Whatever Happened to Boston Cream Pie?

A very reliable indicator of a successful recipe is whether it’s endured through generations. Classic recipes that have stood the test of time bear the stamp of approval of thousands of cooks and bakers—the culinary equivalent of great music. We’re still playing the Rolling Stones today for good reason!

But some recipes, despite their enduring nature, get a little lost in the shuffle as time goes by. Case in point: Boston cream pie. It hasn’t disappeared altogether, but it’s nowhere near as prevalent as similar vintage (and geographically-niche) recipes, like St. Louis butter cake or Key Lime pie.

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Why we aren’t all eating Boston cream pie as regularly as we eat apple pie or chocolate cake is beyond me. The dessert is a triumph of pastry excellence—a trio of good things that end up as far more than the sum of its parts. Two layers of hot milk sponge cake sandwich a vanilla pastry cream, all topped with a luscious chocolate ganache.

As for the confusing moniker: pie and cake were largely considered interchangeable words (as were pie plates and cake pans) when the cake was invented in the late 1800s. The original name stuck around even after pie took on its modern meaning as a filled crust dessert. The Parker House Hotel in Boston lays claims credit for naming Boston cream pie in 1856. History is murky as to the precise origin, but it’s clear that similar versions existed in New England (and specifically Boston) around the same time.

Questions of credit aside, the cake is a study in simplicity. With three basic components—sponge cake, custard, and ganache—there’s nowhere to hide. Each component needs to be flawless. Part of the appeal of Boston cream pie is that it doesn’t have wild flavors or lots of sugar; you really taste the ingredients that sometimes get lost in richer, more decadent desserts like vanilla and butter.

After waxing poetic about Boston cream pie, I’m going to hope you bear with me because we’re going to go rogue. Here I am, professing loyalty to the classics, and I’m going to try and change one.

This recipe is still very much the spirit of a Boston cream pie. All I’ve done is gussy it up a bit, changing the pastry cream filling to a chocolate pastry cream, and…ta da! Chocolate Boston cream pie!

To stay true to the best qualities of the original recipe—by which I mean flavors unmasked by too much sugar—this pastry cream isn’t too sweet, so the chocolate really shines. I like this version so much that my next project is an inside-out Boston cream pie: chocolate sponge layers filled with vanilla pastry cream and topped with chocolate ganache. And the only logical project after that a triple chocolate Boston cream pie: chocolate sponge, chocolate pastry cream, and chocolate ganache.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, start with this lightly tweaked version. Fall in love with it all over again the way I did, and let’s all bring back the Boston cream pie.

Chocolate Boston Cream Pie

View Recipe

Ingredients

For the cake

8	tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4	cups (210g) all-purpose flour
1 1/2	teaspoons baking powder
1/2	teaspoon salt
3/4	cup (170g) whole milk
3	eggs
1	cup (198g) sugar
1 1/2	teaspoons vanilla extract

8	tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4	cups (210g) all-purpose flour
1 1/2	teaspoons baking powder
1/2	teaspoon salt

3/4	cup (170g) whole milk
3	eggs
1	cup (198g) sugar
1 1/2	teaspoons vanilla extract

For the filling and ganache

3/4	cup (170g) whole milk
1	cup (227g) cream, divided
4	egg yolks
1/2	cup (100g) sugar
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2	tablespoons flour
10	ounces dark chocolate, divided

3/4	cup (170g) whole milk
1	cup (227g) cream, divided
4	egg yolks
1/2	cup (100g) sugar

1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2	tablespoons flour
10	ounces dark chocolate, divided

Do you like Boston cream pie? What's your favorite classic sweet?