. Seeing how much I liked it, she would make it on special occasions and as a treat from time to time. This may have been the first caked that I ever tasted. What I like about it, is it is just right. Not too sweet, bitter dark chocolate, the creamy vanilla flavor center that contrast with the dark chocolate and the moist cake. Thank you for reminding me how easy it is to make and for finally answering the question why it is “pie” and not cake. This will be next week’s baking project. Thank you for the inspiration, all the best Julia and Bridget!
Made the Boston Cream Pie from this today....it was perfect....my third recipe trial to get the right one...very happy with this...thank you for the recipe...and tips
Twice I've made this and the first one didn't work out well. Thank you for your tutorial on this one. I just made it yesterday and before it sat in the fridge chilling, I had to have the first piece. All I can say is OMG!!!! It's fantabulous...The only couple minor problems I had, to which I've corrected, were on the pastry cream, I added a little bit more flour. By the time I removed from the fridge, it was very thick to work with. I added some heavy cream to make it more usable. That did the trick and it didn't affect the taste. Next mistake somehow my cake batter was very thin, and I followed the recipe, so I increased the baking time by 30 minutes more, I've also used the cloth strip that you wet and fit around the pan before baking. For those of you who don't understand what I'm taking about, you can find them on a couple websites. Just punch in cake baking cloth rings. They help the cakes from creating a dome, a nice flat top instead of slicing the top down. You get the point (pun intended). I love watching Cook's Country, have been watching it for years, America's Test Kitchen with John Kimball. Before he started Milk Street.
I love Boston Creme Pie so much and have wished so many times to be able to bake pastry and make that myself. That cake you all cooked look great and I would love to be there to help taste test it with you all.
I made the cream yesterday and let it sit in the fridge all night. Early this morning I started on the cake. It is an easy recipe, but it takes a while in between some of the steps. Waiting for the cake to chill before I could taste it was the longest step! lol I could only wait 1 1/2 hours. It was set enough for the chocolate to stay put when sliced. I really like this cream cake/pie but I just wish it was a little bit sweeter. I guess I have a heck of a sweet tooth. I made this following all the directions except for two parts. I saw it was going to be a nightmare straining the cream and I knew that I had been whisking like there was no tomorrow on low heat so it was silky smooth. Plus I took the pot of half and half off the stove and let it cool for about 5 minutes before I tempered the eggs. Oh yeah, that was the absolute hardest step now that I think about it! My arm about fell off when I was done whisking the cream! I also didn't wait for the 3-hour chill time at the end, but 1 1/2 hours was good enough for the chocolate to set. My husband doesn't like things too sweet so he is in heaven and it is a total win for him. Thank you for explaining all the steps in this recipe so well. All in all, it is a wonderful recipe for a delicious Boston Cream Pie!
Happy I found this here. You have to pay to get their recipes online. You have to give your credit card # before you get a 2 week free trial. Didn't want to get into that, trying to cancel it after two weeks.
I just made this today. Not a fan of the cake part (texture was like bread, but sweat). The pastry cream had great flavor, but an odd texture that I assume is due to flour used. I am going to remake this using a Jiffy box cake, and try using corn starch for the pastry cream. The chocolate ganache was AWESOME!! I molded the pasty cream in a cake pan so it was already round and flat and just needed to be placed between the cakes.
Excellent job explaining the reason for flour instead of cornstarch. The only thing is it would be nice to use the egg whites leftover from the cream in the Genoise cake, but I understand ATK is all about the superior result.
I had Boston cream pie when I was visiting the city to see my relatives and I tasted it there. It was lovely. Thank you for the recipe, will attempt your recipe. We can't get this cake in London and other the UK bakeries and miss this lovely dessert.
Just make the cake recipe - didn't know this substitute of a Genoise cake. Great Cake - not too sweet, very easy to make and as you said, perfect consistency. - thank you ATK! good addition to the repertoire.
You answered my question within the 1st min. Thnyou! I was looking for cornstarch substitute. I also appreciated the scientific explanation🙌 Im off to make this odd pie request. I wonder if you've heard of it .. I'm told it's a 'vanilla type custard pie in a graham crust & meringue topping- ( I'm new to the neighborhood- gents are Irish/English descendants)🥧
This on my mom's pudding recipe for banana pudding. I make it a lot. I will make this for my husband. I have learned to cook again since we need to stay home more. Some are winners, some are loosers, mostly winners.
Made this cake today for my daughters boyfriends birthday he loved it,..one thing I changed was that the cake needs at least 6oz of chocolate to cover the cake not 4oz..as one of the other bakers noted that here in the comments.
This looks DELICIOUS! I'm one of "those people" who use either organic or NON-GMO ingredients. So, my question is: Can I skip the corn syrup step all together? Thumbs up! Thank you.
(Recipe transcribed below- but still watch the video as you make it to see their tips and consistencies) I made this for my fiancé’s birthday and here are our thoughts: I was scared of the pastry crème not getting thick enough so we spent a really long time whisking it (he helped) because I thought it didn't quite look as thick as theirs and another comment mentioned it not getting thick enough. But then it ended up being too thick and a tad rubbery when we ate it, so I’ll try less hard next time lol. For the chocolate glaze I used 6 oz of chocolate like another comment suggested (semisweet). I am glad that it doesn’t set into a brittle chocolate, but I think we would have liked it to set a little more; ours was kind of sticking to our knife pretty badly and not cutting as cleanly as theirs seems to have. Not sure what to change, but I think I might make a double batch of chocolate next time cause it’s tasty. My fiancé thought the cake component was pretty perfect though, and I definitely plan to make this again and just work on the crème.
Pastry Crème: 6 egg yolks ½ cup sugar Pinch of salt ¼ all-purpose flour 2 cups half and half 0.5 cups half and half 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract. Vegetable oil cooking spray Cake: 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter ¾ cup whole milk 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract. 1.5 cups all-purpose flour 1.5 teaspoons of baking powered ¾ teaspoon of salt. 3 whole large eggs 1.5 cups granulated sugar Vegetable oil cooking spray Chocolate Topping: 0.5 cups of heavy cream over 2 Tablespoons of corn syrup. 4 oz. of bittersweet chocolate finely chopped. (Sweet or semisweet is also fine) Pastry Crème Instructions: Whisk sugar and salt into egg yolks. Add flour and whisk again. Bring half and half to simmer over medium heat. Take a half a cup and put it in the egg mixture to temper. Mix in, then put entire egg mixture into the rest of the half and half in the pot over medium heat. Cook for about a minute while continuing to whisk. Turn heat to medium low and whisk for about eight minutes. Turn up heat to medium and whisk for about another minute. Take off heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Put through sieve. To keep skin from forming, make circle of vegetable oil spray on a piece of parchment paper and press it down on top of the bowl of cream and put in oven. Can be made up to a day in advance. Cake Instructions: Put butter and whole milk in a pan, melt butter over low heat, then swirl in vanilla. Take off heat, put to side with lid on to keep it warm. Wisk salt and baking powder into flour. Put eggs and sugar into electric mixer. Beat on high speed until it is foam and pale, about five minutes. Wisk in hot milk mixture, then dry ingredients. Put into two nine-inch cake pans sprayed with vegetable oil cooking spray and with parchment paper in just the bottom. Put into 325 degree oven for about 20-22 minutes. Toothpick inserted in center should come out clean and top should be nice light brown. Cool the cake layers. Use a plastic knife to go around edge of pan, flip out onto rack. Apply pastry creme to one layer and put second layer on top, making sure both cakes are right side up. Chocolate topping instructions: Put heavy crème over medium heat, add corn syrup. When it simmers, take it off the heat and add chocolate. Wisk until melted, about 30 seconds. Let sit five minutes. Put it on top of cake. Put in fridge for at least three hours. You can also make it up to a day in advance. You’re done!
I tried the Creme with the cornstarch and new something wasn’t right about the texture. I threw it out. Then I found this recipe using flour. Bingo! This is how it should be made. 🎉
Look at the fake trolls giving negative comments. These fake trolls are targeting your channel because you have the name America in your Americas Test Kitchen logo. People are waking up trolls. Soon you'll have to make an honest buck. Looks wicked delish ladies. Keep up the good work.
corn starch works fine. you need a turntable for when you spread cream and ice cake. plastic wrap neatly tucked into corners with no air works fine to prevent skin no need to use parchment and spray
... I used almost same recipe for pastry cream, while back. They are correct about using flour instead of starch. I used starch instead and it broke down next day in fridge.
Can whole milk + some butter be substituted for the heavy cream in making the ganache? I had a hard time using up the rest of the heavy cream last time.
From what I've read, there's no actual evidence that the Parker House invented this but they claimed it at some point, so they get the credit. There are apparently older recipes that literally called it a pudding pie cake. I love it anyway but almost never have it. Maybe I'll get off my lazy butt and actually try this one.
This is what I found online: Boston Cream Pie by chef Mossburg Sanzian. It is said to have been created in 1856 by Armenian-French chef Mossburg Sanzian at the Parker House Hotel in Boston.
This is a promisingly different recipe (with the hot milk cake and the flour in the custard) but I've made the custard twice and found it to be grainy and dull, not smooth, creamy, and shiny. The flour needs work to dissolve in the eggs, and even with lots of whisking doesn't fully dissolve until you add the milk. For the effort and grainy result, I think the custard recipe is not worth it. Use other Boston Cream Pie custard recipes with cornstarch and cook them a little longer to get the firmer texture. No need to go the flour route. Sometimes ATK makes standard recipes more complicated without any additional payoff.
ATK - I made this recipe, and the cake and chocolate turned out perfect. But the filling cream turned out too hard - almost chewy. Anyone have a suggestion as to what I did wrong? Maybe I didn't get it hot enough, or possibly I over stirred it? I could barely get it through my wire strainer. This is my dad's favorite pie/cake/pie, and I know he was disappointed with my last effort.
Hi, assuming your measurements were accurate, it’s possible you maybe packed the flour in the measuring cup slightly? Resulting in too much flour. I use cornstarch as my thickener because I prefer the texture so I can’t comment on the 1/4 cup quantity of flour they used. I would also suggest using a hand mixer or stand mixer on low speed to loosen the pastry cream up again after it’s been completely chilled. This breaks down the starches so it’s the correct way to go, just don’t go overboard. If it’s still too thick for your liking you can add a tablespoon at a time of heavy cream after it’s chilled, while mixing it again to loosen further. Or fold in a small amount of whipped cream to make it slightly aerated. Good luck!
Can you make a true cream rum raisen pie.everyone on TH-cam makes there rasen pie wrong.baker SQ had a great one when I was kid,creamy airy full if custard raden goodness
Sometimes Boston Cream Pies bought in stores have a covering that is too thick and too firm-- more like a fondant. It's very disappointing. This version seems perfect.
Why not have the cream touching the bottom of both cake layers? That way the bottom of the finished cake will be more even, better looking, and less crumbly. I'd rather have the bottom layers that have had the parchment peeled from them facing the interior cream. This example of a Boston Cream Pie to me is as beautiful as they come and since it looks like I can make it without an electric mixer (which was only used to whip the sugar and eggs) I think I will try to make it by hand next time I want a big cake. Otherwise it's on the shortlist for when I get a stand mixer. I might also bake the batter in one pan in two shifts, since I don't have a pair. Not ideal, but even if the second cake doesn't rise quite as well since it goes in 40-60 minutes later it will probably be alright. If not I'll have to make half the batter again. Thank you for the recipe.
Why do they talk so fast ? What the stress for ? ( When I take the cake out of the oven , I take a fork and I scrap all the top brown part of the cake so that when the whole cake is cut , we see a completely white pastry. Is it a good idea . ?)
I made this just a few hours ago, and I do have a few notes for some people who might be also looking to make this, too! I am an ametuer chef/baker, so these are real-life observations from someone who doesn't do this all day, every day.
First, my pastry cream did not come anywhere close to how thick it was in the video (it ended up with a "slightly thicker than ketchup" consistency, not the buttercream frosting-esque one in the video), but it still solidified very nicely and only oozed out from between the layers a small amount when I assembled it. If I had to go back, I would have probably continued cooking it longer than the 8 minutes recommended, possibly up to 10 or even 11 minutes to get that extra thickness. Also, you REALLY need to mix it vigorously, not just stir it. Your arms should be tired by the time it's the right consistency (if you haven't tapped out and tagged another person in lol). Also, make sure your heated half and half is less than 165°F (I aim for 150°-155°) when you mix in the egg mixture, because no matter how much you temper the mix, eggs scramble in anything higher than 165°, regardless.
Second, I have a cooking scale which helped keep the batter amounts even when distributing them into the pans, and I highly recommend you do that as well. Also, when I checked the cakes at the 20 minute mark, they were still pretty raw in the middle, and my wooden skewer ended up taking a gob of raw-ish cake with it, leaving a small divot in the top of the cake. I think I ended up baking them for a total of 26-29 mins, and they were fine, so don't be afraid to extend it a little if they need it (they are also very spongey and sticky if you handle them after they are cooled, and mine had a slight dome on the top of each cake which I had to cut off so the chocolate topping didn't just all slide off onto the sides and not stay).
And thirdly, the chocolate topping. Same issue as the pastry cream, mine was not as thick as the video's was (which is probably due to different kinds of cream and chocolate), and even after 5 minutes was still VERY hot and too thin to pour onto the chilled cake. I let it cool sitting on the counter in the saucepan, stirring it occasionally, for about 15-20 minutes total. Only then did I pour it out, and it worked like a charm. It needs to be the consistency of hot fudge for the best results, and after some testing I found using 6oz of chocolate works better at achieving that than 4oz.
I hope this helps any bakers out there!
Thanks for the warnings. I commented on the grainy dullness of the custard. It also never got as thick as in the video. One can get the same stiffness, with creaminess and shine, in standard custard recipes provided one cooks them a little longer.
Chrissy, your tips are very helpful! If I make this, I'll be sure and print out your comments. Thank you.
Good tips! The only thing I would say, as a professional, the half and half won't cook the eggs if they're tempered properly because the starch in the flour will protect the egg proteins from coagulating. I always make sure the dairy is nearly boiling when I temper, this will shorten the cooking time. This may be why the pastry cream didn't thicken in the time frame they set forth.
Thanks for reporting back! Very helpful. Extra points for “frosting-esque.” Just one note, the fact you use a lower temp for the half-and-half is probably why your pastry cream doesn’t set up properly. It really needs to be just shy of a simmer so the eggs can do their thing.
@@Sweetthang9 I've always ended up with scrambled eggs, even when they're tempered, if I add my egg mix to the dairy on the stove when it's anywhere north of 170°. What I've found works for me is to bring the dairy to a boil, scoop some out, and reduce the heat. Then I sloooooowly drizzle the hot dairy into the eggs to temper them while the dairy on the stove cools a bit to below 165°, and once the eggs are tempered and the dairy on the stove is at the right temp, I add the egg mix into the pot and stir my heart out.
When I was in high school I decided to make this from a Betty Crocker cookbook. My mother said she didn’t care for it so she had never made one. I ended up making it three times that day my family and friends of my sisters ate them as fast as I could make them and I know we weren’t letting it cool down much. The neighbors heard about it so they dropped in for ‘coffee’. It was a mess but probably my biggest success ever. My mother got caught having seconds and licking the spoon. She said ‘well I guess I do like it.’ It’s a lot of fun for a crowd and easy enough for a new baker to have a hit with.
Kate Sander that is a beautiful story
I love this!
Custard
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
Whisk
1/4 cup flour
Whisk
Simmer 2 cups half and half on medium heat
Take 1/2 cup of milk to egg mixture
Pour egg mixture into pot
Whisk until thick
Turn to medium- low heat
Pour 4 tbs unsalted butter
Add 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Strain custard
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours
Cake
3/4 cup milk
6 tbs butter
Melt over low heat with pot covered
Dry ingredients
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
Beat in stand mixer until foamy:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
Whisk in milk
Whisk in dry ingredients
Transfer to two 9-inch pans
Put in 325 oven for 20-22 minutes or until light golden brown
Take out custard and give a
Stack other half of cake
Chocolate ganache
Heat over medium heat:
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbs corn syrup
Take off heat
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
Whisk until melted
Pour ganache over cake
YOURE A BLESSING!! very irritating that you have to pay to see the recipe 😵💫 so thank you for taking the time to do this :)
Thank you
It's 3/4 cup of milk not 3 cups
Yes its 3/4 cups. Learned it the hard way.. thank you though for this detailed list ☺️
Thank you for taking the time to give us the list of ingredients and the instructions. 😊👍👍👍👍
It's cool how they explained the science of corn starch vs. flour as a thickener.
I feel so nostalgic watching you two. I used to watch you on PBS growing up.
My mother used to make this pie/cake - once in awhile (I'm 68) - if I remember correctly,she used vanilla "Instant Pudding" and she made just a regular thin-ish chocolate frosting.
I've never made one. Thanks ladies, you have just convinced me to make a Boston Cream Pie,too! :-)
My favorite dessert!! I always use an old recipe for chocolate glaze we used on pound cake when I was a kid. It's easy to make and stays soft even when cold. And you don't need heavy cream!
Fudgy Chocolate Glaze
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon clear corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
Combine first 5 ingredients in small saucepan. Cook at low simmer and stir over medium-low heat until completely smooth.
Remove from heat, and beat in the sifted powdered sugar until smooth.
Drizzle over cooled cake immediately, while glaze is very warm.
Allow to cool and firm up before cutting cake.
The chocolate + butter recipe turned out really hard to cut thru, so I switched to the cocoa powder version & it was wonderful even when chilled.
I made this yesterday for my husband's Birthday, came out so good thank you lady's ❤
I’m going to make this for my husband’s 75th birthday. It will be my first time trying it, I call it my maiden voyage whenever I try a new recipe.
Thank you so much I am making this for my dad - It is his absolute favorite dessert and you made it doable. You probably don't realize what a wonderful thing that is, but you need to know.
Just made this and it’s amazing. The sponge cake is perfect and stops the ganache and pastry cream from being too heavy and also not too sweet either just a really light vanilla flavour. It’s absolutely amazing with a cup of coffee. Will definitely be making it again!
My favorite dessert! My mother use to make it. Seeing how much I liked it, she would make it on special occasions and as a treat from time to time. This may have been the first caked that I ever tasted. What I like about it, is it is just right. Not too sweet, bitter dark chocolate, the creamy vanilla flavor center that contrast with the dark chocolate and the moist cake. Thank you for reminding me how easy it is to make and for finally answering the question why it is “pie” and not cake. This will be next week’s baking project. Thank you for the inspiration, all the best Julia and Bridget!
Made the Boston Cream Pie from this today....it was perfect....my third recipe trial to get the right one...very happy with this...thank you for the recipe...and tips
I'm only here for the cream recipe. 😅 Just give me a bucket of it with a spoon. 🤤
Me too😋
exactly. why would you bother with the faff of making a cake.
Going to make this for my birthday tomorrow. Been wanting to make this for several years but life got in the way. Hope it was worth the wait
R.I.P egg in the background... 6:20
Great catch (no pun intended)
Ha! I was going between watching the cake recipe and people in the background and I didn’t even catch that part lol
Hehe 😂 Even the very best chefs at ATK drop eggs. It really does happen to us all
Twice I've made this and the first one didn't work out well. Thank you for your tutorial on this one. I just made it yesterday and before it sat in the fridge chilling, I had to have the first piece. All I can say is OMG!!!! It's fantabulous...The only couple minor problems I had, to which I've corrected, were on the pastry cream, I added a little bit more flour. By the time I removed from the fridge, it was very thick to work with. I added some heavy cream to make it more usable. That did the trick and it didn't affect the taste. Next mistake somehow my cake batter was very thin, and I followed the recipe, so I increased the baking time by 30 minutes more, I've also used the cloth strip that you wet and fit around the pan before baking. For those of you who don't understand what I'm taking about, you can find them on a couple websites. Just punch in cake baking cloth rings. They help the cakes from creating a dome, a nice flat top instead of slicing the top down. You get the point (pun intended). I love watching Cook's Country, have been watching it for years, America's Test Kitchen with John Kimball. Before he started Milk Street.
I love Boston Creme Pie so much and have wished so many times to be able to bake pastry and make that myself. That cake you all cooked look great and I would love to be there to help taste test it with you all.
thank you for the parchment paper + cooking spray tip! i've been wanting to avoid using cling film as much as possible and that never occurred to me!
This looks like the best Boston creme pie recipe. Making this for Christmas. Might make one before Christmas to make sure it turns out good.
Bridget: "I call dinner and dessert the same thing." :D
Great and easy to follow recipe. Parker House Hotel was also the home of Parker House rolls!
I have always loved this treat!! Tired to make it myself and it turned out well considering that I'm not a baker. Thank you
Without a doubt I say a Boston Cream Pie is the most delicious and elegant dessert ever made!
10:38 I made this cake 9 yesrs ago, now I am gonna to make it again! Boston cream pie one is my favourites!
I made the cream yesterday and let it sit in the fridge all night. Early this morning I started on the cake. It is an easy recipe, but it takes a while in between some of the steps. Waiting for the cake to chill before I could taste it was the longest step! lol I could only wait 1 1/2 hours. It was set enough for the chocolate to stay put when sliced. I really like this cream cake/pie but I just wish it was a little bit sweeter. I guess I have a heck of a sweet tooth. I made this following all the directions except for two parts. I saw it was going to be a nightmare straining the cream and I knew that I had been whisking like there was no tomorrow on low heat so it was silky smooth. Plus I took the pot of half and half off the stove and let it cool for about 5 minutes before I tempered the eggs. Oh yeah, that was the absolute hardest step now that I think about it! My arm about fell off when I was done whisking the cream! I also didn't wait for the 3-hour chill time at the end, but 1 1/2 hours was good enough for the chocolate to set. My husband doesn't like things too sweet so he is in heaven and it is a total win for him. Thank you for explaining all the steps in this recipe so well. All in all, it is a wonderful recipe for a delicious Boston Cream Pie!
Happy I found this here. You have to pay to get their recipes online. You have to give your credit card # before you get a 2 week free trial. Didn't want to get into that, trying to cancel it after two weeks.
Love these videos. Thanks for the Boston Cream Pie recipe.
I just made this today. Not a fan of the cake part (texture was like bread, but sweat). The pastry cream had great flavor, but an odd texture that I assume is due to flour used. I am going to remake this using a Jiffy box cake, and try using corn starch for the pastry cream. The chocolate ganache was AWESOME!! I molded the pasty cream in a cake pan so it was already round and flat and just needed to be placed between the cakes.
My mouth is watering for some Boston Cream Pie.
9:53 "This was a good invention" 🤣 my thoughts exactly. Boston Cream Cakes/Pies/Donuts are my favorite desserts
Excellent job explaining the reason for flour instead of cornstarch. The only thing is it would be nice to use the egg whites leftover from the cream in the Genoise cake, but I understand ATK is all about the superior result.
So helpful!!! Thanks america's test kitchen... people 🙌
Wow this is amazing! Thanks 🙏❤️
Looks so good ❤
NICE!!! I'M lovin this.
*Only 18* 👇👇👇
599597.loveisreal.ru
I made this for my moms birthday today and she loved it! It’s really easy, just time consuming, I totally recommend it though!
Even after 4 years, It's still good.
One of my favorites!!
I love Boston Cream Pie but it's so hard to find a GOOD one. I will definitely give this a try! Thanks!
Excellent recipe. Followed it exactly and it came out perfect👍
I had Boston cream pie when I was visiting the city to see my relatives and I tasted it there. It was lovely. Thank you for the recipe, will attempt your recipe. We can't get this cake in London and other the UK bakeries and miss this lovely dessert.
i'm going to make this keto style... you guys have all the fun. looks delish.
Just make the cake recipe - didn't know this substitute of a Genoise cake. Great Cake - not too sweet, very easy to make and as you said, perfect consistency. - thank you ATK! good addition to the repertoire.
This was the best recipe. Everything came out great
Thank you!!!
You answered my question within the 1st min. Thnyou!
I was looking for cornstarch substitute. I also appreciated the scientific explanation🙌
Im off to make this odd pie request. I wonder if you've heard of it ..
I'm told it's a 'vanilla type custard pie in a graham crust & meringue topping- ( I'm new to the neighborhood- gents are Irish/English descendants)🥧
Ugh atk is the best. Flour over corn starch in prep for amylase in eggs. Genius
This on my mom's pudding recipe for banana pudding. I make it a lot. I will make this for my husband. I have learned to cook again since we need to stay home more. Some are winners, some are loosers, mostly winners.
Made this cake today for my daughters boyfriends birthday he loved it,..one thing I changed was that the cake needs at least 6oz of chocolate to cover the cake not 4oz..as one of the other bakers noted that here in the comments.
This looks DELICIOUS! I'm one of "those people" who use either organic or NON-GMO ingredients. So, my question is: Can I skip the corn syrup step all together? Thumbs up! Thank you.
Honey should work
Anonymous, thank you so much! I sure do appreciate your tip. I'll try that. Thanks again! :-)
YEAH!
(Recipe transcribed below- but still watch the video as you make it to see their tips and consistencies)
I made this for my fiancé’s birthday and here are our thoughts: I was scared of the pastry crème not getting thick enough so we spent a really long time whisking it (he helped) because I thought it didn't quite look as thick as theirs and another comment mentioned it not getting thick enough. But then it ended up being too thick and a tad rubbery when we ate it, so I’ll try less hard next time lol. For the chocolate glaze I used 6 oz of chocolate like another comment suggested (semisweet). I am glad that it doesn’t set into a brittle chocolate, but I think we would have liked it to set a little more; ours was kind of sticking to our knife pretty badly and not cutting as cleanly as theirs seems to have. Not sure what to change, but I think I might make a double batch of chocolate next time cause it’s tasty. My fiancé thought the cake component was pretty perfect though, and I definitely plan to make this again and just work on the crème.
Pastry Crème:
6 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
¼ all-purpose flour
2 cups half and half
0.5 cups half and half
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract.
Vegetable oil cooking spray
Cake:
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
¾ cup whole milk
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract.
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoons of baking powered
¾ teaspoon of salt.
3 whole large eggs
1.5 cups granulated sugar
Vegetable oil cooking spray
Chocolate Topping:
0.5 cups of heavy cream over
2 Tablespoons of corn syrup.
4 oz. of bittersweet chocolate finely chopped. (Sweet or semisweet is also fine)
Pastry Crème Instructions:
Whisk sugar and salt into egg yolks. Add flour and whisk again. Bring half and half to simmer over medium heat. Take a half a cup and put it in the egg mixture to temper. Mix in, then put entire egg mixture into the rest of the half and half in the pot over medium heat. Cook for about a minute while continuing to whisk. Turn heat to medium low and whisk for about eight minutes. Turn up heat to medium and whisk for about another minute. Take off heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Put through sieve. To keep skin from forming, make circle of vegetable oil spray on a piece of parchment paper and press it down on top of the bowl of cream and put in oven. Can be made up to a day in advance.
Cake Instructions:
Put butter and whole milk in a pan, melt butter over low heat, then swirl in vanilla. Take off heat, put to side with lid on to keep it warm. Wisk salt and baking powder into flour. Put eggs and sugar into electric mixer. Beat on high speed until it is foam and pale, about five minutes. Wisk in hot milk mixture, then dry ingredients. Put into two nine-inch cake pans sprayed with vegetable oil cooking spray and with parchment paper in just the bottom. Put into 325 degree oven for about 20-22 minutes. Toothpick inserted in center should come out clean and top should be nice light brown. Cool the cake layers. Use a plastic knife to go around edge of pan, flip out onto rack. Apply pastry creme to one layer and put second layer on top, making sure both cakes are right side up.
Chocolate topping instructions:
Put heavy crème over medium heat, add corn syrup. When it simmers, take it off the heat and add chocolate. Wisk until melted, about 30 seconds. Let sit five minutes. Put it on top of cake.
Put in fridge for at least three hours. You can also make it up to a day in advance.
You’re done!
Thank you😊.
I tried the Creme with the cornstarch and new something wasn’t right about the texture. I threw it out. Then I found this recipe using flour. Bingo! This is how it should be made. 🎉
The ganache poked my eye out!
Look at the fake trolls giving negative comments. These fake trolls are targeting your channel because you have the name America in your Americas Test Kitchen logo.
People are waking up trolls. Soon you'll have to make an honest buck.
Looks wicked delish ladies. Keep up the good work.
I made too much pastry cream for eclairs so this was the perfect solution of what to do with the extra...it was either that or eat it with a spoon.
Very helpful • Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂
The D & M? My little village still has a D & M depot from 1900, now a museum.
Wow droooling
Cool animation.
Boston Cream Pie came from Parker House and was inspired by American pudding-cake pie, not from a ruddy donut.
corn starch works fine. you need a turntable for when you spread cream and ice cake. plastic wrap neatly tucked into corners with no air works fine to prevent skin no need to use parchment and spray
Can you do the ultimate black forest cake?
My mom always made a devil's food cake for her Boston cream pie. That's the only way to have it. I even use my grandmother's cake recipe, circa 1940s.
Pls make mocha layered cake or banoffee pie..😍😍😍
Can you use agave instead of the light corn syrup?
Love Boston cream pie/cake. But I never have the ingredients but do know a bakery where I can get some.
Can I use salted butter?
... I used almost same recipe for pastry cream, while back. They are correct about using flour instead of starch. I used starch instead and it broke down next day in fridge.
Can whole milk + some butter be substituted for the heavy cream in making the ganache? I had a hard time using up the rest of the heavy cream last time.
If I substituted corn starch for the flour in the pastry cream, would it be the same amount?
The cake portion came out very dense. Is there any way to aerate it so its consistency leans more spongey and less pound cake?
Check your oven temperature. If it's not hot enough the cake won't rise well before it's cooked.
Brilliant
Dose it matter if the corn syrup is light or dark?
How can we get d written recipe w/o going to free access?
I don’t think you can.
Those eggs were huge for the cake 😂! What are those ostrich eggs?
Yummie!
Not sure if corn syrup is available in England. Can I use golden syrup instead?
I think heavy cream is equivalent to double cream in England.
This just looked gorgeous. I want a bite.
But could you bake one sponge bun and then just cut in half?
I followed the recipe exactly but the ganache’ was really thin, would more chocolate help that?
thank you for using parchment paper instead of plastic
From what I've read, there's no actual evidence that the Parker House invented this but they claimed it at some point, so they get the credit. There are apparently older recipes that literally called it a pudding pie cake. I love it anyway but almost never have it. Maybe I'll get off my lazy butt and actually try this one.
This is what I found online:
Boston Cream Pie by
chef Mossburg Sanzian.
It is said to have been created in 1856 by Armenian-French chef Mossburg Sanzian at the Parker House Hotel in Boston.
How do you keep the cake layers from doming?
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*Lanny face intensifies
correct me if I am wrong but I believe this is a reuploaded video?
太棒了！這算是我最喜愛的派之一！
Cake needed to cook significantly longer than 22 minutes. Anybody else?
This is a promisingly different recipe (with the hot milk cake and the flour in the custard) but I've made the custard twice and found it to be grainy and dull, not smooth, creamy, and shiny. The flour needs work to dissolve in the eggs, and even with lots of whisking doesn't fully dissolve until you add the milk. For the effort and grainy result, I think the custard recipe is not worth it. Use other Boston Cream Pie custard recipes with cornstarch and cook them a little longer to get the firmer texture. No need to go the flour route. Sometimes ATK makes standard recipes more complicated without any additional payoff.
ATK - I made this recipe, and the cake and chocolate turned out perfect. But the filling cream turned out too hard - almost chewy. Anyone have a suggestion as to what I did wrong? Maybe I didn't get it hot enough, or possibly I over stirred it? I could barely get it through my wire strainer.
This is my dad's favorite pie/cake/pie, and I know he was disappointed with my last effort.
Hi, assuming your measurements were accurate, it’s possible you maybe packed the flour in the measuring cup slightly? Resulting in too much flour. I use cornstarch as my thickener because I prefer the texture so I can’t comment on the 1/4 cup quantity of flour they used. I would also suggest using a hand mixer or stand mixer on low speed to loosen the pastry cream up again after it’s been completely chilled. This breaks down the starches so it’s the correct way to go, just don’t go overboard. If it’s still too thick for your liking you can add a tablespoon at a time of heavy cream after it’s chilled, while mixing it again to loosen further. Or fold in a small amount of whipped cream to make it slightly aerated. Good luck!
@@ra565131 .
Can you make a true cream rum raisen pie.everyone on TH-cam makes there rasen pie wrong.baker SQ had a great one when I was kid,creamy airy full if custard raden goodness
Sometimes Boston Cream Pies bought in stores have a covering that is too thick and too firm-- more like a fondant. It's very disappointing. This version seems perfect.
Why half and half instead of cream?
I'm glad Julia asked about substituting for the bitter-sweet chocolate. It's my least favorite part about BCP.
What happened to the man that used to wear the glasses
Ughhhh......I absolutely hate it when chefs leave half of whatever they were mixing in the pot or bowl when scraping into another vessel..😖😣
That's one of the most comment complaints on TH-cam cooking videos, so you're definitely not alone.
Why not have the cream touching the bottom of both cake layers? That way the bottom of the finished cake will be more even, better looking, and less crumbly. I'd rather have the bottom layers that have had the parchment peeled from them facing the interior cream.
This example of a Boston Cream Pie to me is as beautiful as they come and since it looks like I can make it without an electric mixer (which was only used to whip the sugar and eggs) I think I will try to make it by hand next time I want a big cake. Otherwise it's on the shortlist for when I get a stand mixer. I might also bake the batter in one pan in two shifts, since I don't have a pair. Not ideal, but even if the second cake doesn't rise quite as well since it goes in 40-60 minutes later it will probably be alright. If not I'll have to make half the batter again. Thank you for the recipe.
Instructions unclear: gf pregnant
Thank you for not using corn starch
Why do they talk so fast ? What the stress for ?
( When I take the cake out of the oven , I take a fork and I scrap all the top brown part of the cake so that when the whole cake is cut , we see a completely white pastry. Is it a good idea . ?)
I baked this cake and my pastry cream is soft, in the fridge all night and is more like a pudding. Just waste lots of ingredients