Daring Bakers in October: Bostini Cream Pie
October 29, 2007 at 12:07 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, daring bakers, groups, sweet things | 64 Comments
“Hey– don’t you mean Boston cream pie?” you ask. I know I’m a lousy typist, but I do in fact mean Bostini. It is, of course, a take on the traditional Boston cream pie, created by Donna Scala and Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni and Scala’s Bistro in Northern California– an orange-flavored chiffon cake sitting on a bed of vanilla custard and topped with chocolate glaze. Our Daring Baker hostess this month is Mary from Alpineberry, and since she first tried it about 12 years ago, Bostini cream pie has been one of her restaurant favorites. From what Mary whips up in the kitchen I’d say she has impeccable taste, so I was certainly excited to try this when I saw she had chosen it as the October challenge.
Once I got the ingredients together (a whole farm’s worth of eggs and dairy!), the recipe came together pretty easily. No troubles with the cake (I recommend squeezing the orange juice yourself for best flavor and whipping the egg whites by hand to avoid overbeating), and the custard thickened up quickly thanks to the cornstarch. The glaze couldn’t have been easier– just melted chocolate and butter.
This dessert is assembled in a ramekin or custard cup at the restaurants, but we were allowed to play with presentation, provided we didn’t stray from the ingredient list or basic concepts. I thought about putting it together in a wine glass or bowl, but wanted to put some cute new teacups to use, so I really didn’t play too much. I baked my chiffon cakes in a muffin tin rather than using the same cups I assembled the cake in (as the recipe instructed). I don’t know if my teacups are oven-proof, and didn’t want to chance blowing them up the first time I used them! Also, I liked that the muffin-sized cakes were a bit smaller than the cups, so that all the drippy glaze could run into the custard instead of just down the outside of the cups.
Boston cream pie is R’s number one dessert, and he really liked this version of it. And my brother, who is visiting from Seattle, just loved the custard. I am one of those weirdos who doesn’t like the combination of fruit and chocolate, but the orange flavor was pretty subtle and fresh, so I didn’t mind it here. This dessert is super-rich, so you can get away with a small portion, even though the recipe yields quite a lot. (I actually halved the custard and glaze amounts. I made the full recipe of cake and froze what we didn’t eat right away.) As you can see from the top picture, my oranges were larger than my dessert, and it was plenty!
Thanks to Mary for picking another winning DB challenge! You can check out the recipe over on her site. Don’t forget to look at all the other Bostinis out there by visiting the Daring Bakers’ Blogroll. From some sneak previews I’ve seen, they look pretty good…
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a whisk and a spoon 
Beautiful – love the orange zest!
Did you scale the recipe down, or did you find an army to feed?
Comment by DaviMack— October 29, 2007 #
Your Bostini looks fabulous! I love the presentation in the cup. Bravo!
Comment by Chris— October 29, 2007 #
What lovely tea cups! Such a nice way to present the Bostini!
Comment by Jenny— October 29, 2007 #
What a great post! I love the photos of your Bostini!
Comment by Gigi— October 29, 2007 #
Mmm, that looks yummy in your gorgeous teacups. I used freshly squeezed OJ too, it worked a treat.
Comment by Sathya— October 29, 2007 #
Steph I love those teacups! They are perfect for the Bostini – and yours look luscious!
Great job!
xoxo
Comment by Lisa— October 29, 2007 #
I also added orange zest on top. It’s a great contrast between the dark chocolate and the bright orange.
Me too, I like the tea cups you used!
Comment by Christina— October 29, 2007 #
Stunning presentation…I love the pretty orange zest as a finishing touch, and your teacups are beautiful…so pretty. I wouldn’t have risked putting them in the oven either. 🙂
Comment by Belinda— October 29, 2007 #
I agree totally that a small portion (clever of you to photograph it in nice teacup next to oranges for scale) is plenty of this rich dessert. Your photos are gorgeous.
Comment by Elle— October 29, 2007 #
BTW – I forgot to ask where you working the stall at Hyde Park on Saturday with the rest of your team?
Comment by Sathya— October 29, 2007 #
Loved how you presented the bostini’s. Nice tea cups as well 🙂
Comment by Anne— October 29, 2007 #
So cute! I love the blue china cups…And I agree with you about the subtlety of the orange. It was very nice.
Comment by kellypea— October 29, 2007 #
Can we make a deal? As soon as you finish the dessert can you send me the bowl? It’s gorgeous!
Comment by baking soda— October 29, 2007 #
Very cute teacups indeed! And I love the orange peel on top!
Comment by Anne— October 29, 2007 #
Beautiful bostinis, but those new teacups are simply gorgeous! I want some, too 🙂
Comment by Pille— October 29, 2007 #
Wow, those really are adorable cute teacups! I’d call that an awesome way to break them in!
Comment by Julie— October 29, 2007 #
I like your tea cups a lot and with the Bostinis in them they are irresistible!
Comment by ilvaberetta— October 30, 2007 #
that was me…
Comment by ilva— October 30, 2007 #
the pictures came out great! That bowl is beautiful.
Comment by marye— October 30, 2007 #
Love the plating and great pictures. Good job.
Comment by megan— October 30, 2007 #
I did smaller Bostini’s too, as this recipe made more dessert than my family would eat. It was a delightful change from our usual desserts and it made my husband very happy, because he loves Boston Cream Pie.
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
Comment by Sheltie Girl— October 30, 2007 #
I liked your orange peel on top, very nice!
Comment by brilynn— October 30, 2007 #
love the zest added to the top and the teacups are so beautiful.
Comment by Courtney— October 30, 2007 #
i can see your reflection on the spoon 😛 I like the chocolate sauce dripping into the custard .
Comment by Kate— October 30, 2007 #
Those teacups are lovely! And I agree with you, i think it was the perfect thing to bake in a muffin pan to see the elements more clearly and i used the leftover “muffins” as cupcakes for my little cousins.
Comment by Marce— October 30, 2007 #
I loooooove your new tea cups!!!!! I want them!
Lovely bostinis : )
Comment by Brittany— October 30, 2007 #
Great looking cakes. Love the presentation!
Comment by Meeta— October 30, 2007 #
I love the tea cup idea. Great idea for a luncheon.
Beautifull pictures!
Comment by megan— October 30, 2007 #
Those look so tasty!! I love the scooped-spoon picture, shows all the tasty layers. Bravo!
Comment by Mehgan— October 30, 2007 #
That pie looks so good! And your teacup is beautiful!
I wish I hadn’t missed out this month’s challenge… Great job, though!
Comment by maria~— October 30, 2007 #
This was my first challenge and I really enjoyed doing it. I made the full batch and we still have some left over, but I can’t say I’m disappointed about that. 🙂
Elisabeth
Comment by Elisabeth— October 30, 2007 #
Mmmmm, looks great! I think those tea cups are beautiful. Great job and yum 🙂
Comment by Jen— October 30, 2007 #
Your presentation is just beautiful. I love the bowl you used!
Please feel free to check out my bostini here.
Julius
Comment by Julius— October 30, 2007 #
Great presentation – I love your bostinis!
Comment by Anita— October 30, 2007 #
Looks great!
Comment by April— October 30, 2007 #
I love the idea of plating the Bostinis in tea cups — what a great way to get a small portion of a decadent dessert.
Comment by Laura Rebecca— October 30, 2007 #
Yup those are beautiful cups and they suit your beautiful bostinis so well!
Comment by Laura— October 30, 2007 #
I love how glossy the glaze looks … wish I could dig in!
Comment by Ivonne— October 30, 2007 #
I love your teacup presenation Steph, and the spoon shots are extremely appetite inducing! I’d have hesitated to bake in the teacups too… I think you took the right approach with the muffin tin. I don’t know about you, but I figure the pile of dishes I have left to watch will burn off a spoonful of Bostini. Maybe two. 🙂
Comment by Dolores— October 30, 2007 #
I love your pictures. Thought about doing orange zest as well but got lazy!
Comment by Claire— October 30, 2007 #
My hubby is a fiend for Boston Cream Pie! I will have to try this version- it looks delicious (and portion-controlled!)
Comment by Deborah Dowd— October 30, 2007 #
Sounds like it was a hit with your family. Those tea cups made for a very pretty presentation. =)
Comment by Mary— October 30, 2007 #
Your Bostini looks so pretty in the tea cup. Beautiful photos!
Comment by Andrea— October 30, 2007 #
I love the zest on your Bostini! Great photos – what program do you use for editing, the words written across are great!!!
Comment by Denise— October 30, 2007 #
Pretty darned tasty looking Bostinis!
I don’t know what’s making me salivate more – the beautiful custard, the smooth chocolate or the airy sponge!
Wonderful!
Comment by the caked crusader— October 30, 2007 #
Steph,
Your pics truly do justice to how wonderful this dessert is! I especially like the spoonful sitting next to the dessert. Well done and sorry its taken me so long to visit…
Comment by Dharm— October 31, 2007 #
Your china cup is beautiful! I really really love it! Also, your silky custard has been pea green with envy…
Leslie at definitely not martha
Comment by MBR— October 31, 2007 #
what a great presentation. your bostinis look terrific and the teacups are super cute, very vintage chic!
Comment by lindsay— October 31, 2007 #
Great Bostini and cute cupe!
Comment by linda— October 31, 2007 #
Wow my mouth watered as your picture came up!
Fabulous job!
xoxo
Comment by Gabi— October 31, 2007 #
Great job!! I love your tea cups!!
Comment by Deborah— October 31, 2007 #
I love the tea cups. Great job, the bostinis look very yummy!
Comment by Dagmar— October 31, 2007 #
Steph, I love the gorgeous bowls you did your presentation!! Great job on this challenge.
Comment by breadchick— October 31, 2007 #
I love how shiny and smooth your chocolate sauce looks! Everything looks wonderful.
Comment by Michelle— October 31, 2007 #
The sheen coming off from your chocolate glaze is most impressive! Very nice looking.
Comment by Annemarie— October 31, 2007 #
Amazing!
Comment by lydia hamre— November 1, 2007 #
Great looking pies! Really tempting!
Cheers,
Rosa
Comment by Rosa— November 1, 2007 #
Don’t thik that I was ignoring you, I started from the end of the alphabet this month so I am now at the As!! You are not weird, I am completely with you on the combo of fruit/chocolate, it always reminds me of bad creme filled truffles. You did a fanstastic job and your pictures are enough to make me drol again…sorry!
Comment by Tartelette— November 3, 2007 #
Your teacups are pretty. I was surprised at how fast the custard came up. I have never used cornstarch like this before. Is the cornstarch the reason the texture is different than the typical flour and milk style? Your photos are fantastic. Wendy
Comment by Wendy— November 3, 2007 #
Great job – beautiful bostinis and I love the little bowls/cups. And I totally agree with you: I don’t like any citrus-chocolate combo, but this one was kind of ok.
Comment by Inne— November 4, 2007 #
Wow I do think your photos are wow. I’d say the orange is the perfect size and the Bostini is to share with another.
Comment by Tanna— November 4, 2007 #
Fantasic bostinis. Your custard came out perfect and thick. I’m so jealous.
Comment by Cheryl— November 6, 2007 #
The orange was subtle and not overwhelming, I agree. Great job.
Comment by peabody— November 7, 2007 #
These look delicious!!
Comment by teeth whitener— November 12, 2007 #