Sorry y’all – I’m a few days late posting for this month’s Cake Slice. I unexpectedly had to go out of town for a week, so I made sure to make this cake the day before I left, but then didn’t get the post put together in time. It’s all my sister’s fault.
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ with it!
Seriously, though, this cake was a good one. My hubby was very excited when I informed him that this month’s cake was Boston Cream Pie. He lurves Boston Cream Pie, so he was quite impatient for this one to get made. Almost every night he would ask me, “Are you making Boston Cream Pie tonight?” Poor baby, he’s so deprived, isn’t he?
Unfortunately, because I was rushing to get these pictures taken the night before I left town, they didn’t come out very well. They were all of them very overexposed. So don’t judge this cake by these less than amazing pictures – this is a delicious, easy to make cake that will keep in your fridge for several days.
I decided to add some banana to mine, and I’m glad I did. The cake is delicious in its own right, but we do like our bananas at my house, and that extra banana-y sweetness was delicious. I think it might be wonderful with some sliced strawberries in there, too. This recipe will definitely be going into my keeper file – which is good, since I expect my hubby will be campaigning for it regularly.
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 4.7 oz (1 1/3 cups) sifted cake flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
- 2 oz (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 5.3 oz (3/4 cup) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
Filling
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1.7 oz (1/4 cup) sugar
- 0.5 oz (2 Tbsp) cornstarch
- 1 cup milk (I used 1%)
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1-2 large bananas, sliced
Glaze
- 3 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped or grated
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Cake:
Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 350. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 9″ cake pan.
Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt twice, then set aside.
Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Do not allow to boil. Set aside.
With an electric mixer, using the whisk, beat the eggs at high speed until well blended, approximately one minute. Slowly add sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until pale and tripled in volume, about 6 minutes.
Sift flour into the egg mixture in 3 separate additions, folding gently with a rubber spatula each time.
Reheat the milk and butter mixture almost to a boil. Pour all at once into the egg and flour mixture and gently fold. Scrape batter into your prepared cake pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until it springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick comes clean from the center. After cooling on a wire rack for 10 minutes, run a paring knife around the inside edge of the pan, then flip the cake over onto the wire rack. Flip cake back over (right side up) and cool completely.
Filling:
Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together in a bowl; set aside.
Using a medium saucepan, heat milk to a gentle boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and whisk about 1/3 cup of the hot milk into the whisked egg yolk mixture. Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Boil, whisking constantly, for one minute, then remove from the heat, scrape the bottom with a spatula and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the butter until melted and smooth.
Immediately strain the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl. Whisk in vanilla, cover surface with plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.
Glaze:
Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add finely chopped chocolate to the pan. Allow to sit for about 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is fully melted and glaze is smooth. Stir in vanilla.
Cover surface with plastic wrap and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before using.
Assemble:
Cut the cake horizontally in half to make two layers. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, add 1/4 cup heavy cream to the custard and beat at high mixture until light in color and soft peaks form, about 1 minute.
Set aside the smoothest layer of cake for the top. Place the other layer cut side up on your plate. Scrape filling onto the cake and spread evenly. Cover filling with sliced bananas, then top with the other cake, cut side down.
Pour warm glaze over the cake, allowing some to drip down the sides, if desired. Use an offset spatula to smooth evenly over top of cake.
Refrigerate until gaze is firm. Store cake in refrigerator in a covered container.
