Thursday, July 19, 2007

Boston Cream CAKE, Dammit!



So last week, I baked the Boston Cream Pie from Squirrel's Kitchen after having been enticed by the pics that Bazu posted of *her* own splendiferous version.

And I've got to say, all I kept thinking the whole time is
WHY IS IT CALLED BOSTON CREAM PIE WHEN CLEARLY IT'S A CAKE???!?

Seriously, dudes. Is something just slightly off in the heads of Bostonians, or did *real* pie never immigrate that far East?

Bostonians, a real quick lesson for you:


PIE



CAKE


Now your turn.

Correctly label the following pictures, and we'll see if you've learned anything here today (the answers are at the bottom):

(a)


(b)


(c)


Despite my unanswered question (which still remains unanswered as I am too lazy to just do a google search and find out why it's called pie instead of cake), I really quite enjoyed this CAKE. I only wish I would've gotten to try it out the day I baked it, but alas, I decided to bake it the day before I planned on eating it, simply because I knew the weather was supposed to be significantly cooler. And although Bazu said that it tasted much better after it had time to sit overnight, I still would've liked to try it out fresh. Next time.

Nonetheless, it ended up being sweet, though not too sweet, and relatively uncomplicated for yielding such a complicated-looking CAKE. And the strawberries were definitely a nice addition, though by the second day, they were starting to look a bit peckish and pasty-assed. The only thing that struck me as strange was the consistency of the chocolate. I've made ganaches before, but this ganache came out unlike any other I've made. As you can see in Bazu's pics, ganache has an almost hard, shell-like look to it, but mine never got that firm. It definitely firmed up SOME, but not enough to warrant the little "remove from fridge 20 minutes before serving addendum." And I found that strange. Strange and puzzling, and puzzling and strange. But thankfully, it didn't detract from the flavor of the CAKE one bit. So try it out and see if you have better luck.

INGREDIENTS:

Dry:
  • 2 c. flour

  • 1 t. baking powder

  • 1 t. baking soda

  • 1/2 t. salt

Wet:
  • 1 1/4 c. sugar

  • 1/2 c. oil

  • 1/2 c or 6 oz. soy yogurt

  • 2 t. vanilla

  • 1 1/2 c. vegan milk

Cream filling:
  • 1/3 c. sugar

  • pinch of salt

  • 2 T. cornstarch

  • 1 1/2 c. vegan milk

  • 1 T. margarine

  • 1 t. vanilla

Chocolate Ganache:
  • 1/4 c. or 1/2 stick margarine

  • 1/3 c. chocolate chips

  • 1/4 c. vegan milk, at room temperature

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake rounds and line bottoms with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine sugar and vegetable oil. Add soy yogurt and vanilla and mix until creamy. Mix in milk. In another bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Add to wet in batches. Ladle batter between the two cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on rack.

While cakes are cooling, prepare cream filling. In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt and cornstarch. Add milk and whisk together. Bring the mixture to a light boil over medium heat while whisking constantly. Lower to a simmer and whisk until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add margarine and vanilla. Pour into a bowl and let cool, stirring every few minutes. Filling will continue to thicken as it cools.

After cream filling is cooled, prepare ganache. In a small sauce pan over medium-low heat, melt the margarine completely, stirring constantly. Add milk and whisk to combine. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips, stirring rapidly to melt. Let cool for several minutes.

Spread cream filling between cake layers. Top cake with Chocolate Ganache. Let cake set in fridge for at least 45 minutes. Remove from fridge 20 minutes before serving to let ganache soften for easier cutting...

(Original recipe from Squirrel's Kitchen)



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Answers: (a) cake, (b) pie, (c) Fricking cute otter horrified by your inability to distinguish between pie and cake

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