Boston Cream Cupcakes

One of my dad's favorite desserts is Boston Cream Pie. How could I not make Boston Cream Cupcakes for his birthday??? They were delicious, but due to the custard filling they had to be refrigerated which caused the cake to dry out a bit (talk about a run-on sentence). Not to worry, just have a glass of milk nearby! It's best to let these cupcakes sit out for about 15-20 minutes until they are room temp before eating them, unless you're like my dad and you like your Boston Cream straight from the fridge. By the way, I'll be using this custard recipe for all my custard needs from now on! It is sooo good I could barely stop myself from eating it out of the bowl.

Boston Cream Cupcakes on a broken stand I found for $2 at a thrift store. There's nothing a drop of super glue won't fix!
Boston Cream through a cheap wide angle lens I bought on eBay. Boston Cream innards!

Recipe from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson.

MY NOTES: Next time I'll add a little more vanilla to the cake batter, because the cake didn't have much of a flavor. I doubled the recipe and got 28 cupcakes. Mine were done at 17 minutes. I used the cone method AND scooped additional cake out of the center of each cupcake. I put 2-3 teaspoons of custard in each.

BOSTON CREAM CUPCAKES
Makes 12 cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350F/180C

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Filling:
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
pinch salt
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup whipping cream (35%) plus 3 tbsp divided
2 tsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla

Glaze:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup whipping cream(35%)

1. In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and milk in three additions. Beating until smooth.
3. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and brown.let cool in pan or rack for 10 min. Remove from pan and cool comepletely on rack.

Filling:
1. In a heavy saucepan, mix together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in egg yolks, milk and 1/4 cup of cream until smooth. Bring mixture to simmer over medium heat. Whisking continously.
2. Once mixture is at a simmer and begins to thicken, remove from heat but continue whisking until very thick. Whisk in butter and a vanilla paste until butter is melted and custard is smooth.
3. Spoon custard into a small bowl. Fill a slightly larger bowl with ice. Place small bowl of custard on top of ice. Whisk custard until cool. Remove small pan, dry bottom and sides with a towel so that no moisture gets inside the bowl.
4. Whisk in remaining 3 tsbp whipping cream. Place a piece of plastic wrap on surface of custard and refrigerate for 40 min or untill chilled or for up to 2 days.

Glaze:
In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and cream. Microwave uncovered on High for 40 sec. or until cream is hot and chocolate is soft and almost melted. Stir until smooth. Let chocolate mixture sit for 5 min. or until slightly cooled but still spreadable.

Assembly: (I USED THE CONE METHOD[pictures and instrux after the link], plus scooped a little more cake from the center of each to add LOTS of custard)
1. When cupcakes are cool, peel off paper liners. Carefully slice off tops of cupcakes. Using a small spoon, scoop out about a rounded teaspoon of cake from the bottom half. Dont scoop a hole in the bottom.
2. Spread a layer of reserved cooled custard on cut side of bottom half and fill small hole of custard too. Sandwich two halves together. Repeat with the remaining.
3. Spread tops of cupcakes with chocolate glaze. Place cupcakes on a platter or baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to serve. They need to stay refrigerated so that the custard filling doesn't spoil. Serve straight from the refrigerator or let sit at room temperature for about 15 min. to remove the chill.

PS: My free Flickr account has reached it's limit on the number of photos I can upload. If anyone wants to buy a Pro account for me, that's awesome. Otherwise I'll eventually get around to buying one whenever I have new cupcake photos to upload.