Look! It's a Pie! It's a Cake! It's..both?

A hand gingerly elevates a fork from the furnished wood table surface and drifts towards the dessert seated notably upon a foam paper plate. Inches away from the chocolate topping, the fork hovers in anticipation and contemplation over the perfect location for an incision. Finally, all in-depth geometric thought process is abandoned and the fork dives hastily through layers of cocoa dusted frosting, sweet cake flesh and creamy vanilla custard. Retreating from the masses, the fork carries the precious and delicate cargo towards the mouth of the dessert possessor and shoves the cake chunk inelegantly inside.

Mm..Boston cream pie..

Wait, hold up - I thought it was cake?!

The “Boston Cream Pie” name is a fallacy for it is actually a cake, not a pie. The reason why this cake was dubbed a ‘pie’ is due to the mid-nineteenth century when pie pans were more common than cake pans and the majority of cakes back then were baked in what was available; the Pennsylvanian dutch were also known to blur the lines differentiating between a pie and a cake. The concept of baking in whatever was on hand also can apply to the Boston brown bread, which is traditionally baked in a can or in a cylinder.

The now Omni Parker House Hotel claims to have served this misidentified cake from its opening in 1856 by their French Chef Sanzian and called it Parker House Chocolate Cream Pie. This, however, is only a speculation. It is also claimed to be the official Massachusetts State dessert out beating toll house cookies and Indian Pudding. That’s some pie, eh?

Pie or cake, this stuff is good. The only difference in my recipe is that I covered the cake in a dark chocolate frosting as opposed to a ganache then doused it in a light shower of cocoa powder.

The pastry cream is simply made from an instant pudding mix so its not 100% dairy free. You could substitute the filling with a dairy-free marshmallow cream - which would be to die for - or whip up soy cream and let that fill the cake. Making instant pudding with nondairy milks has failed me in the past because it does not set but in theory, if a few tablespoons of agar agar, extra cornstarch, or even a trivial amount of gelatin added to the pudding powder in combination with the non-dairy milk should do the trick. ZenSoy also makes a soy based pudding for those tolerable to soy and you can most definitely replace the filling with that or even coconut milk yogurt by So Delicious. There are endless possibilities, be creative and don’t be afraid to explore.
Although, now I want to make a S’Mores Cake..Hmmm~!

Boston Cream Pie
Filling
1 packet instant vanilla pudding mix
1 ½ cup milk
¼ tsp rum flavoring

Combine the instant pudding mix with ½ cup less milk can what is called for and add the rum flavoring. Once mixed, refrigerate until set.


The Cake
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup brown rice flour
½ cup tapioca starch
1 tbsp baking powder
½ packet of flavorless gelatin or ¼ tsp xanthan gum
½ cup brown sugar

½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup non-dairy milk

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Sift all the dry ingredients in a bowl, stirring until well incorporated. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs, add them to the well with the oil, vanilla, and non-dairy milk. Stir until well mixed.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Set aside to cool.


Chocolate Frosting
½ stick room temperature non-dairy margarine or shortening
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ tsp vanilla
2 tbsp water
1 cup powdered sugar

Cream the margarine or shortening with the water and flavoring. Once the butter becomes light and fluffy, add the cocoa powder and powdered sugar gradually so no puff clouds are formed. Beat until fluffy and well mixed. Refrigerate until stiffened.

Once the cake has cooled, level it by taking a serrated knife and skimming the top of the cake ¼ to ½ an inch off. Flip the cake upside down and torte it by cutting it in half and leaving you with two thin cake layers.

Fill the center of the cake with pastry cream AKA pudding, then nestle the top on securely. Remove the frosting from the fridge and proceed in frosting the cake. Dust the top with either cocoa powder or confectioner’s sugar.

There you have my version of a Boston Cream Pie. Cake. Pie..
Well, whatever you prefer to call it, it’s just good.