To-Die-For Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes
Creativity is a funny thing darlings. I had a recipe in mind for this week. Went to the grocery store and stocked up. Wrote up a recipe. Had a pretty good first round of trying it out. But after one bueno round of recipe-testing, I felt the urge to create something . . . else. It’s not that I was abandoning ship, I just knew there was something else calling for my attention at the moment. And going along with my creative urges ended up being a beautiful thing.
Not only did I end up with a delicious new recipe, I found the perfect accompaniment to dear boyfriend and I’s long-awaited date night to get *druuumroll* LOBSTER ROLLS. Even though North Carolina is by the coast, lobster rolls aren’t a ~ thing ~ here like it may be in other states. Truth be told, I had never tried one until dear boyfriend and I hopped on over to a nearby city to remedy my lack-of-lobster-roll-exposure. Keeping in the New England theme, our homemade dessert courtesy of moi was to be a spin on the classic Boston cream pie, but in cupcake form. So I did a 360 from my original baking plans this week and made these To-Die-For Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes. And. THEY. WERE. SO. YUMMY.
An important lesson was learned in the course of making this recipe, and it’s one that’s so underrated but so true. Go with your gut. It’s a maxim that has served me well in life and in this blog. I never want to force myself into anything. If something doesn’t feel right, then I don’t fight it. I go where I feel inspired, invigorated and excited. And this time I went straight for these delicious To-Die-For Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes.
So one of my favorite things? Taking a dessert and making it into . . . another dessert.
So what is a Boston cream pie anyway?
Umm the most delicious thing ever. Oh you mean the technical definition. Declared the official state dessert of Massachusetts in 1996, a Boston cream pie is a two-layer sponge cake with pastry cream and topped with chocolate ganache. The Parker House hotel in Boston claims to be the birthplace of this decadent dessert, but the Boston cream pie likely descends from another dessert called a Washington pie (a two-layer cake filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar). A couple of changes were made over time with the filling and the topping which gave rise to the modern version of the Boston cream pie.
Also, the term “pie” is a little deceiving actually. It’s really a cake. Back in the 19th century, cakes were baked in shallow pans called Washington pie plates. Go figure. Thank you to The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets for the background information.