Tasty Tuesday: Boston Cream Poke Cake

Not being able to be in the kitchen is one of my biggest complaints of being on bed rest. I understand that it's extremely important to take care of this little one growing inside me, instead of caring for my culinary desires, but that doesn't remove the urge to bake. For now, I have to depend on my kids to create the yummy treats. 

I said the other day that they made a batch of brownies from scratch. The only problem was that it was a small recipe that filled only an 8x8 inch pan. With 6 of us in the house, those didn't last long. (They may or may not have been completely inhaled that very day. Shh, don't tell.)  I was ready for the kiddies to bake again.

I know that their kitchen skills are fairly advanced, but I wanted to make it as easy as possible for them to bake something. Instead of pulling out 20 ingredients and covering the counters with a bunch of measuring cups and spoons, I had Leighton grab a boxed cake mix and instant pudding mixes when he went grocery shopping.

Don't worry--their mess was still nearly the same had they made each component of the cake from scratch. Ah, kids, such talent. 

They took turns adding the ingredients and mixing the cake. 

Since Jake was head chef for the brownies and Alyssa was the sous chef, they swapped roles today. Poor Zac is always "cheffy," a job that allows him to come and go from the kitchen as he pleases. And it always pleases him to at least be present at the end when the residual batter is being licked clean from the utensils.   

After the cake baked, they added the holes. 

My other wooden spoons have funny-shaped ends, so they used my huge soup spoon. It works perfectly for stirring in my largest stock pot.

It works perfectly for poking holes in cakes, too.

Here is where they ran into problems.

Alyssa poured the pudding on the cake. And on the table.

I thought I gave them my 9x13 pan, but apparently gave them a smaller one. The cake itself nearly filled the pan and left little room for the pudding and chocolate layers.

She spread the pudding as best as she could, but left plenty of it still in the bowl. She and her brothers didn't mind having to finish off all the "extra" pudding though. Or scoping up and eating the spilled pudding off the table either. 

Since we had to wait for the pudding to cool and set, we figured we might as well do school. You know, because there was nothing else to do anyway. Afterwards, Jake made the frosting. We could have used a tub of store-bought, but there's just no comparison. If you're going to use a boxed cake mix, fine, but please make your frosting. Or not. It's up to you, but the 5 minutes it takes to make it yourself is well-worth the difference in taste. As Jake says, "Store-bought frosting makes me squeamish."  

Just like with regular Boston cream pie, this cake really needs to be left alone for several hours in order for the flavors to blend into something glorious. Sure, it's yummy if eaten right away, but wait those hours and something magical happens. Trust me, it's legit.

While this version using boxed mixes doesn't compare to our favorite recipe made completely from scratch, it does fulfill a craving much quicker. 

And sometimes, quicker and easier is the best of all.

And licking pudding off the table. That's good too.

Boston Cream Poke Cake

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix (plus ingredients required on box, i.e. eggs, water, oil)

2 (3.4 oz) boxes instant vanilla pudding mix 

4 cups milk

chocolate frosting (recipe at bottom or use store-bought)

Directions:

1. Make cake according to directions on box and bake in an 9x13 inch cake pan.

2. Let cake cool for 10 minutes. Using a wooden spoon handle (or other similar-sized object), poke holes across the cake at 1-inch intervals, making sure to poke to the bottom of the pan.

3. Combine the pudding mix with the milk and pour on top of the warm cake, spreading to the edges. Place in fridge to cool completely.

4. Make the chocolate frosting according to the directions below and place in the microwave for 20-30 seconds (may be less for a store-bought tub), or until frosting is pourable, but not hot. Pour on top of pudding and spread evenly to cover cake. Place in the fridge for several hours to overnight to allow the flavors to meld and the pudding to soak into the cake. Store in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from The Country Cook.

Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients: 

6 tablespoons butter 

2 3/4 cups powdered sugar

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

5 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder.

3. On low speed, gradually beat the sugar mixture into the butter, alternating with the milk. 

4. Add in vanilla and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.

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: Banana Pudding

Bananas are a hot item in our house. All you have to do is mention the word, and Zac will yell, "Nana! Nana! Nana!" until either 1) You give him a banana or 2) you distract him with chocolate.  We go through bananas so quickly. I almost never make banana bread anymore because the bananas don't have a chance to over ripen. 

The other day, I had to plan to make banana pudding. To ensure we still had some left four days later, I bought a huge bunch of yellow bananas and an even huger bunch of green bananas.

And I had to keep Zac out of the kitchen.

Original Nilla Banana Pudding
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar, divided                                1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup all-purpose flour                             45 NILLA Wafers, divided
Dash salt                                                     5 ripe bananas, sliced (about 3 1/2 cups), divided
3 eggs, separated                                        Additional NILLA Wafers and banana slices, for garnish
2 cups milk

Directions:
1. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water, stirring constantly for 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

2. Reserve 10 wafers for garnish. Spread small amount of custard on bottom of 1 1/2-quart casserole; cover with a layer of wafers and a layer of sliced bananas. Pour about 1/3 of custard over bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make a total of 3 layers of each, ending with custard.

3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Spoon on top of pudding, spreading evenly to cover entire surface and sealing well to edges.

4. Bake at 350°F in top half of oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned. Cool slightly or refrigerate. Garnish with additional wafers and banana slices just before serving.

My "double boiler"

We actually still had 5 bananas left!

Layer the pudding, cookies, and bananas.

Layer . . . layer some more.

End with cookies on top.

It ain't purdy, but it sure do taste good!

As you can see, I did not follow the recipe. First of all, this is not the recipe I always use. That one grew legs and walked right out of my recipe binder. That's the only logical explanation for why it was not there. I know I didn't misplace it or anything.

Carrying on . . .  My usual recipe uses a cook & serve box of pudding, not making the pudding from scratch. No problem, I thought. I've done that hundreds of times . . . give or take a few dozen. I've always made it directly in the pot though. This double boiler thing was not cutting it for me. My "pudding" was soup 30 minutes later. I added 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch. Soup. More cornstarch. Soup. I finally poured the whole thing right into the pot. Pudding! 

Then, I began to layer my star ingredients. I quickly realized that the meager amount of pudding was not going to be enough. Reflecting back on the past 40 minutes, I knew I did not want to make more of the same pudding, tasty as it was. On to Plan B: boxed pudding. All I found in the pantry was butterscotch and french vanilla. Though I'm sure my family would have loved the butterscotch, I chose the latter. Also, I used only 3 bananas. Why did I use this recipe again?

The dessert was delicious in the end, despite the frustration of the process. To us, you can't top banana pudding with meringue. It needs, dare I say deserves, a great big ol' dollop of Cool Whip plopped down on top. For Leighton, it's half pudding, half Cool Whip. For me, it's half mushy cookie, part pudding, more musy cookie. 

And for Zac, it's all banan . . . nope it's just ALL.