Peanut Butter Boston Cream Pie

This peanut butter Boston cream pie is a light and spongy vanilla genoise layered with a peanut butter pastry cream and topped with a rich chocolate ganache.

Usually, on Father’s Day, I try to keep my focus on my hubby and his dad, a.k.a.: Pop, and his brother, Gunkle Mike.  It always makes for a happy day.

This year, I made peanut butter Boston cream pie in honor of my late father, for Father’s Day.  He loved peanut butter, and Boston cream pie, so I know my dad would have loved it. I hope you do as well!

You see, my own father, who was also probably the best friend I have ever known, passed away six years ago, just before the birth of my first child.  I still cannot even type those words without crying, but since I am strive to be the eternal optimist, I often remind myself of what I’ve come to see as the silver lining: if there is ever a good time to lose a loved one, that time is shortly before that completely life-altering moment where you become a parent for the first time.

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I had a few months to grieve, to feel angry and sorry for myself, and for my father, what he suffered through and the battle he ultimately lost, how unfair that I finally made the leap to start a family, not because I was necessarily “ready” for it, but because I wanted to give my dad the experience of being a grandfather, and he came so close, yet missed….  It was what it should have been: a sad time in my history.

Once my son was born, it put an abrupt end to the wallowing.  It’s simply not possible any more, once a helpless seven-pound round-the-clock-wailing infant is handed over to your care.

There is no choice but to leave that sadness behind you, and focus instead on attending to the task at hand, and on that warm, glowing seed of all-consuming love that has taken root in that empty place….

I try not to look backward.  My love for my father will always be there, and not a day goes by that I don’t reflect upon it.  But with a life so abundant in blessings, I have no right to feel down.

This post is dedicated to all of the fathers I’m grateful to have in my life:  David, Alan, Michael, and Jared….

….to my two beautiful children, who fill my every day with love and gratitude….

….and in the memory of my own father, Tom, who loved peanut butter, and Boston cream pie.

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….thanks, Dad, for always reminding me about silver linings.

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4.34 stars (3 ratings)

Peanut Butter Boston Cream Pie

Servings: 10

Prep Time: 50 minutes mins

Cook Time: 35 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

This peanut butter Boston cream pie is a light and spongy vanilla genoise layered with a peanut butter pastry cream and topped with a rich chocolate ganache.

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Ingredients

For the Peanut Butter Pastry Cream

• ▢ 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/4 cup (31.25 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups (354.88 ml) milk, (whole, 2%, or 1%)
• ▢ 6 egg yolks, (large)
• ▢ 1/2 cup (129 g) smooth peanut butter
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Genoise

• ▢ 3 tablespoons (44.36 g) unsalted butter,, melted
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup (125 g) cake flour
• ▢ 2/3 cup (133.33 g) granulated sugar,, divided
• ▢ 4 eggs, (large)

For the Ganache

• ▢ 1/2 cup (118.29 ml) heavy whipping cream
• ▢ 4 ounces (113.4 g) semisweet chocolate, or chocolate chips
• ▢ 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) corn syrup
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

 

To make the Peanut Butter Pastry Cream:

• In a medium pot, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt.
• Slowly whisk in the milk, then cook the mixture over medium-high until bubbling and thick.
• Whisk some of the hot milk mixture into the yolks, to warm them, then add the warmed yolks into the pot, and cook over medium-low flame, whisking, until bubbling and thick.
• Stir the peanut butter and vanilla extract into the pastry cream, then strain into a heat-safe bowl, place plastic wrap over the surface, and chill.

To make the Genoise:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the warm melted butter and vanilla extract; set aside.
• Sift the flour together with 3 tablespoons of the sugar.
• Combine the eggs and the remaining sugar in a mixing bowl, and set over a large bowl of very hot water.
• Mix with your hand until warm to the touch, then remove from the heat and whip on high speed until very fluffy, and batter falls from the beater in long, thick ribbons.
• Fold the flour mixture carefully into the egg mixture, in three additions.
• Mix a little of the batter into the melted butter, and then pour back into the mixing bowl and fold until combined, taking care not to deflate the air from the batter.
• Bake in an ungreased 8- or 9-inch round cake pan for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean.
• Cool completely and cut horizontally into two layers.

To make the Chocolate Ganache:

• Heat the cream in a small pot over medium low heat, until simmering.
• Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate (or chips).
• Whisk in the the corn syrup and vanilla until smooth.
• Drizzle while warm.

To assemble the Peanut Butter Boston Cream Pie:

• Place one (fully cooled) genoise layer on a serving plate.
• Spread the peanut butter pastry cream filling all over the cake in an even layer.
• Top with the remaining genoise layer, and drizzle with chocolate ganache.
• Serve immediately.

Calories: 481kcal, Carbohydrates: 60g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 212mg, Sodium: 244mg, Potassium: 256mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 42g, Vitamin A: 596IU, Calcium: 88mg, Iron: 2mg

Cuisine: American

Course: Dessert

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