Boston Cream Cupcakes

Hubby and I were suddenly gripped by the thought of Boston cream pie a few days ago... but a whole pie seemed a bit overindulgent so I compromised with cake's tasty, smaller cousin - cupcake.

I modified an Everyday Food recipe for Boston Cream Pie and made cupcakes with frosting instead of cake with glaze. Also instead of using whole eggs in the recipe, I used a combination of egg whites plus whole eggs, so that there were no stray egg whites/yolks leftover at the end of baking.

I wanted my cupcakes to have frosting instead of glaze, so I made the hole for filling in the top of the cupcake because it's easier to fill that way and the frosting would eventually cover the hole anyway. However, if you were to glaze them and wanted the tops to be unblemished then you would have to bake them without the muffin liners and make the holes in the bottom. I find a melon baller perfect for scooping out the little cap for the hole and for hollowing out the cupcake. (You can save the cake scraps in the freezer for use as ice cream mixin's or cake pop fillings later). 

I put the custard into a icing bag (with a round tip) because it's easier to pipe the custard than to try squeezing the custard into those tiny holes with a spoon. My custard actually came out a little on the thick side as well (cooked it a little too long), but after whipping it up with a spoon it piped really smoothly into the cupcakes.

Did you know that all these cupcakes have approximately the same amount of frosting? Amazing how smooth frosting looks less thick and voluminous than the messy, swirled frosting.

Hubby had two cupcakes and decided that he had overdone it. I had one and felt just perfectly full of custard and cream :)

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Boston Cream Cupcakes    Yield: 1 dozen cupcakes (made in a standard muffin pan)

Cupcake:
Used this recipe but substituted 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites instead of 3 whole eggs (saved the yolks for the custard). They fit perfectly into a standard muffin pan and baked for 20 minutes.

Custard:
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch salt
1 cup whole milk
2 egg yolks (reserved from the cupcakes)
1 small pat butter
dash vanilla

1. Whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a small saucepan. 
2. Whisk in milk little by little.
3. Whisk in egg yolks.
4. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it just starts to bubble and thicken. Remove from heat and whisk until it cools down a bit (1-2 minutes).
5. Stir in butter and vanilla.
6. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto to top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until cool.

Chocolate Frosting:
200g (1-1/4 cup) chocolate chips *Callebaut is my preference here :)
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons hot water
2/3 cup butter
1/3 cup icing sugar
pinch salt

1. Melt chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water or in the microwave. Let cool.
2. Mix cocoa powder and hot water in a small bowl until smooth. Let cool.
3. Cream together butter, icing sugar and salt until light and fluffy.
4. Stir in melted chocolate and cocoa. Beat until fluffy again.

Assembly:

1. Scoop out a large cavity in the cupcakes using a melon baller or whatever works for you. Save the cap for the hole, use the cupcake innards for something else (cake pops, ice cream sprinkles, etc.) You can really hollow the cupcakes out here... there should be enough custard to fill the cupcakes fairly full. 
2. Using an icing bag, pipe the custard into the cupcakes until they are super full (it will use up all the custard :)
3. Put the tops bake on and decorate as desired with the chocolate frosting.