Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

Servings : Makes 20 cupcakes

The traditional Boston cream pie is a decadent dessert, two layers of delicious yellow cake sandwiched with a lovely custard filling and topped with a rich layer of chocolate ganache. I prefer making this beautiful cake-dessert in cupcake portions, making each one perfectly individual-sized. Somehow, any dessert in its miniature form becomes twice as irresistible. This sweet treat is perfect for an afternoon snack or a fabulous dessert for any occasion. Added bonus is that I prefer using a shortcut method to prepare the filling, which makes it ever so much easier to put this together than having to make an eggy custard filling from scratch. 😉

Ingredients for Cupcakes

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (300 gm)
  • 1 cup caster sugar (200 gm)
  • 1 cup butter or margarine, or a combination of the two (225 gm)
  • 1/2 cup milk (100 ml)
  • 3 eggs (use 4 if you have small eggs)
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence

Ingredients for Custard Filling

  • 1 packet Vanilla Flavour Instant Pudding (90 gm)
  • 1 1/2 cups cold whole milk (300 ml)
  • 3/4 cup liquid whipping cream
  • 1 tbsp icing sugar (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence

Ingredients for Ganache

  • 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream
  • 1 tsp butter

Instructions

Always make sure the eggs, milk and butter/margarine are at room temperature before starting

Preheat the oven to 180 C and prepare a cupcake pan with liners. I baked mine without the liners so as to get a good brown colour to the cupcakes, so if you want to do the same, be sure to grease and flour the pan very well to prevent ‘stickage’.

Sift/sieve the flour with the baking powder and salt three times to properly aerate the flour for a lighter cake.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter/margarine with the sugar until light and creamy. Then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla essence and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl regularly.

Then add the flour in three additions, alternating with the milk (start and end with the flour). You can use a mixer for this but on LOW speed or use a spatula to ensure the batter does not get over mixed.

Fill up the cupcake liners to about two-thirds full.

Bake in a preheated oven on the middle rack for 15 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center of each cupcake comes out clean.

Remove the cupcakes from the pan onto a wire rack and allow them to cool.

In the meantime, prepare the filling. Whisk the whipping cream with the icing sugar and vanilla essence until it thickens. Set aside. Separately, whisk the pudding mix with the cup of cold milk in a second bowl for just 2 mins. Now fold in the whipped cream into the pudding until incorporated. Refrigerate this filling for about 15-20 minutes to help it set before using. And your filling is done!

Now there are 2 ways to fill the cupcakes. You can either slice each one in half horizontally (as shown in the pic) and fill a layer of the pudding in the middle OR using a sharp knife, cut a hole into the top of each cupcake and fill the middle of it with the filling, then place the cut-out piece back on top so the filling is hidden right in the centre of each cupcake.

Lastly, prepare the ganache. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil (edges will start bubbling slightly). Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chopped chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir gently and slowly until smooth, then let it cool but still of pourable consistency. Pour gently over your cupcakes and allow to set.

Enjoy! 🙂

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