Lucindas Boston Cream Pie Food

LUCINDA'S BOSTON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• For the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle position. Oil and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
• Whisk together the oil and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream in 2 additions (beginning and ending with the flour). Divide the batter between the prepared pans.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cakes pull away from the sides of the pans. Cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans to cool completely, right side up.
• For the pastry cream, lightly beat the egg and yolks together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a hand mixer. Add the sugar a little at a time, and continue beating until the mixture falls in ribbons when the beater is lifted, about 5 minutes. Mix in the flour, then add the milk in a steady stream.
• Transfer the mixture to a saucepan, bring just to a boil, and boil gently over medium heat, whisking, until the mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. Strain the pastry cream through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Stir in the vanilla. Press plastic wrap against the surface. Cool for at least 1 hour.
• For the chocolate ganache topping, put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the cream over it and leave undisturbed for 1 minute. Stir gently, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes.
• Slice off the domed top of 1 cake layer to level it. With your fingers, remove some of the cake to make a 1/2-inch hollow, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Place on a cake stand or plate. Fill with the pastry cream. Top with the second cake layer, domed side up. Pour the topping over the cake, letting it run down the sides. Chill for at least 5 hours or as long as overnight, before serving.

TRADITIONAL BOSTON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and flour a 9-inch-round cake pan. Line with parchment paper; set aside.
• Sift together the cake flour and the salt. Sift again, twice; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the eggs and sugar until well combined. Place the bowl over a pot of gently simmering water; whisk until mixture is warm, about 110 degrees, and the sugar is dissolved, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat; place bowl on mixer. With the whisk attachment, beat the egg mixture on high until thickened and pale, about 6 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the milk and split vanilla bean. Place over medium heat until hot, being careful not to let boil. Remove and discard vanilla bean. With egg mixture beating, pour the hot milk into the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream. Turn off mixer. Transfer to a medium bowl; fold in the flour mixture. Pour into prepared pan.
• Bake until cake is golden brown and springs back when gently pressed, about 30 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely.
• In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually stir in the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks while whisking. Return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to bubble, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in the vanilla extract.
• Transfer filling to a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing wrap against the filling to prevent a skin from forming; chill in refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Split the cake into two layers; spread the bottom half with chilled filling. Place in refrigerator to set, about 30 minutes. Wrap remaining half of cake with plastic wrap; set aside.
• In a medium-size heat-proof bowl, or the top of a double boiler, set over a pot of gently simmering water, combine the chocolate and the heavy cream. Stir occasionally until the chocolate melts, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
• Remove cake from refrigerator; top with reserved layer. Transfer cake to serving plate; pour chocolate glaze over top. Allow to set 20 minutes before serving.

BOSTON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add milk, oil, egg yolks, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until combined. Beat an additional 3 minutes on high speed and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium to high speed until soft peaks form. Pour the egg yolk mixture over the egg white mixture and fold in. Gently pour the batter into a 9-inch greased pie pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Invert the pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely.
• Pastry Cream Filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 10 to 15 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the empty saucepan.
• Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. (The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using.)
• Ganache: In a medium bowl, pour the boiling cream over the chopped chocolate and stir until melted.
• To assemble pie, remove the cake from the pan. Cut the cake in half horizontally. Place bottom layer on a serving plate or board, and spread with the pastry cream. Top with second cake layer. Pour chocolate ganache over and down the sides of the cake. Store in refrigerator.

BOSTON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Cake: Preheat oven to 350°; grease and flour an 8" round cake pan.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff in a large bowl; in a small bowl beat the egg yolks until light; add to the whites and beat together; slowly add the sugar, beating for 5 minutes.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together; in a saucepan heat the milk and melt the butter.
• Stir the dry ingredients and milk mixture into the egg mixture as quickly as possible; stir in vanilla and lemon extract if using.
• Pour batter into pan and bake 25-30 minutes, until toothpick tests clean; cool 10 minutes, remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack; slice the cake into two layers.
• Filling: In a double boiler over medium-low heat, cook sugar, flour, salt and milk for 15 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.
• Temper the egg with the cooked mixture and pour back into the pan; cook another 3-5 minutes until thickened; remove from heat, stir in vanilla or orange extract and cool completely with plastic wrap on custard surface; spread on bottom cake layer, add top layer.
• Frosting: Bring the sugar, cornstarch, chocolate, salt and water to a boil; cook, stirring, 3-5 minutes or until thickened enough to coat a spoon thickly; remove from heat, add butter and vanilla and stir until combined.
• Cool a bit, but while still warm, pour and spread frosting over the top of cake, allowing some to drip down sides if desired; there may be more frosting than you need, use it for another purpose.

BOSTON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan; set over very low heat.
• With an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until thick, lightened in color, and mixture holds a trail for several seconds when beater is lifted, 4 to 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in dry ingredients just until incorporated.
• Bring milk and butter to a boil. With mixer on low speed, add hot milk mixture to batter; mix just until smooth. Mix in vanilla; transfer batter to prepared pan, and smooth top.
• Bake until golden and pulling away from sides of pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake 10 minutes in pan; remove from pan, and transfer to a rack to cool, right side up.
• Fill cake: For easy cleanup, place a piece of waxed paper under rack. With a serrated knife, split cooled cake horizontally (leave bottom half on rack). Spread bottom half with Vanilla Pudding to within 1/2 inch of edge; gently place top half of cake on pudding layer.
• Make Chocolate Glaze: In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream to a boil. Remove from heat, and add chocolate; stir until smooth.
• Set aside to cool to room temperature and to thicken slightly, about 10 minutes. When glaze has thickened, pour over filled cake. Using a small metal spatula, spread glaze to edges of cake, allowing it to drip down sides. Let glaze set, 15 to 20 minutes. Leftover cake can be refrigerated, loosely covered, up to 2 days.