Boston Cream Cupcakes

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So have you ever wondered why Boston Cream Pie is called Boston Cream Pie, when it is in NO way a pie, but rather a cake? Well so did I, so I asked Alexa and she told me it’s because it was originally baked in pie tins. Hmmm…I was expecting that answer to be more epic, but there you have it! Name aside, I love a good Boston Cream (anything) and honestly the recipe I’m about to share with you really takes the cake (see what I did there?) I am about to fill you in on how to make my Boston Cream Cupcakes. There are quite a few steps to making them, but don’t let that discourage you, because I promise you this personal sized (slightly CONFUSED), dessert is sure to be a crowd pleaser! And don’t worry, this recipe makes 2 dozen cupcakes, so your efforts will not go unrewarded!

It’s best to begin this recipe by making the Crème Patissierie, or pastry cream so that you can get it into the refrigerator to cool completely. Anyone that has made pastry cream in the past probably understands that it’s a bit of an art form. You have to perform each step just right in order for the final product to turn out smooth and creamy, rather than lumpy with bits of scrambled egg in it (don’t let me scare you though, you will do great)!

This pastry cream consists of the following ingredients: milk, heavy cream, sugar, salt, egg yolks (save those egg whites to make a meringue to top an actual PIE :), cornstarch, vanilla extract and unsalted butter.

When the pastry cream makes its way to the refrigerator, it’s time to begin making your cupcake batter. For that, you are going to need the following ingredients: unsalted butter, vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, salt and buttermilk. These babies bake up to a dense, moist crumb that gets hollowed out, stuffed with pastry cream and topped with a chocolate ganache that is made with chocolate chips, heavy cream, light corn syrup and confectioners’ sugar.

So let’s get started. To make your pastry cream, begin by placing a medium-sized saucepan over medium high heat. Combine your milk, heavy cream, 1/3 cup sugar and salt in the pan, stirring frequently until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to simmer. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together your egg yolks and the remaining 3 Tablespoons of sugar until the sugar begins to dissolve (about 15-30 seconds). Sprinkle the cornstarch over mixture and whisk until combined and slightly thickened.

Now is the fun part…we are going to temper the eggs. To do this, you are going to add a bit of the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture while whisking the heck out of it. The warm milk is added slowly, so as to not scramble the eggs, but rather increase the temperature of the egg mixture so you can completely combine them into the milk mixture. After tempering your eggs, you’re going to pour the entire egg mixture back into the saucepan, and return it to the stove over medium heat and whisk it frequently until the mixture begins to thicken. Once your pastry cream has reached your desired consistency (you want this to resemble the consistency of a custard or pudding), remove your pan from the heat and pour your pastry cream into a heatproof bowl. Add the vanilla extract and whisk in butter, one piece at a time, until completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Cover your bowl with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the pastry cream. You want to make sure the plastic wrap is covering the entire surface of the pastry cream in order to avoid a skin from forming on the top of it. Allow it to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes and then transfer it to the refrigerator to cool completely (about 2 hours). While cooling, make the cupcake batter and get your cupcakes into the oven.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two 12-count muffin tins by lining them with paper liners. Set aside.

With a hand mixer on medium high speed, beat together the butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy; about 30 seconds. Add eggs and mix well until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the vanilla extract until fully combined.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Now, using a spatula instead of the electric mixer, gradually alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter (starting and ending with the flour mixture and stirring until just combined after each addition). Do not overmix !

With a large cookie scoop, fill your cupcake liners to about ¾ full and bake for 17-19 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in cupcake pan then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Just before you are ready to assemble your Boston Cream Cupcakes, make your chocolate ganache. You want to be able to give this time to cool and stiffen just a little bit before topping your cupcakes with it so as to prevent it from running over the sides of your cupcakes. To make your ganache, combine the chocolate chips, heavy cream, and corn syrup in a medium heatproof bowl. Heat in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring well in between, until the chocolate is completely melted, and the mixture is smooth and shiny. Remove the bowl from the microwave and whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until fully incorporated. Allow this to cool for about 10 minutes. While your ganache is cooling, fill your cupcakes with your cooled pastry cream.

Once your Boston Cream Cupcakes have cooled and the pastry cream is chilled, use a cupcake corer to create a cavity in each of the cupcakes. Then fill a large piping bag, fitted with a round tip (or just throw it in a Ziploc bag and snip the corner off), with the pastry cream. Pipe a generous amount of pastry cream into each cavity until it is even with (or just above) the surface of the cupcake. Smooth the pastry cream over with a knife or icing spatula to seal the cavity in the cupcake completely. When the ganache has cooled a bit and is stiff enough to not run right off the cupcake, spoon about two teaspoons of the ganache onto the top of each cupcake and smooth it around in a circle until it just about reaches the edge. Allow the ganache to harden before serving. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

These Boston Cream Cupcakes are best served at room temperature in my opinion. Actually, there’s a small moment of time just between removing them from the refrigerator and having them come to room temperature where they are actually…well…just…perfect! Yep, that’s the sweet spot!

Seriously, I encourage all of you to make these as soon as you can and indulge yourself! I promise you, the only thing you will be sorry about is not being able to leave them alone!