Boston Cream Pie

Pastry Cream

1. Prepare this first, as it will need to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. Prepare the night before making this cake if possible.
2. Combine milk, cream, 6 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a medium-size saucepan over medium-heat. Stir frequently until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and allow to cool for at least ten minutes.
3. While mixture is cooling, in a separate large bowl whisk together egg yolks and remaining 3 Tablespoons of sugar. Whisk until sugar begins to dissolve (about 30 seconds).
4. Add cornstarch to egg/sugar mixture and whisk until mixture is slightly thickened.
5. Slowly drizzle just a small bit (about ¼ cup) of the cream mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly². Continue to whisk while drizzling in the remainder of cream mixture until cream and egg mixture are completely combined.
6. Pour the egg/cream mixture back into saucepan and return to stovetop over medium heat. Whisk mixture constantly until it has thickened. Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Add butter, one piece at a time, whisking until melted and completely incorporated after each addition.
7. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap directly in contact with the surface of the pastry cream (to keep a skin from forming). Allow to cool at room temperature until pastry cream reaches room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours before using.

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare two 9” round cake pans by lining the bottoms with parchment paper and lightly greasing the sides. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer (or stand mixer) cream together butter, oil and sugar until creamy and well-combined (about 1-2 minutes).
3. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition, then stir in vanilla extract.
4. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. Hand mix using a spatula (don’t use a mixer here! It’s too easy to over-mix and the cake will be dense and dry!), alternate adding flour then buttermilk to the butter mixture. Start and end with flour mixture and mix until just combined after each addition. The batter should be smooth and fully combined, without over-mixing.
6. Evenly divide batter into prepared cake pans, and bake on 350°F (175°C) for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with few moist crumbs (no wet batter).
7. Allow cakes to cool in their cake pans for 10-15 minutes before inverting onto cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Ganache & Assembly

1. Prepare ganache by combining chocolate and cream in small saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.
2. Remove from heat and stir in corn syrup, if using. Set aside and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes or until cooled. If poured right away, it will spill all over the cake. It must be cool enough that it slowly drips off a spoon. It will be gently spread over the edges of the cake. It will look much prettier this way!
3. While ganache is cooling, set one (completely cooled) cake round on serving tray. Spread pastry cream in an even layer over the top of the cake round, spreading almost to the edge. Top with second cake round.
4. Once ganache has cooled, pour evenly over the top of the second cake layer. Use a spoon to gently push out over the edges for a pretty drip appearance.
5. Allow ganache to set (move the cake to the refrigerator for 20 minutes to speed this up) then slice and serve!