Boston Cream Cake That'll Make You Weak at the Knees

I got invited to a dinner tonight and I wanted to bring a fabulous dessert. I had been wanting to be a brave girl and try to make my own pastry cream and then I decided this would be a great time to make a Boston Cream Cake, a dessert I have always had a crush on. 

I used the pastry cream filling from this recipe for a Boston Cream Cake on the lovely blog, Life's a Feast. It turned out perfectly and was simple AND clutz friendly.

It takes some time but, it's well worth it. Here you go, Jilly! Enjoy :)

Boston Cream Cake

-Yellow Cake Mix, prepared according to directions

Pastry Cream:

-1/4 cup sugar

-3 large egg yolks

-2.5 tablespoons flour

-2.5 tablespoons cornstartch

-1 1/4 cups milk (I used whole for extra richness but, any milk will do)

-1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Ganache:

-8 oz bar semi sweet chocolate, chopped

-1 cup heavy cream

Bake your yellow cake in two 8 by 8 rounds. To make the pastry cream that will be your filling, whisk the sugar and yolks together first in a medium sized bowl until smooth. In another small bowl, combine and sift the flour and cornstarch together. Add slowly and stirring frequently to the egg/sugar mixture until completely combined and smooth. Set aside.

Bring milk to boil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. WATCH IT CAREFULLY! I know that a watched pot never boiled, but an ignored one will burn your milk. When the milk comes to a boil and just starts to foam at the edges, removed it from heat and pour it nice and slow over the egg mixture, whisking consistently as you do so.

Put everything back on the saucepan and cook it over the medium heat, WHISKING IT CONSTANTLY. Allow it boil 30 seconds to a minute until it gets thick and then remove it from heat and whisk in the vanilla.

Pour into a fresh bowl and press saran wrap to surface of cream and to edges of bowl to keep fresh until you're ready to fill the cake layers. 

To make the chocolate ganache, chop the chocolate bar into small pieces. As small as you can manage. Put in a medium sized bowl, heat friendly. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. I didn't let mine cool quite enough and it dripped ALL OVER my cake at first and I had to go back and repair the damage with a spatula and some serious plate clean up. In order to prevent THAT fun for your own cake, I would toss it in the fridge for a good amount of time and then whisk it until it thickens enough to manage as a smooth icing for your cake. 

Assemble the cake as base yellow cake, pastry cream, top yellow cake, and then cover and smooth everything with chocolate ganache icing. Serve with a glass of milk and a fork :)