First Daring Bakers Challenge - Bostini Cream Pie =D

Bostini Cream Pie

Getting Started!

The hardest part for me was getting started because so many talented people had already submitted some great ideas and my mind kept going blank on how I was going to present this dessert! You know how it is when you think to hard about something. . .I squeezed my imagination to hard and it deflated! Yeesh! So, I jumped in and started making this dessert hoping that when I got to the cake part, it would start coming together as a design. =D

Ingredients for Custard:

3/4 cup whole milk

2 3/4 tablespoons cornstarch

1 whole egg, beaten

9 egg yolks, beaten

3 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 vanilla bean (EDITED: vanilla extract is okay)

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

To Prepare the Custard:

• Combine the milk and cornstarch in a bowl; blend until smooth. Whisk in the whole egg and yolks, beating until smooth. Combine the cream, vanilla bean and sugar in a saucepan and carefully bring to a boil. When the mixture just boils, whisk a ladleful into the egg mixture to temper it, then whisk this back into the cream mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the custard and pour into 8 large custard cups. Refrigerate to chill.

All those egg yolks looked so pretty sitting in a bowl waiting to get beaten. The egg whites I put syran wrap on for use as cake ingredients, which I did the next morning. This became a Saturday night and Sunday morning project. I was surprised at how quickly the custard came together. Also, I always worry about my eggs curdling when I added a little heat to the yolks first. Even when taking it slow, I have had a little trouble in the past. This time the custard mixed together beautifully. I was grinning like a Cheshire cat! (BIG smile)

The aroma from the custard smelled sooooo good. I made a mistake by keeping the custard on the heat too long because my custard became *really* thick. It did not hurt anything and when I checked for coating on the spoon, well, lets just say I had extra to taste test and I do LOVE vanilla custard. Delish!

I made another mistake here. . .and I knew better. Teaches me not to start cooking something when I am really tired. I put the custard in cute little ramekins and set in the refrigerator without putting any syran wrap on the surface of the custard to keep them from forming skins. The custard was still wonderful though! 8)

Chiffon Cake Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 cup superfine sugar

1 1/3 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup beaten egg yolks (3 to 4 yolks)

3/4 cup fresh orange juice

1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup egg whites (about 8 large)

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Chocolate Glaze Ingredients:

8 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate

8 ounces unsalted butter

Directions for Assembly:

To prepare chiffon cake:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray 8 molds with nonstick cooking spray. You may use 7-ounce custard cups, ovenproof wide mugs or even large foil cups. Whatever you use should be the same size as the custard cups.
• Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice, zest and vanilla. Stir until smooth, but do not overbeat.
• Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the orange batter. Fill the sprayed molds nearly to the top with the batter.
• Bake approximately 25 minutes, until the cakes bounce back when lightly pressed with your fingertip. Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, remove the cakes from the molds. Cover the cakes to keep them moist.

To prepare the Glaze:

• Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place the butter in a saucepan and heat until it is just about to bubble. Remove from the heat; add the chocolate and stir to melt. Pour through a strainer and keep warm.

To Assemble:

• Cut a thin slice from the top of each cake to create a flat surface. Place a cake flat-side down on top of each custard. Cover the tops with warm chocolate glaze. Serve immediately.

Sunday morning I started on the cake and chocolate sauce part and the dessert was a lot of fun to finish putting together. I found one of my favorite baking pans for making minature cakes and this worked wonderfully. I did have left over cake batter so I put this in large ramekins. The flavor of orange with the chocolate sauce is a great combination. Since I had a couple extra cakes, I tested this hypothesis out. . . a definite winner! BTW, I used bittersweet chocolate for the sauce.

I had company Sunday evening and I wanted to share this dessert so I was limited on time for presentation and believe it or not, my hubby actually chose how this was presented! I know, shocker for me too. He got so into me putting it together that I think I got more tickled watching him get enthused then me actually putting this together.


I would like to thank http://alpineberry.blogspot.com/ (Alpineberry) for this great challenge and the Daring Bakers for presenting the chance for so many people to feel part of something greater! Thank you!!!!! =D