A Birthday Request for Triple Decker Boston Cream Pie

My daughter, Ellen, turned 14 yesterday. Fourteen!! I am so proud of the young lady she has become. She's level-headed and sensible, smart, and beautiful. She is great with kids and likes to bake.

I was wondering what to bake first in my new oven and Ellen's birthday request was Boston Cream Pie. Ok, I can do that! Actually, WE can do that - the birthday girl helped with every step. It was a great way to break in that new oven - mother and daughter side by side!

Below are the cakes all happy and baking inside the oven...

Below are the cake layers, ready for transport. After stirring the custard which chilled in the fridge overnight, I knew that the custard was none too thick, so I opted for taking the components to the party site and assembling it there. It was a good decision as you can see from the first picture, the custard starting oozing out and the cake would never have made it to its destination!

In retrospect, I think this recipe would've been even better made into cupcakes for a few reasons:

• Easier to transport
• Filling the cupcakes with custard would've contained the custard better and who doesn't like a little surprise inside their cupcake?
• Higher chocolate to cake ratio (more chocolate = better)

and I probably would use this denser butter cake recipe for the cake component. But judging by the clean plates, the cake was a hit! We sliced the cake right away, but the leftovers were even better after allowed to chill a while in fridge!

Boston Cream Pie
from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Makes one 9-inch triple layer cake

2 Cups Cake Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
8 Eggs, Seperated
1 Tblsp Fresh Lemon Juice
6 Tblsp Vegetable Oil
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Vanilla Custard (Recipe follows)
Chocolate Glaze (Recipe Follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the bottoms of three 9-inch round cake pans with a round of parchment or waxed paper.

2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Set these aside.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, oil and vanilla until blended.

4. 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.

5. 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 the batter by handling it roughly or by dumping a large quantity of flour into the batter all at once. Divide the batter among 3 prepared pans.

6. Bake for 15-20 mins, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean and the cake springs back when touched lightly. Let the layers cool completely in their pans on wire racks before turning out. To unmold run a blunt knife around the edge of the pans and invert to remove the cakes and carefully peel off the paper liners.

7. To assemble the cake, put one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand. Spread half the vanilla custard on this layer, smoothing it right out to the edge. Repeat with the second layer. Place the third layer on top and pour the chocolate glaze over, smoothing and spreading so the glaze drips over the sides.

Vanilla Custard
Makes about 2 1/2 Cups

2 Tblsp Cornstarch
2 Cups Whole Milk
6 Egg Yolks
3/4 Cups Sugar
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1. In a large heatproof bowl, combine the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of the milk. Stir until smooth and free of any lumps. Whisk in the egg yolks and set aside close to your stove.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 1 3/4 cups milk and the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

3. Ladle about a third of the hot sweetened milk into the yolk mixture in a thin stream, whisking the mixture constantly so as to not cook the eggs. Gradually whisk this yolk mixture into the remaining hot milk in the pan. Whisking constantly bring just to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and boil gently, still whisking for a further minute.

4. Transfer the custard to a bowl and whisk in the vanilla . Let cool slightly, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

Chocolate Glaze
Makes about 1 Cup

1/4 Cup half-and-half
2 Tblsp Light Corn Syrup
1 Cup Bittersweet or Semisweet Chocolate (about 6 ounces) in small pieces

1. In a small saucepan combine the half-and-half and corn syrup. Bring to a simmer over moderate-low heat stirring to blend. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate, and let stand for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth.