Boston Cream Pie Cake

Boston Cream Pie Cake is an American favorite for a reason – Cream filled cake topped with a chocolate glaze? Yes, please!

Boston Cream Donuts are one of my son’s favorite treats. When he was growing up in England, he would crave them after visiting my family in America. I would make this cake to try to fill the void and, now that we live in America where his beloved donut is readily available, he actually prefers my cake!

So please allow me to present my Boston cream pie cake! Light and airy sponge cake filled with rich pastry cream, and topped with a decadent chocolate ganache icing. It’s a supremely delectable and satisfying bake!

What Is A Boston Cream Pie?

A Boston Cream Pie is a version of the early American Pudding Cake Pie, served at the Parker House Hotel in Boston (now the Omni Parker House Hotel). Originally created by a French pastry chef Sanzian for the opening of the hotel.

Why is it called a pie when it’s clearly a cake? This is because at one time all cakes were baked in a standard pie tin. Personally, I just love this cake, it has everything you could ever want in one bite!

Homemade Pastry Cream: If you use my pastry cream recipe, then the full recipe will fill the cake.  Be sure to cool the custard thoroughly in the fridge before using it to fill the cake.

Pudding Mix: If you’re using a pudding or custard mix, I suggest using heavy cream or whipping cream in place of milk to make a thicker mixture that can take the weight of the cake. I recommend using a cup of the thickened, cooled mixture.

Ready-Made Pudding or Custard: If you’re using a thinner pudding or custard, I suggest starting with a ½ cup, placing it between the layers and checking to see if the weight of the cake can take more filling without causing it to overflow out the side of the cake.

Step By Step Instructions

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Sifting helps to create a light, tender cake.

Add the cold cubed butter to the dry ingredients.

Then similar to making a pie dough or scones, work the butter into the flour mixture by mixing with a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until it resembles breadcrumbs. You want a rough and crumbly texture, but if you still have a few larger butter pieces, that’s just fine.

If you don’t have a mixer, you can do this with a hand mixer or beater.

Whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla together in a small bowl or large measuring cup.

Then add the wet ingredients all at once to the flour. Since the butter is already worked into the dough, there is no need to alternate the wet and dry ingredients as you do with other types of cakes.

The final beating of the batter is key to a tender and airy cake. Start at a low speed for a minute, then increase the speed and beat for 3 to 5 minutes to make it light and fluffy.

Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. 

Grease two 8-inch (20cm) cake pans. Using a cooking spray that has flour in it works great for this type of cake as it gives the batter something to cling onto as it bakes.

Divide the batter into the prepared pans (spread the batter so it’s nice and level), tap the pan to get rid of any air bubbles and bake in the oven at 325°F/162°C for around 30-35 minutes.

Allow cakes to cool in the pans for 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.

Prepare the filling. For a guide on making your own, see my recipe for pastry cream. You can use packaged pastry cream or vanilla pudding.

Next, prepare the chocolate glaze. To do this, start by adding the chocolate to a heat-proof bowl with a tablespoon of butter and set aside.

In a small saucepan, Heat the cream until it just starts to bubble around the sides. You don’t want to boil or scorch the cream. Just hot enough to gently melt the chocolate.

Pour the heated cream over the chocolate.

Let the hot cream and chocolate sit for a minute or so to soften the chocolate.

Then gently stir until the chocolate has fully melted into the cream and the mixture is smooth. Then set aside to cool just enough to thicken.

To assemble the cake, spread the pastry cream onto the middle of the first cake, leaving a little room around the edge (this is to ensure the cream doesn’t get squeezed out the side when you add the second layer).

Place the second layer on top of the filling and pour the glaze over the top of the cake, spreading to edges as needed.

Chill in the fridge for at least half an hour. Serve and enjoy!