Tasty Tuesday: Boston Cream Pie

This is a favorite dessert at our house. Leighton loves custard. Jake loves cake. Alyssa loves chocolate. Zac . . . loves everything. And I love to bake. The flavors of this cake blend together so beautifully.  The delicate sponge cake and the thick vanilla custard are offset by the rich chocolate ganache. This is one of Leighton's favorite desserts, and probably his all-time favorite cake. That is the reason why I stood in my kitchen preparing this treat for his birthday just 4 days after birthing his youngest child. 

Yeah, it's that good.

Monday, while the kids were busy concocting their own cakes, Jake requested to make Boston cream pie for Tasty Tuesday. His requests soon turned into pleas to make his "favorite cake." And wouldn't you know, his desire was granted.

1. Beating the batter. (Should add that to our tongue twisters!)
2. Jake was very thorough while checking the amount of milk.
3. Once they eggs white were foamy, Jake said, "It looks like dish soap."

4. Yummy vanilla custard longing to be sandwiched between layers of cake.

5. Alyssa thought the mixer was TOO LOUD while on high speed.
6. Sifting the flour is always fun.
7. Marrying the foam and the batter.

I explained the process of meringue to the kids and the importance of folding the foamy egg whites into the batter. We talked about how incorporating the air into the mixture will cause the cake to be light and fluffy. Then I poured the batter into the cake pan.

"But, Mommy, I didn't get to try!"

"Alyssa, this is a very . . . special process."

"But, Mommy . . . I'm special."

"Yes, Baby, you are special. But not special enough to densify my sponge cake." 


No, of course I did not say that last part! Had I not already finished, I just may have let her try to fold in the delicate bubbles. It was the just sweetest thing and it broke my heart. Such a sweetie pie that girl of mine.

I didn't assemble the cake until after our bike ride since the custard needed to chill.  Leighton put the kids to bed, and I got busy making the ganache. While the cream was heating, I cut the cake and dumped on the custard. It didn't take long for the cream to boil, melt the chocolate, and pour it on the cake.

Now, we know that Boston cream pie is best eaten after chilling for several hours. The flavors blend and meld and change into something glorious. I always make it the day before we plan to devour it. Always. Except when we haven't tasted it in a while and we have no self control.

Then we sneak a piece.

Here we have sponge cake, custard, and ganache. It was good. It was not amazing. We know better. But that's the power of Boston cream pie. It didn't help that it was 100 degrees out and the custard and chocolate were melting and needed time to set.

Don't worry, the next day we were not disappointed.

Well, we were. But that's not the cake's fault. I used a different recipe this time. (Normally I use this one.) Why did I stray from a recipe that I love so much? Because it's good to branch out and try new things, to stay open-minded.

Oh, and because I was out of shortening.

Both recipe are good. It just depends on your personal taste.

If you like a light airy cake, use recipe A. If you like a denser cake, use recipe B. If you like a rich, thick chocolate, try A. If you like a milder (and cheaper) chocolate, use B. If you like custard, pick A or B because I think both are great.

See which recipe you like better. You might be surprised. I thought I'd like the fluffier cake, but the denser one holds up to the creaminess of the custard better. So, go ahead and try both recipes. After all, it is for the sake of research. 

Tasty Tuesday: Paczki

Fat Tuesday should be a national holiday. Not because I partake in the events of Mardi Gras. Not because I give up something for Lent. To me, it's all about the paczki. If you've never had one, you need to. Need to. The dough is richer than jelly doughnuts and so much better. Each paczek contains over 400 calories. No wonder we eat them only once a year!

  

Paczki

Ingredients:

2 tbsp sugar
2 tsbp butter                                                                                                   
1/2 cup of milk, heated to 110 degrees       
1/4 tsp vanilla                                                 

pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 tsp yeast
2 1/4 cups flour

Directions:
1. Combine the sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, salt, and eggs. Pour in the yeast and whisk to dissolve. Mix in the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until you have a stiff dough.
2. Remove the dough and knead for about 5 minutes. Place it in a bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1-1 1/2 hours. 

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out little round paczki shapes. I got 12 from this batch. You can re-roll the excess dough to cut a few more. Let those rise for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. In the meantime, heat your oil to 350 degrees F. 

4. Fry the Packzi about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove and let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes.

5. Fill the packzi with filling of your choice. Cover in glaze or powdered sugar.

While searching for a recipe to make, I learned that paczki is plural and paczek is singular. Every time I said "paczkis" I sounded as silly as when Jake says "octopis." You learn something new every day!

I was planning to fill the paczki with raspberry jam for 3 reasons:

1. It is my favorite filling. 
2. It is easy.
3. We already had some.  

While we were discussing it the day before, Leighton said, "Well, you know what filling I want." I saw custard in my near future.

Custard Filling 

Ingredients:

5 large egg yolks                                     
3/4 cup cornstarch                                   
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, cornstarch, and 1 cup of the heavy cream. Whisk to blend well. Set aside. 

2. Combine the remaining 1 1/2 cups cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a large heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Whisk to dissolve the sugar and bring to a gentle boil, about 10 minutes. 

3. Slowly add the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly and cook until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Be forewarned: the mixture may break. Pour it into a glass bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap down over the surface of the mixture to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool completely at room temperature. 

4. When cooled pour the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a wire whip. Beat at a medium speed to combine the mixture (if it broke). If it will not combine, warm another 1/2 cup heavy cream and slowly add it to the mixture. Whip until you have a thick and creamy custard.

We filled half with the custard and half with raspberry. (Between you and me, the jam ones were better. Shh, don't tell my husband.) I did have a hard time filling them. I thought I had gotten a decent amount (like the whole inside!) of filling in each one. When we bit into them though, there was a drop. I just squirt more filling on the paczki. Then into the kids' mouths. They didn't even seem to mind. 

These were pretty good, but I am no Polish baker. Maybe I should work on that. Hey, did you notice my new candy thermometer? My husband really loves me. Or he really wanted that custard.


*UPDATE*

I've since made these paczki many times on Fat Tuesday. I now make the dough in my bread machine. Of course, I have to make both fillings each time, but alternate the toppings between powdered sugar, glaze, and chocolate ganache. No matter the combination, you can't go wrong with paczki!