posted by Chefmom 03-29-99 6:39 PM
Foolproof Sponge Cake
make 2 8 or 9 inch cakes
The egg whites should be beaten to soft, glossy, billowy peaks. It beaten until too stiff, they will be very difficult to fold into the whole-egg mixture.
1/2 cup cake flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 TBSP milk
2 TBSP unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1.Adjust oven rack to lower/middle position and heat the oven to 350F. Grease two 8 or 9 inch cake pans and cover pan bottoms with a round of parchment paper. Whisk the flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until butter melts. Remove from heat and add vanilla; cover and keep warm.
2. Separate three of the eggs, placing whites in bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk, reserving the 3 yolks plus remaining 2 whole eggs in another mixing bowl. Beat the 3 whites on high until whites are foamy. Gradually add 6 TBSP of the sugar, continue to beat whites to soft, moist peaks. Do not overbeat. If using a stand mixer, transfer whites to a large bowl, and add the yolk/whole egg mixture to the mixing bowl.
3. Beat yolk/whole egg mixture with remaining 6 TBSP sugar. Beat on medium-high until eggs are very thick and a pale yellow color, about 5 minutes. Add beaten eggs to whites.
4. Sprinkle flour mixture over beaten eggs and whites; fold very gently 12 times with a large rubber spatula. Make a well in one side of batter and pour milk mixture into bowl. Continue folding until batter shows no trace of flour, and whites and whole eggs are evenly mixed, about 8 additional strokes.
5. Immediately pour batter into prepared pans, bake until cake tops are light brown and feel firm and spring back when lightly touched, about 16 minutes for 9-inch cakes and 20 minutes for 8-inch pans.
6. Immediately run a knife around pan perimeter to loosen cake. Cover pan with another plate or rack, invert pan and remove cake from pan. Peel off parchment. Re-invert and onto rack. Repeat with remaining cake and continue with
the filling below.
Pastry Cream Filling for Boston Cream Pie
Pastry Cream
2 cups milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP rum
2 TBSP unsalted butter, optional
Chocolate Glaze
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
8 ounces semi-sweet chcolate, chopped into small pieces
1/2 tsp vanilla
1. For the Pastry Cream: Heat the milk in a small saucepan until hot but not simmering. Whisk yolks, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan until mixture is thick and lemon-colored, 3-4 minutes. Add cornstarch: whisk to combine. Slowly whisk in hot milk. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, and scraping pan bottom and sides as you stir, until mixture thickens to a thick pudding consistency and loses all traces of raw starch flavor, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in vanilla, rum, and butter and transfer to another container to cool to room temp, placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of mixture to prevent skin from forming. Refigerate pastry cream until firm. (can be refigerated overnight) To ensure that pastry cream does not thin out, do not whisk once it has set.
2. For the glaze: Bring the cream and corn syrup to a full simmer over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Off heat, add chcolate; cover and let stand 8 minutes, add vanilla and stir cery gently until the mixture is very smooth. Cool until tepid so that a spoonful drizzled back into pan mounds slightly. Glaze can be refrigerated to speed up cooling, stirring
every few minutes to ensure even cooling.
3. While the glaze is cooling, place one cake layer on a cardboard round on a cooling rack, set over waxed paper. Carefully spoon pastry cream over the cake and spread evenly up to cake edge. Place the second layer on the top, making sure the layers line up properly.
4. Pour the glaze over the middle of the top layer and let flow down the cake sides. Use a metal spatula, if necessary, to completely coat cake. Use a small needle to puncture air bubbles. Let sit until glaze fully sets, about 1 hour. Serve.
Tami's notes: I think that I would do the following a little differently, I would whip my egg whites by hand, WHILE the machine is whipping the yolks/whole eggs. This way, the meringue doesn't have to sit so long. It can deflate or begin to break down by sitting.
Also, most people I know, like the "pie" to be smaller, just take a knife and split the cake layer in half, then fill and top as described. I usually make my Boston Cream Pies with 3 medium thick layers, but some people like the shorter version, with the extra filling!!