A Boston Cream Pie, With Thanks

My Boston Cream Pie looks nothing like Martha Stewart's Boston Cream Pie. That is as it should be.

Mine is the first one I've ever made, and there were no food stylists nor photographers with good lighting present. I did it to give it away. And it was very good.

Last week like everyone else, I had such a deep sense of anguish over events surrounding the Boston Marathon and the news cycle was taking me down, pigtail spiraling downward way down. There had to be a way to stop that momentum (and unplug from CNN).

All I could think of was, make something, bake it and take it somewhere to tell somebody thanks for responding when help is needed. My creative spirit Jeanne Ambrose of Taste of Home magazine had done this wonderful thing where she baked something and gave it to local firefighters - for no reason. I liked that idea so I stole it. I decided to make a Boston Cream Pie and find the fire station in my neighborhood and waltz in there, hand over the pie and say thanks.

I challenged Jeanne to do the same in Milwaukee, and we set about to make our cakes. She wrote about hers eloquently on her site Heartbreak Recovery Kitchen, which is dedicated to the idea that recipes help us mend and move on. She also explained why a Boston Cream Pie is a cake and not a pie.

As it turned out, we both needed a few days to bring all three parts - cake, filling and icing - together. Friday morning (the day Suspect No. 2 was captured) I finally finished. My friend Trish drove me to Fire Station No. 20 in North Dallas. I wanted a box to carry the cake; she had a FedEx box in her trunk, so we flattened that and covered it in foil.

It was a windy day and, while walking to the side entrance of the fire station, I thought for a moment the wind would take the cake before I could get it in the door. The door was locked, but the station captain saw me coming and opened up.

"On behalf of a grateful city I would like to say thanks for your service, and here's a Boston Cream Pie, please refrigerate it if you're not going to eat it right away," I burbled. "At this moment the very same thing is happening in Milwaukee as we encourage everyone to get out and say thanks." End of speech.

Six burly firefighters appeared. All shook my hand, and they have very strong grips. I darted away, feeling a tremendous surge of spirit like I'd just rung their doorbell and then run away before they could catch me. It was a carefree feeling of joy for having tried something thankful - and what a day that Friday turned out to be.

Here's how I made a Boston Cream Pie.

For the cake:

I followed Martha Stewart's recipe.

For the pudding in between the layers:

I made Creme Patisserie - Pastry Cream

Milk                   16 ounces
Sugar                 2 ounces
Egg yolks          1.5 ounces
Eggs                  2 whole eggs
Cornstarch        1.25 ounces
Sugar                2 ounces
Butter               1 ounce
Vanilla extract  1/2 tablespoon

1. Line a shallow baking sheet with plastic wrap, set aside.
2. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, dissolve first sugar into the milk and bring to a simmer. In a separate stainless steel bowl, whisk together the eggs yolks and whole eggs. Sift the cornstarch and sugar into the eggs. Whisk until smooth.
3. Temper the egg mixture by slowly beating the hot milk into the eggs in a slow stream while whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the stove and bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula. The mixture will noticeably thicken.
4. Cook the mixture for 1-2 minutes to ensure you've cooked out the cornstarch. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
5. Pour mixture into a shallow pan, cover with plastic directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill thoroughly before using, which could take a few hours.

For the chocolate topping:

Chocolate Glacage

Heavy whipping cream      11 ounces
granulated sugar                 13 ounces
corn syrup                           3.5 ounces
water                                   6.25 ounces, divided use
cocoa powder                      5.25 ounces
powdered gelatin                2 packages of Knox Gelatin

1. Heat cream, sugar, corn syrup and 3.90 ounces of water to 216 degrees.
2. In a separate bowl, soften the gelatin in remaining water (2.35 ounces), set aside.
3. Add cocoa powder to cream mixture; bring to boil. This will create chunks of cocoa.
4. Remove mixture from heat and allow to cool to 140 or below, then add softened gelatin.
5. Mix with an immersion blender, then strain through a china cap or chinois into a clean bowl.
6. Place plastic wrap directly on surface, cool slightly and pour over cake.

For the logo design:

I used white fondant for the Boston "B" and tinted more fondant with red food coloring to get the remainder of the BoSox logo. The letter is placed on a circle of fondant tinted blue, painted with egg white and sprinkled with blue sanding sugar for added sparkle. The blue circle is sitting atop a cake board circle so it doesn't sink down through the glacage.

Firefighters, police officers and first responders everywhere, thank you for going, seeing and doing what is at times the unimaginable and unthinkable.

We are grateful.

Now in memory of the events in West, Texas, I believe a batch of kolaches are in order. West was originally home to a large Czech community, and they made wonderful kolaches.

More to come.