triple-decker boston cream pie
While some people prefer chocolate and others opt for vanilla, this version of the American classic offers the best of both worlds. As anyone who has ever dipped a fork into a wedge of the luscious dessert knows, Boston cream pie isn’t a pie at all. It’s a vanilla sponge cake filled with rich vanilla pudding.
The original was topped simply with a shower of confectioners’ sugar. Then in 1855, a French pastry chef hired to develop desserts for the newly opened Parker House in Boston added an intense bittersweet glaze, which dripped down the side like chocolate icicles. That is the version given here—in three layers, of course.
MAKES A 9-INCH TRIPLE-LAYER CAKE; SERVES 16 TO 20
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 8 eggs, separated
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Vanilla Custard (page 96)
- Chocolate Glaze (page 97)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottoms of three 9-inch round cake pans with a round of parchment or waxed paper.
- Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and ½ cup of the sugar. Set these dry ingredients aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, oil, and vanilla until blended.
- In a large clean mixer bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually add the remaining 1 cup sugar and continue beating until moderately stiff peaks form that droop slightly.
- Mix a quarter of the whipped whites into the yolks, then carefully and gently fold the yolk mixture back into the remaining whites without overmixing. Now sift about a third of the dry ingredients over the egg mixture and carefully fold in. Repeat this step in 2 more additions. You don’t want to deflate the batter by handling it roughly or by dumping a large quantity of flour into the batter all at once. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick stuck into the center of each layer comes out clean and the cake springs back when touched lightly. Let the layers cool completely in their pans on wire racks. To unmold, gently run a blunt knife around the edges of each pan, then invert to turn out the cakes. Carefully peel off the paper liners.
- To assemble the cake, put one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread half the Vanilla Custard over it, smoothing the filling right out to the edge of the layer. Repeat with the second layer. Place the third layer on top and pour the Chocolate Glaze over the top of the cake, smoothing and spreading so that the glaze drips down the sides of the cake.
- • The dry ingredients are sifted twice here: once to mix and again when they’re folded into the rest of the batter. That’s to ensure a light, tender crumb.
- • The sides of the pan are not greased for a chiffon-type cake like this, because the cake layers cool in their pans and sticking slightly keeps them high and light.
- • All those egg whites that are left over can be frozen and used in the future for a soufflé or meringue. (Some cooks like to freeze single egg whites in ice cube trays and store them in a plastic container or freezer bag.)
