Boston Cream Cupcakes

When you get the option, what kind of doughnut would you choose? Honey dip, sprinkled, powdered and fruit filled, maple glazed, chocolate, or would you pick a boston cream? It is definitely one of my favourites! It's creamy and chocolaty, and best of all...it's not missing the center! (The extra bit of doughnut usually gets made into timbits (if you are from Canada) which cost 17 cents each.) Mmhmm...you definitely beat the system with the boston cream.

All this talk about doughnuts is getting me distracted from my actual purpose today. I don't plan on sharing a recipe with you about doughnuts actually, as you can see from the posts' title. I was simply inspired by the doughnut (which is technically inspired by the boston cream pie) in a way that brought new possibilities to the desert. I thought, why not make my childhood favorite into a cupcake? Many thanks to Martha Stewart's Living Magazine for providing the recipe.

This spongy vanilla cupcake is cut through the center and filled with a smooth vanilla cream, topped with more cake, and smothered in chocolate ganache...

I enjoyed the final product so much that I decided to have a little "photo shoot" of sorts. Featuring: the cupcake, a white plate, my table makes an occasional appearance, and some blurry backdrops.

Timmes ain't got nothin' on these babies!



Ingredients:

Makes 18

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour, plus more for tins
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. whole milk
3 oz. (6 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for tins
3 large Eggs
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Vanilla Cream:

2 large egg yolks
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. plus 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 c. whole milk
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Chocolate- Ganache Glaze:

2/3 c. heavy cream
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup


Directions:

Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour standard muffin tins. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Warm Milk and butter in a sauce pan over low heat.

2. Beat eggs and sugar with a mixer on high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Beat in dry ingredients.

3. Bring milk and butter to a boil. With mixer on low speed, add milk mixture to batter and beat until smooth. Add vanilla. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each halfway. Bake cupcakes until light gold, about 15 minutes. Let cool in tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks. Let cool.

4. Using a serrated knife, cut each in half horizontally. Spread 1 Tbsp. vanilla cream on each cupcake bottom. Sandwich with top. Spoon glaze over each and serve immediately.

Vanilla Cream:

1. Whisk yolks until smooth. Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add milk in a slow, steady stream. Cook, stirring, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes.

2. Pour a third of milk mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until thick, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in Vanilla.

3. Pass vanilla cream through a fine sieve into a bowl. Press plastic directly on surface. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.

Chocolate- Ganache Glaze:

1. Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and add chocolate and corn syrup. Let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, and let cool, stirring often. Use immediately.