Chocolate Boston Cream Pie Trifle

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Today I made a Chocolate Boston Cream Pie Trifle! One of my favorite desserts from when I was growing up was a Boston Cream Pie. I was always fascinated with the fact that it was really a cake, but called a pie. Why? No one could tell me. I have since learned that the Boston Cream Pie was originally made in colonial times and the colonists used to bake cakes in pie tins because most people didn't have cake pans, only pie pans. Makes sense! So, fast forward to 2014. I decided to put a slight twist on the traditional and make my Boston Cream Pie with chocolate cake. Actually, I used a Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake. I transformed the pie into a trifle, making it something a little special, and I think it works. Let me know what you think!

 Chocolate Boston Cream Pie Trifle

 

Cake
(Cake recipe from Anne Byrn)

1 box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake
1 box vanilla instant Pudding Mix
4 large Eggs
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable Oil

Pastry Cream 
2 cups whole milk, or 2%
1/2 Vanilla Bean 
6 Egg Yolks
2/3 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter

Chocolate Ganache
8 ounces Semisweet Chocolate
1 cup Heavy Cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all of the ingredients for the cake in a bowl.
Mix 1 minutes on low, and then turn it up to medium and mix 3 minutes.

Pour your cake batter into an 8x10 baking dish.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Let the cake completely cool.

In a saucepan, start to heat your milk.

While the milk is heating, slice your vanilla bean
down the length of the side. You want to be able to
 fold it open.

Take a sharp knife and scrape down the entire vanilla bean
when it is fully open. See the vanilla on the knife. Take the
knife with the vanilla on it and drop it into the milk.

Doesn't it look great?! All that vanilla goodness is
going to be incredible!! Heat the milk and vanilla until starts to boil.
Take it off of the heat immediately, and let it sit
for 15 minutes so the milk can become infused
with the vanilla.

Now, place your egg yolks in a bowl,
and add the sugar. Whisk until creamy and smooth, and then
add the cornstarch. Whisk until it becomes smooth with
no lumps at all. It is very important that it be smooth.

Take about a 1/4 cup of the milk and vanilla mixture and
place it into the bowl. Start whisking until it is fully incorporated.
You are tempering the eggs, by letting them get used to the
 heat of the cream just a little bit. If you were to put all of the
 hot cream into the eggs, most likely they would start to cook
and they would resemble scrambled eggs.

Continue to add the milk mixture to the eggs,
1/4 cup at a time and whisking after each addition.
Keep your saucepan close by, because you will need it
in a few seconds.

Pour your mix through a strainer and back into your saucepan.

Put your temperature on medium high and let the milk and
egg mix cook while you are whisking the entire time.
It should come to a low boil and start to become very thick
Take it off of the heat and mix your butter in.

Let your cream cool for about 10 minutes, then cover the
pastry cream with plastic. Put plastic on top of
the cream, touching it, and all around the pot. You want
to keep all of the air out as the cream cools.
Place in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Heat your heavy whipping cream in a double boiler
until it is about 180 degrees. Add your chocolate,
and begin stirring until the two are well combined.

If the chocolate is not melting into a smooth
mixture, you can turn up the heat a little,
but continue to stir constantly.

Cut a small piece of the cake, and then cut that piece into
small bite size pieces.

Place the cake in your glass or bowl, and then add
your pastry cream,

then some of your ganache,

and then do it again and add some whipped cream.
Here is a whipped cream refresher if you'd like one.

I hope you enjoy this "classic with a twist"!

Thanks for joining me today!
If you have questions or concerns about this recipe,
please contact me at thefreshmancook@hotmail.com.

Here are some recipes you might like:

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