I Think I'll Go To Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

There are three things I know to be true about Boston:

1. Augustana thinks they'll go there.
2. They make a mean pie.
3. I'm lucky enough to be headed there tomorrow!

Yes, the time has come for a Ponath family vacay, New England style. My whole wardrobe is nautical themed and I've accepted the fact that every meal will include clam chowder and/or some kind of historical significance. I've been brushing up on my Bostonian accent by watching every movie Ben Affleck/Matt Damon have ever been in (with the exception of 'Daredevil' and 'Stuck on You'...because I'm not sadistic)....oh, and this: (Please excuse the language. It seems Bostonians have a favorite word, and it's not 'wicked'.)

I think I'm all set.

But, wait...today is my dad's birthday! There must be some way to incorporate our eastward voyage with the aging of my father. Answer = Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes. BAM...did I just blow your mind?

(It also works nicely that Boston Cream Pie is my dad's cake of choice. DOUBLE BAM...I'm on a roll.)

I'm gonna go rogue and post a picture of the final product BEFORE I go into all the gory baking details, but only because I'm going on vacation and you're not.

Woo! And a single candle for the birthday boy. (After he saw the cupcakes and got a sad puppy dog face, I gave him a second one...it is his birthday, after all.)

OK, now here we go. The original recipe makes 18 cupcakes and, as I've previously mentioned (in Snickerdoodle Cupcakes and Magical Chupcakes), I refuse to make the full amount. I mean, what am I going to do with 18 Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes? Do you really think airport security is gonna let me on a plane with these wicked pastries? Nope. They'd "confiscate" them, and there is NO WAY some glorified security guard is gonna get in on this cupcake action.

Long story short: I've cut the recipe in half.

Here's what you need to get from the store:

Cupcakes

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sifted before measured cake and pastry flour (Sifting is my new favorite thing.)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/8 cup milk (If that fraction looks weird, it's because it is. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup milk...just half that, mmk?)

Pastry Cream

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup whole or 2% milk (Honestly, I used the 1% milk I had in the fridge...worked fine.)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Icing (The fact that I made 'ganache' just tickles me. Doesn't that just sound fancy?)

• 1/4 cup chopped-into-bits semi-sweet chocolate or chips
• 1/8 cup whipping cream
• 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line 9 muffin cups with paper liners. Place eggs in small bowl and cover with hot tap water to temper. (Didn't know what 'temper' meant, so I Googled it....it's just warming eggs up without scrambling them. Knowledge.)
3. TO MAKE CUPCAKE: Beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. (Not fluffy, cloudlike, more fluffy, fresh snow.)
4. Beat in egg, then vanilla.
5. Thoroughly mix sifted flour with baking powder and salt, then sift or rub through a sieve again. (Seriously, I love sifting. It's like making fresh snow out of flour.)
6. Alternatively, in 2 batches, stir first flour and then milk into butter mixture.
7. Divide batter among cups. (See Snickerdoodle Cupcakes or Magical Chupcakes on the best way to do this.)
8. Bake in oven for 15-16 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool on a rack in pan.
9. TO MAKE CREAM: Stir sugar with flour and salt.
10. Lightly whisk eggs in a large saucepan; stir in sugar mixture until thoroughly combined. Slowly stir in milk, making sure to incorporate mixture at edges of bottom. 
11. Place over medium heat. Stirring constantly, bring just to a boil. (Mine didn't visibly boil, so I sorta guessed...pretty much when it gets gooey.)
12. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
13. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of cream. Cool to lukewarm.
14. TO MAKE GANACHE: First of all, accept that you will be making ganache. Give yourself a pat on the back for even attempting this fancy sounding icing...funfetti is below you.
15. Melt chocolate in whipping cream over very low heat in a small saucepan. Stir and when almost smooth, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature.
16. YOU'RE ALMOST DONE! TIME TO ASSEMBLE: Remove paper liners from cooled cupcakes and line muffin cups again with new papers.
17. Cut tops off each cupcake about halfway down and place bottoms in the re-lined cups.
18. Top with cream, dividing equally; evenly smooth cream right to edges.
19. Replace tops, then ice.
20. Refrigerate until icing is set, about one hour.
21. To serve, first point out the made-from-scratch cream and ganache topping to your samplers. Pause for oohs and aahs...then remove paper from cupcakes.

There you go! You enjoy your cupcake version of Boston's finest baked good, and I'll enjoy Boston.