Vegan Boston Cream Pie

Vegan Boston cream pie - this incredible vegan cake (not pie!) consists of fluffy vanilla sponge cakes with a vanilla pastry cream filling and chocolate ganache topping.

It is rich and delicious but not too sweet and is the perfect cake for people who aren't a fan of buttercream.

What Is Boston Cream Pie?:

Despite the name, this is not actually a pie, rather it is a cake. It heralds from the early 19th century, when cakes and pies were baked in the same pans and the names were used interchangeably.

The original Boston cream pie was created in the 1850's at the Parker House hotel in Boston and was known as chocolate cream pie. The version that is famous today however is somewhat different to the original which was coated in almonds and topped with chocolate fondant.

This version consists of fluffy vanilla sponge cakes filled with creamy vanilla crème pâtissière and topped with rich dark chocolate ganache; all vegan of course!

This is not necessarily the kind of cake that you will be able to get nice neat slices of, the pastry cream filling is delicious, but it is much softer than a buttercream. It is however far superior to a buttercream filled cake in my opinion. It is not overly sweet, and the creamy custard works wonderfully with the soft cake and rich chocolate.

Ingredient Details:

Pastry cream: You will need one batch of my vegan pastry cream (crème pâtissière). It needs to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before you assemble the cake so make sure that you make it before starting on the other elements. It can be made the day before you want to assemble the cake.

Milk: Any kind of unsweetened non-dairy milk (except tinned coconut) should be fine, but I always prefer to use soya milk for baking.

Yogurt: Vegan yogurt helps to make the cake moist and flavourful. Use a plain one, unsweetened if possible. I use soya yogurt but coconut yogurt will also work.

Oil + vegan butter: Using a mixture of oil and butter in the cake gives you the best of both worlds - both flavour and moisture. Any neutral oil will work, I use olive. For the butter you can use a block or spreadable variety, I use Flora original (do not use a 'light' kind).

Vinegar: This reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to help the cake rise and give it a light texture. I use either apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar. You can also use lemon juice instead.

Plain flour and cornflour: Regular plain (all-purpose) flour with a bit of cornflour (cornstarch) added gives the crumb a nice texture. You can swap the cornflour for an equal weight of plain flour if you don't have any, but I do recommend using it if you can.

Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda): You really do need both for the best texture and rise.

Sugar: Either caster or granulated is fine, I do not recommend swapping this for any other kind of sugar or sweetener.

Vanilla extract: Extract is better than essence and you can also use vanilla bean paste.

Dark Chocolate: I use 70% dark chocolate. Don't use anything with a higher cocoa percentage than that or it can make the ganache more likely to split.

Cream or coconut milk: To make the ganache you will need either a vegan double cream alternative such as Elmlea or full fat coconut milk. If using coconut milk I use the whole lot mixed together well, not just the solid white part.

How To Make Vegan Boston Cream Pie:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1: Start by making the pastry cream.

Step 2: To make the cakes, whisk together the flour, cornflour, baking powder and soda and sugar in a large bowl.

Step 3: Whisk together the milk, vinegar, yogurt, oil, melted butter and vanilla extract in a jug.

Step 4: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a balloon whisk until no dry lumps remain.

Step 5: Divide the batter between two greased and lined 20cm cake tins and bake for 30 minutes.

Step 6: To make the ganache, pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until smooth, set aside to cool and thicken.

Step 7: Trim the tops of the cooled cakes to level them.

Step 8: Spread the chilled pastry cream over one of the cakes.

Step 9: Top with the other cake and spread the ganache over the top.

Top Tips:

USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

Don't over-beat the batter as that can make the cake tough.

The cake is ready when it is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.

For extra shine, add a tablespoon of golden or corn syrup to the ganache.

You want the ganache to have thickened up, but still be runny enough to spread. It can go from spreadable to solid pretty quickly so keep an eye on it. If it gets too firm, simply gently re-warm it over a pan of hot water (don't let the base of the bowl touch the water), or in short bursts in the microwave.

FAQ's:

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