Boston Cream Pie made from scratch in your own kitchen! Step by step instructions on how to make vanilla custard, easy single layer cake and smooth, rich chocolate ganache for this classic Boston Cream Pie recipe. Layer it all together and you’ve got a show stopping dessert that tastes incredible.
Follow along below as we show you step by step instructions with tons of pictures how to make a Homemade Boston Cream Pie recipe. It seems intimidating, but read it through and know that you can do many steps ahead of time!
Homemade Boston Cream Pie is one of my husband’s all-time favorite desserts. When I first learned this I promptly checked out a few recipes and was instantly intimidated. You make everything from scratch and there were so many steps! I’ve made it many times since and really, it’s easy. Read on to see how I cheat and steps I take to save time.
How to make the BEST Boston Creme Pie recipe
Boston Cream Pie has 3 main parts- the cake, the custard filling and the chocolate topping. I highly recommend making all parts in advance! You can make the custard and the chocolate topping up to a week beforehand and the cake 2-3 days in advance. Then, just assemble the entire cake the day before you want to serve it.
This is not a last minute cake. {See the tip above!} If you want to whip up a dessert in a few hours, this is not the recipe to make. Parts have to cool completely before assembling the entire dessert together and if you rush it, you run the risk of serving a shifting-runny-melty mess. That doesn’t sound appetizing, does it? Nope.
To anyone wondering, yes, you can cheat and use a box cake mix and instant pudding. However, try making it all from scratch at least once! It really does taste different. The cake is has a different consistency than a cake mix and freshly made custard is so wonderful!
If you really want to use a cake mix, use melted butter in place of the oil, milk in place of the water and add 1 additional egg. Bake the cake in round cake pans and plan on freezing one of the two, since you only need 1 in this recipe.
Homemade Boston Cream Pie
See the FULL PRINTABLE recipe below!
Custard Filling
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Cake
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 TBSP butter
How to make Homemade Vanilla Custard
- Separate the egg yolks from the rest of the egg. You can get a fancy tool, however it’s simple just to use your hand. Beat the egg yolks with a fork or whisk until smooth and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine the milk, sugar and salt and slowly heat over medium heat. Whisk together egg yolks and cornstarch until smooth. Once milk mixture just barely begins simmering, remove about 1/2 cup from the pan and slowly stir into the egg yolk mixture. Then slowly pour that combined egg yolk/ milk mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk. Whisk continuously until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Pour custard into a bowl and press plastic wrap on surface of filling to prevent a tough layer from forming on top. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until set.
How to make the cake for Boston Cream Pie
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Spray just the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick baking spray. You can also cut out a round of parchment paper and place it on the bottom of your cake pan or use a springform cake pan.
- In a large bowl, beat all cake ingredients with an electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, stopping frequently to scrape batter from side and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape bowl. Pour batter into the pan; use a rubber spatula to scrape batter from bowl, spread batter evenly in pan and smooth top of batter.
- Bake about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a cooling rack 20 minutes, then remove onto cooling rack to finish cooling completely, about 1 hour.
How to make Easy Chocolate Ganache
- Microwave heavy cream and butter in a small glass or ceramic bowl for 1 minute 20 seconds.
- Pour in chocolate chips and cover with a plate to trap in the heat. Let sit 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- Let sit 30 minutes to 1 hour, so that ganache cools and thickens slightly.
How to assemble Boston Cream Pie
- To split cake horizontally in half, I first put the cake in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Having the cake be a little hard makes it easier to cut.
- Insert a long, thin knife into the middle of the cake and begin cutting horizontally, working around the entire cake until you can remove the top half. You can inset toothpicks around the cake to use as a guide, or just wing it!
- Place the bottom layer of the cake on a serving plate with the cut side up. Spread custard over bottom layer. Place top level of cake with the cut side down, on top of the custard.
- Pour ganache over top of cake, tilting the cake slightly to guide it and letting some glaze drizzle down side of cake. If you begin topping cake with the ganache and most is sliding down off the cake, stop and let both cool another hour. Then continue with pouring cooler ganache on top of cake.
- Refrigerate uncovered until serving. Store any remaining cake covered in the refrigerator.
Homemade Boston Cream Pie
Boston Cream Pie made from scratch in your own kitchen! Step by step instructions on how to make vanilla custard, easy single layer cake and smooth, rich chocolate ganache for this classic Boston Cream Pie recipe. Layer it all together and you've got a show stopping dessert that tastes incredible.
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Servings: 16
Ingredients
Custard Filling
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Cake
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 TBSP butter
Instructions
How to make Homemade Vanilla Custard
- Separate the egg yolks from the rest of the egg. You can get a fancy tool, however it's simple just to use your hand. Beat the egg yolks until smooth and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine the milk, sugar and salt and slowly heat over medium heat. Whisk together egg yolks and cornstarch until smooth. Once milk mixture just barely begins simmering, remove about 1/2 cup from the pan and slowly stir into the egg yolk mixture. Then slowly pour that combined egg yolk/ milk mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk. Whisk continuously until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Pour custard into a bowl and press plastic wrap on surface of filling to prevent a tough layer from forming on top. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until set.
How to make the cake for Boston Cream Pie
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Spray just the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick baking spray. You can also cut out a round of parchment paper and place it on the bottom of your cake pan or use a springform cake pan.
- In a large bowl, beat all cake ingredients with an electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, stopping frequently to scrape batter from side and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape bowl. Pour batter into the pan; use a rubber spatula to scrape batter from bowl, spread batter evenly in pan and smooth top of batter.
- Bake about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a cooling rack 20 minutes, then remove onto cooling rack to finish cooling completely, about 1 hour.
How to make Easy Chocolate Ganache
- Microwave heavy cream and butter in a small glass or ceramic bowl for 1 minute 20 seconds.
- Pour in chocolate chips and cover with a plate to trap in the heat. Let sit 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- Let sit 30 minutes to 1 hour, so that ganache cools and thickens slightly.
How to assemble Boston Cream Pie
- To split cake horizontally in half, I first put the cake in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Having the cake be a little hard makes it easier to cut.
- Insert a long, thin knife into the middle of the cake and begin cutting horizontally, working around the entire cake until you can remove the top half. You can inset toothpicks around the cake to use as a guide, or just wing it!
- Place the bottom layer of the cake on a serving plate with the cut side up. Spread custard over bottom layer. Place top level of cake with the cut side down, on top of the custard.
- Pour ganache over top of cake, tilting the cake slightly to guide it and letting some glaze drizzle down side of cake. If you begin topping cake with the ganache and most is sliding down off the cake, stop and let both cool another hour. Then continue with pouring cooler ganache on top of cake.
- Refrigerate uncovered until serving. Store any remaining cake covered in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
- ~~Boston Cream Pie has 3 main parts- the cake, the custard filling and the chocolate topping. I highly recommend making all parts in advance! You can make the custard and the chocolate topping up to a week beforehand and the cake 2-3 days in advance. Then, just assemble the entire cake the day before you want to serve it.
- ~~To anyone wondering, yes, you can cheat and use a box cake mix and instant pudding. However, try making it all from scratch at least once! It really does taste different. The cake is has a different consistency than a cake mix and freshly made custard is so wonderful!
- ~~If you really want to use a cake mix, use melted butter in place of the oil, milk in place of the water and add 1 additional egg. Bake the cake in round cake pans and plan on freezing one of the two, since you only need 1 in this recipe.
Tried this recipe?Mention @jessicalovesbutter or tag #jessicalovesbutter!
Chantelle says
I used milk chocolate chips, so I’m not sure if that’s why, but my ganache remained liquid, despite leaving it for a long time. I ended up just ladeling it over each piece as I served it.
In the recipe, when you say to wait an additional hour, do you mean to cool the ganache in the fridge or at room temperature?
If I make this again, I will add half as much cream for the ganache. It was an absolutely delicious cake though!!
Jessica says
I usually just cool my ganache on the countertop for the hour. If you put it in the fridge, it’d likely go solid! I’m willing to bet your milk chocolate chips had something to do with it, since they have a higher sugar content.
CBA says
I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and had the same problem. I had to cool it in the fridge for an hour and a half, and then it got the consistency that I’m guessing you had in mind – liquid, but not so thin that the sponge absorbed it. In the future, I’ll adjust the ratios and also make a smaller quantity of the ganache.
xman says
I read all these comments before making it and was watching out for this. I believe it’s all about how much air you whip into the ganache and little to nothing to do with the type of chocolate. Just keep whipping that whisk for a good 5 min. It will be mixed and watery and then all of the sudden it will magically thicken to the perfect consistency just like handmade whipped cream.
Emiry says
My custard had clumps of corn starch and was unusable, I mixed it forever, so next time I will sift the corn starch, and is there a window in which to be sure to add the corn starch to make sure it easily dissolves? Was i supposed to first dissolve it in one of the other ingredients, first? The custard tasted so great, it was perfect except for the bits that didnt dissolve.
Jessica says
Did you first whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch, as the recipe states? Did you temper the egg yolk mixture with the hot milk- adding the 1/2 cup and whisking that before combining it all? These specific steps help eliminate clumps in your custard.
stacy says
Custard was perfect when i made.left covered in fridge overnight and it was water in morning. Ganache was bitter too
Jessica says
Sounds like something didn’t work quite right if your custard turned into water overnight… I’m confused! If you prefer a sweeter ganache, use part milk chocolate and part semi sweet chocolate.
mary says
if i want to make the ganache the day before do i store it in the frig and then take it out to thin out or will it clump up. if i need to leave it on the counter after taking it out for about how long?
Jessica says
You’d store it in the fridge, then microwave it to heat it up. You’re right- you need to go slowly. Start with 1 minute, then do 30 second increments until it’s soft enough to pour.
Janet Lacey says
How can I thicken the ganache? I used semisweet chocolate chunks.
Janet Lacey says
My ganache was too thin and runny. An online search led me to the missing ingredient–air. I used an immersion blender, but vigorous whisking or a hand mixer would do the trick. The transformation was quick and dramatic.
Barbara says
I followed the recipe and the custard came out perfect…not too sweet, nice consistency. The cake was not spectacular— but good, and the ganache for me was also a good consistency, not too sweet and covered the cake, barely dripping over the edges of cake…pretty perfect as well. I would make this again.
Jessica says
Thanks Barbara!
Justin says
A poor recipe sadly. Following every instruction, measurement, time and temperature exactly provides a thin cake and a custard that splits after being chilled. Had to rescue mine by mixing the ganache with the split custard with an electric whisk and disguise the lacklustre sponge with the resultant chocolate “mousse” mixture. Tasted fine to be honest, but the recipe simply doesn’t work I’m afraid.
Jessica says
Sounds like something didn’t go quite right, Justin!
William H Wilson says
I am getting ready to try this recipe.. was wondering if it mattered what material the bowl I refrigerate the custard in was made of mattered.
Jessica says
I always use a glass or ceramic bowl, if that helps!
Shelby Wilson says
I followed the recipe exactly as stated. The cream filling turned out great. The ganache turned out great, but there was twice as much as you needed. The cake did not raise and was very dense (not light and fluffy, like I expected it to be). I don’t think I would try it again.
Jessica says
Sounds like something didn’t go quite right Shelby, because the cake should definitely not be flat and dense.
Priscilla Head says
I made your recipe yesterday…it was great! I do have some questions though. I used a 9″ springform pan and it worked well, although the sides at the very top stuck to the side of the pan and pulled off the cake. No real damage since the rest of the sides of the cake was intact. However, I would have liked the cake to rise a bit more. Which leads me to my question. How thick should the cake be? Also, is there any reason for me to use the parchment paper with the springform pan? What kind of knife is best to cut the pie for serving?
Many thanks for sharing this recipe.
Jessica says
Hi Priscilla! Ok, it sounds like the cake sticking is a pan issue. I have problems with my springform pans too, hence the parchment paper, etc. Maybe line the rims of the pan with parchment too? I’m willing to bet the sticking problem didn’t help the cake rise either.
In the post I actually have 2 sets of photos from 2 different times making the cake- it should rise about 2.5 inches, so that the top and bottom are each a little over an inch. It’s fairly thin for a cake, but that’s because you fill it with custard.
I like to use a long, sharp thin knife for cutting cake. It probably seems like overkill, but I find I get a cleaner cut this way! Hope this helps!
Erica says
Mine came out to be a half on an inch after baking. I followed your recipe to a T.
Jessica says
Well, something clearly didn’t go quite right! Double check… pretty much everything because I’ve never heard of this happening before.
Cheryl says
Cake did not rise much for me either probably about 1 1/2 inches. I even made it twice thinking I did something wrong the first time. I am a fairly experienced baker so that fact that several people have also commented on the problem of the cake being thin makes me think it is something in the recipe. The cake was the texture and density that I was looking for. Thinking maybe of using an 8 inch pan the next time.
Jessica says
The cake doesn’t rise a ton.
Marilee says
Made this for Father’s Day. Everyone loved it. It was easier than I thought it would be. I chose to use a cake mix to save on time and used your recommendation for doctoring it up a bit. It was delicious. My ganache was very thin, more like a sauce, but my husband didn’t mind. I’d make this again and try the cake from scratch next time. Thank you!
Erica says
I am not a very experienced baker but I found the instructions easy to follow and the pie was outstanding. All three components came out great! Like some other commentators, I needed to put the ganache in the fridge to reach a suitable consistency for pouring. I live abroad and have been having a craving for Boston Cream Pie for years. This recipe finally helped me get that taste of home that I have been wanting so badly. Thank you so much for creating this perfect recipe!!! I will be making this again.
Nellie says
So glad you were able to get your Boston Cream Pie fix!
Leslie Nguyen says
I made the custard last night and it turned out great- perfect consistency and not too sweet. Sooo much better than boxed. One question though, if I’m making the cake component one day ahead, how should I store the baked cake prior to assembly?
Jessica says
you can just leave the cake covered on the countertop!
Erica says
The cake and custard recipe were amazing. I use vanilla paste in my recipe. The ganache amount was a bit too much for this one pie alone. I would cut the recipe in half next time I make it as to not have leftover ganache. The chocolate I used was the 60% bittersweet cocoa chips by Ghirardelli. I also used brown farm fresh cage free eggs. I like the consistency from those yolks.
I also see those commenting on the cake not rising. Try sticking the pan in the fridge to Lower the temp before putting it in the oven. Not as much as you would to get a rise out of cupcakes, but just cooked down a little bit.
Erica says
I meant cooled down below room temp not *cooked
Tara says
I just completed my first attempt at this recipe and it went fantastic! I think your recipe was right on and if you follow the directions, then your cake should rise, your custard should be the right consistency! Wha laa your perfect Boston cream pie! Many thanks for sharing and I will be trying many more of your recipes in the future!!!
Nicole says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Donna says
Can you use almond milk for the custard?
Jessica says
i’ve tried using almond milk for the custard and YES, it works. The texture is a bit different. It’s thinner and I found I struggled to get it super smooth. But it tasted great!