Earlier this year I spent the day giving cooking demonstrations to children at Granville Community School in Derbyshire. This came about because months earlier I organized a competition via The Sunday Mercury to encourage kids to cook. Over 100 Midlands schools took part and Granville was judged the winner.

The day was a great success and everyone enjoyed it. One of the dishes I threw together at the end of the day was this Boston cream pie. The finish on the cake wasn't quite my best effort because I was racing against the clock, but the cleaning ladies sure loved it.

If you have ever heard of Boston cream pie you might be surprised to find that it is neither filled with cream or a pie. To answer the question of why "pie" instead of "cake", it is probably because in the past colonists baked their cakes in pie tins, as they did not own cake pans.
If you can imagine a vanilla egg sponge filled with a custard style pastry cream and topped with a thick coating of chocolate ganache. This recipe I adapted from Stephanie Jaworski.

Sponge Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in centre of oven.
Butter and line the bottom of an 8 inch (23 cm) cake pan with parchment paper.
3 large eggs
75 grams (3oz) granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract with seeds
85 grams (3.5oz) self-raising flour
28 grams (1oz) unsalted butter, melted

1. Use an electric mixer to beat the eggs and sugar on high speed for about five minutes, or until they are thick, fluffy and light colored (when you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in a slow ribbon).
2. Now beat in the vanilla extract then sift 1/2 of the flour over the batter and gently fold through with a rubber spatula or whisk. Sift the remaining flour over the batter and fold in. Whisk about 1/2 cup of the batter into the melted butter (to lighten it) and then gently fold the butter mixture back into the rest of the batter. Pour immediately into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until springy to the touch. (A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean.)
3. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
4. Run a spatula or sharp knife around the inside of the pan and then invert the cake onto a wire rack. Remove the parchment paper.

Pastry Cream:300 ml (10floz) milk
4 large egg yolks
50 grams (20z) granulated white sugar
45 grams (2oz) self-raising flour
1 tsp real vanilla extract with seeds
100ml (3.5floz) Double Cream
5. In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, mix the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks until well creamed and the sugar is no longer grainy.
6. Meanwhile in a saucepan bring the milk to boiling over medium heat.
7. Pour the milk into egg & sugar mix and whisk well.
8. Place the egg mixture back into a heavy bottomed stainless steel saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, continue to whisk constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it becomes thick.
9. Remove from heat and pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with cling wrap to prevent a crust from forming and allow the pastry cream to cool gradually.
10. In a separate clean bowl whisk the double cream until stiff peaks and fold into the pastry cream when it is cold.

Chocolate Glaze:
200 grams (8oz) dark (70%) chocolate
180ml (6.5floz) double cream
10. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set aside. Bring the cream just to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for a 3-5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Set aside for a few minutes until it has thickened to pouring consistency.

To Assemble:
With a serrated knife slice the cake in half horizontally. Remove the top half and set it aside. Place the bottom half on your serving plate, cut side up. Pour or spoon the pastry cream onto the cake, spreading to make an even layer. Place the top half of the cake (cut side down) onto the filling. Pour the glaze onto the centre of the cake and carefully spread the glaze, with a spatula, to the edges of the cake and over the sides. Decorate with fresh berries if you wish.
Chef’s Tips
Refrigerate for 1.5 hours before serving so the glaze is well set and flavours mingle.
To taste this dessert at it’s best, don’t serve this cake straight from the fridge allow 10 minute before portioning. Cut the cake with a warm sharp knife to help give your portions nice clean edges.