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This classic Boston cream pie is made with two layers of light vanilla sponge cake filled with rich vanilla pastry cream and topped with glossy, rich chocolate ganache. Contrary to the name, it’s a cake and not a pie! Easy to make and completely delicious, you are going to love it!
Why You’ll Love This Boston Cream Pie Recipe
Fluffy cake, pastry cream, and chocolate!? What’s not to love? This dessert is both light in texture and rich. The perfected combination. Let me fill you in on some of the things that make this Boston cream pie one of the best.
- Texture. I love the textural contrast of the layers of light, fluffy cake next to the smooth, luscious pastry cream. Who could say no to that?
- Taste. This is a vanilla and chocolate combination that is classic, simple and so perfect together. The light vanilla cake, rich vanilla pastry cream and chocolatey glaze marry together beautifully.
- Presentation. Elegant yet approachable, there’s no doubt that Boston cream pie is nice to look at. The way the glossy chocolate ganache drapes over the fluffy yellow cake layers and pastry cream makes for one inviting edible art piece.
- Surprisingly easy. It might seem intimidating to make pastry cream, cake, and chocolate ganache but, honestly, each of these components is actually super simple to throw together. You can do it!
What Is Boston Cream Pie?
Less of a pie and more of a cake, this classic American dessert originated in the 1800s in – you guessed it – Boston! It’s comprised of layers of vanilla sponge cake divided by a simple vanilla pastry cream. The dessert is topped with a luscious chocolate ganache and served cold. Why is it called a “pie”? Because long ago, cakes were actually baked in pie tins.
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy Boston cream pie recipe and few notable tips. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for precise measurements.
- Egg yolks – Start with room-temperature eggs. Cold eggs will have a hard time mixing smoothly and easily into the other ingredients. Be sure to use large eggs, not medium or extra large.
- Cornstarch – This helps to thicken the pastry cream, along with the eggs.
- Milk – Milk forms the base of the pastry cream. A higher fat content will give you the creamiest texture. I recommend whole milk.
- Vanilla extract – For flavor. I recommend a good quality extract, since a lot of the flavor of your cream and overall cake comes from the vanilla.
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure it properly. Too much flour will give you a dry cake. I recommend a food scale, but you can also use the spoon and level method.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – Milk or dark chocolate chips would also work, but will change the consistency of your glaze. Milk chocolate will make it a little thinner and dark chocolate will make it a little thicker
- Corn syrup – This lends a prettier glossy finish to the chocolate glaze, but you can leave it out, if you want.
- Heavy whipping cream – Don’t replace this in the glaze with something else, like milk. It will thin out your glaze.
How to Make Boston Cream Pie
Here’s a quick overview of how to make Boston cream pie. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.
To make the pastry cream
- Beat. Beat the egg yolks together gently.
- Cook. Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan and then whisk in the milk. Cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken and simmer.
- Temper. Whisk a little bit of the milk mixture into the egg yolks. Add the egg mixture to milk mixture.
- Cook. Bring the pastry cream to a light boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously.
- Finish it off. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
- Chill. Pour the pastry cream into a bowl, cover with clear wrap pressed against the top, and chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
To make the cake layers
- Prep. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper, grease the sides, and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Whip. Whip the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract on high speed until pale and fluffy.
- Heat. Heat the milk and butter until the butter is melted and the mixture is very hot.
- Add dry ingredients. Fold half of the dry ingredients into the whipped egg mixture and then fold in the remaining dry ingredients.
- Add hot milk. Gently whisk in the hot milk mixture.
- Bake. Divide the batter between the cake pans and bake for 20-23 minutes.
- Cool. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 2-3 minutes before turning them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.
To finish off the cake
- Make the chocolate glaze. Combine the chocolate chips and corn syrup in a bowl. Heat the heavy cream until just boiling and pour it over the chocolate chip mixture. Allow to sit for 1-2 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- Smooth. Give the pastry cream a stir to smooth it out.
- Assemble. Remove the domes from the tops of the cakes and place one cake on a serving platter. Spread the pastry cream over the cake layer and top it with the second cake layer. Pour the chocolate over the top of the cake, then spread out towards the edges.
- Chill. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.
Making the Pastry Cream
Pastry cream isn’t hard to make, but it must be thickened properly to have success. The eggs must be tempered properly so that you don’t get scramble eggs and a lumpy cream. It also needs to be thickened enough, but not so much that the cornstarch and eggs break down. Keep these tips in mind for the best results.
- Careful with heat. Resist the temptation to turn up the heat in order to cook the pastry cream more quickly. Bring it to a boil slowly so that it gets a chance to thicken properly.
- Get the timing right. You want to cook the pastry cream long enough for the egg yolks to cook and work their thickening magic but not so long that the cornstarch starts to break down. Don’t boil it for too long.
- Temper. Pour a bit of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks while whisking them together before folding the egg mixture into the bulk of the hot milk. This will keep the eggs from scrambling.
- Strain it. If you find your cream looks a little lumpy, you can strain it to remove the lumps prior to chilling it.
- Chill. The pastry cream will thicken while cooking, but still may seem a bit thin and not yet thick enough for the cake. It will firm up in the fridge. Let it chill for at least an hour or two, or until it develops an almost gelatin-like, thick texture.
Tips for Success
This easy recipe for Boston cream pie is pretty foolproof but you’ll want to pay close attention to these simple tips and tricks if your goal is to get it right the first time.
- Room temperature eggs. When making the pastry cream and the cake, you will want to start with room-temperature eggs. Cold eggs will not mix smoothly and easily into the pastry cream, making it more difficult to achieve the desired, smooth result. When it comes to the cake batter, room-temperature eggs will hold volume better than cold ones, allowing you to achieve a lighter, fluffier cake.
- Whip whip whip. When whipping together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla for the cake batter, do so until the mixture has significantly lightened in color and has become fluffy. This process incorporates air into the mixture, giving you a wonderfully light and fluffy cake.
- Don’t over-mix. When combing the wet and dry ingredients for the cake batter, be careful not to over-mix. This can cause the glutens in the flour to overdevelop resulting in a dense, tough cake.
- Hot milk. It might seem superfluous to heat the milk and butter before adding them to the cake batter but don’t skip this step. It will help prevent the glutens from overdeveloping and you will, as a result, find yourself with a much more tender, fluffy cake.
- Cool. Allow the cakes to cool completely before assembling. Otherwise, the pastry cream and the ganache will melt.
- Stir. Before filling the cake, give the pastry cream a thorough stirring to smooth it out.
How to Store Boston Cream Pie
- Refrigerator. Seal the cake in an airtight cake carrier or something similar. If you don’t have one, pop the cake in the fridge for a few hours to firm up before wrapping it in a double layer of plastic wrap. You can also arrange slices of Boston cream in a single layer in an airtight container. However you choose to do it, you can store your leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer/Prepping ahead. I do not recommend freezing a full Boston Cream Pie. The pastry cream can split when it thaws, leaving you with a mess. If you’d like to freeze things for prepping ahead, you can make the cake layers ahead and freeze those, then thaw them in the fridge before using. You can also make the pastry cream a day or so ahead and then layer everything together prior to serving it.
More Boston Cream Desserts
If you like this classic Boston cream pie, you are going to love some of my other variations. Here they are.
Watch How to Make Boston Cream Pie
This recipe was updated 11/27/2023. For the original recipe from 2018, download this PDF.
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Recipe
Boston Cream Pie
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Chill Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This classic Boston cream pie is made with two layers of light vanilla sponge cake filled with rich vanilla pastry cream and topped with glossy, rich chocolate ganache. Contrary to the name, it’s a cake and not a pie! Easy to make and completely delicious, you are going to love it!
Ingredients
Pastry Cream
- 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (155g) sugar
- 4 tbsp (32g) cornstarch
- 2 cups (480ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Sponge Cake
- 1 3/4 cups (228g) all-purpose flour (measured properly)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (310g) sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk
- 1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter
Chocolate Glaze
- 6 oz (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp corn syrup
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
To make the pastry cream:
- Put the egg yolks in a medium sized bowl and gently beat them together. Set aside.
- Add the sugar and cornstarch to a large saucepan and whisk together until no more lumps of cornstarch remain, then add the milk.
- Cook, stirring continuously, over medium heat until mixture just begins to thicken and simmer. Be careful not to boil it.
- Add a little bit of the milk mixture to the egg yolks and quickly whisk together, then add the egg mixture to milk mixture, putting it all back in the pan. This process ensures that you don’t cook the egg yolks too quickly and get scrambled eggs.
- Place the pan back on the heat and bring to a light boil. You should see large bubbles popping on top. Allow to boil for 1 minute, stirring continuously. Don’t boil for too long, or you can overcook it and it’ll actually break down, rather than get thicker.
- Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth, then pour into a bowl and cover with clear wrap pressed against the top so that it doesn’t get a film on top. If you find your cream is lump, you can strain it. Set in the fridge to cool completely, 1-2 hours.
To make the cake layers:
- Prepare two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
- Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until pale, fluffy and thickened, about 4 minutes.
- While the eggs are whipping, heat the milk and butter until the butter is melted and the mixture is very hot. It doesn’t have to be boiling, but it should be very hot.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the whipped egg mixture and gently fold together until mostly combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients to the egg mixture and gently fold together until just well combined.
- Add the hot milk mixture to the batter and gently whisk together until well combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
To finish off the cake:
- When the pastry cream and cakes have cooled completely, make the chocolate glaze. Add the chocolate chips and corn syrup to a medium size bowl.
- Heat the heavy whipping cream just until it begins to boil, then pour over the chocolate chips and corn syrup. Allow to sit for 1-2 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- Pour the chocolate over the top of the cake, then spread out towards the edges, letting some of the chocolate drip down the sides.
- Refrigerate cake until ready to serve. Store in an air-tight carrier, if possible. The cake is best if eaten within 3-4 days.
Notes
- Refrigerator storage. Seal the cake in an airtight cake carrier or something similar. If you don’t have one, pop the cake in the fridge for a few hours to firm up before wrapping it in a double layer of plastic wrap. You can also arrange slices of Boston cream in a single layer in an airtight container. However you choose to do it, you can store your leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezing/Prepping ahead. I do not recommend freezing a full Boston Cream Pie. The pastry cream can split when it thaws, leaving you with a mess. If you’d like to freeze things for prepping ahead, you can make the cake layers ahead and freeze those, then thaw them in the fridge before using. You can also make the pastry cream a day or so ahead and then layer everything together prior to serving it
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 479
- Sugar: 39.1 g
- Sodium: 132 mg
- Fat: 23.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 57.7 g
- Protein: 10.6 g
- Cholesterol: 135.2 mg
Great cake. No problems making due to all the tips. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Great recipe, delicious! However definitely needs some adjustments. Way too much cream, I ended up using less than half of it on the cake and it still poured over the sides even though it was pretty firm. So presentation wasn’t too great.
Also for overall user experience, I would have split the instructions by steps so it is a lot easier to read, and to know where you can go back to if you make the cake and icing on different days.
It turned out great although I found the ganache a little too runny. It pooled around the bottom of the cake. Next tim I think I will increase the chocolate chips to two cups.
So this is my first time ever making anything like this and it turned out awesome! Every layer was so delicious (I always sneak a taste) I knew it would be. Followed the directions exact! Delicious!
So glad to hear that!
Custard recipe was awesome! Ganache, I’d prefer something a little thicker more like a frosting but it was ok.
The cake recipe. I’m sorry. A crumbly mess. Kinda dry almost. Odd texture. Like cornbread. Strange and time consuming.
I will just maybe find a way to make the ganache a bit more like frosting and use box cake mix next time lol.
I made this today, the pastry cream was stable. I left it in the frig all day made the cakes and refrigerated them for couple of hours. I had to spread the pastry cream with an off set spatula. The one thing I did wrong was the Ganache wasn’t hot enough. It seized too much on sides.
Easy to follow the recipe – the cake came out great! My husband requested a Bostom Cream Pie cake for his birthday and it seemed a little intimidating with so many steps, but the cake turned out delicious and was a huge hit for our small birthday gathering.
I should emphasize the importance of putting the cake on the serving platter before putting the custard mix on top – I almost broke the cake trying to move it from the cooling rack to serving platter with heavy custard on top after mis-reading!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing! The cake the filling, gnache is all so good. For everyone who had issues with the pastry cream. I used a tiny sauce pan. And it stayed liquidy. I re did it in a much large pot and it thickened right up! And definitely let it boil. I think i was impatient the 1st time.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Nice cake, turned out well. The custard was nice and thick (though it squished out a bit when cutting) and the cake nicely moist and fluffy. Instead of cutting off the dome, instead i gently pressed down with a plate which had the added bonus of leaving a shallow depression to hold more filling.
Only thing i would change is using better quality chocolate for the ganache.
Incredible flavor! Rave reviews from my office party. Everything went absolutely perfectly except that it was raw in the middle after 25 mins at 350F, I ended up baking it for 40 mins with foil wrapped around the pans so that the rest of the cake didn’t burn. The edges came out dry and they fell off when I inverted the cakes. In the end, I saved the cake and it was delicious just not as attractive as pictured with the sides crumbled off. I baked the cakes on convection. Perhaps this cake cannot be baked using convection?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, you’ll want to use the bake setting on your oven, not convection.
My sweet husband made me this for Mother’s Day. It was absolutely delicious! And his even looked like your finished pie/cake. My whole family enjoyed this so much. Thank you for this lovely recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’m sorry but I am very disappointed in this recipe. There was way to much baking soda and the custard never hardened. It was like soup. You need to go over this recipe again. Thank Goodness I had enough time to make another one from a different recipe.
I’m sorry you weren’t happy with the result, but I really do have full confidence in the recipe. I’ve made this pastry cream many many times for many different recipes and it’s always fine. It may have been undercooked or had some other issue for you.
Hi, you mentioned baking soda, but Lindsay’s recipe very clearly says baking powder. The very thought of 3 teaspoons of baking soda should have warned you that you had read wrong, that much baking soda is almost lethal for any recipe. But that amount of baking powder would be harmless and not bedetected. Hope this helps.
I’d like to try and modify this recipe for cupcakes, do you think it would work all right? Mostly asking re. the pastry cream…I was hoping to core the cupcake and fill the center. Will the cream be soft enough to pipe into the center?
Yes, it should be fine. You could also check out my Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes.
I used to make the “boxed” version of the Boston Cream Pie as a kid. Now I make it from scratch. Made this yesterday. I wasn’t sure my pastry cream would thicken up enough to cut the cake but It did. I had used 1 % milk and removed it from the stove when it was fairly thick (almost like Mayo). My husband didn’t want to wait until today to eat it so I did put it together last night. it did take quite a few hours in the refrigerator for the pastry cream to thicken and would have been even better if I left it overnight (made it late in the afternoon). But it still held up pretty good to cut the cake. The only question I have is about the amount of butter in the pastry cream – It says 2 tablespoons but the weight is for 1 tablespoon. I love that you provide the weights of your ingredients as that is how I bake. If I were to measure my flour by volume it would typically be 140-145g per cup as we live in a dry climate. Most sites say one cup weighs 130g so that is what I use for a cup weight unless the recipe specifies the weight. The cake was perfect!!
I’m so glad to hear you both enjoyed it!
Might it be possible to use cake flour instead of AP flour? Thank you!
Yes, that should be fine.
Is it possible to use milk chocolate as I don’t have any semi-sweet?
Milk chocolate is going to give you a thinner ganache, so you might want to reduce the amount of cream a little.