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Boston Cream Pie
Boston Cream Pie
The Boston cream pie was invented by an Armenian-French chef at the Parker House Hotel in Boston. While not actually a pie, but a cream filled cake, this rich dessert gets its name from being baked in a pie plate. The cake is double layered with a vanilla custard cream in the middle, glazed with a thick chocolate ganache. This cake is so beloved in Massachusetts that it is the official state dessert.
Equipment
- strainer
- standing mixer
- 8” springform cake pan
- parchment paper
- bread knife
Ingredients
Pastry Cream Filling
- 8 egg yolks
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tbsp butter
Yellow Cake
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 5 tbsp butter
- 1 cup cake flour + 2 tbsp
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped
Instructions
Pastry Cream Filling
- Bring the milk to a boil in a small pot. Immediately turn off the heat.
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Whisk in the cornstarch.
- Whisk in a 1/4 cup of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Then whisk in the rest of the hot milk.
- Pour the batter through a strainer back into the pot.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat; constantly whisking until it is thick. Take off the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla. Allow to completely Cool.
Yellow Cake
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together for 4 minutes on medium speed.
- Melt the butter, vanilla, and milk together in a small pot while the eggs and sugar are mixing.
- Turn the mixer down to low speed. Gradually add in the flour.
- Slowly pour the milk/butter mixture into the standing mixer. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 30 seconds.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a spring form pan with parchment paper. Grease the pan. Pour in the batter.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Allow the cake to completely cool on a rack.
Cake Assembly
- Using a bread knife, carefully slice the cake in half horizontally.
- Place one of the halves of cake bake in the spring form pan.
- Pour the pastry cream onto the cake, leaving an inch of space from the outer edge.
- Place the other half of the cake cut side up on top of the pastry cream. Wrap in plastic and allow to set in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Bring the heavy whipping cream to a light simmer over medium heat with the chocolate.
- Whisk until the chocolate has completely melted.
- Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
How to make a Reuben
How to make a Reuben
In my opinion, there’s not much better than a reuben sandwich. Corned beef, swiss, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing on marbled rye is a perfect combo, but where did the sandwich come from. Some say the sandwich was created in NYC by Arnold Reuben at his delicatessen Reuben’s in 1914. Others say the legendary sandwich came from a hotel in Omaha, Nebraska in 1928. It is so popular in Nebraska that March 14th is National Sandwich Day in Omaha.
Ingredients
- corned beef thinly sliced
- Swiss cheese thinly sliced
- sauerkraut
- rye or pumpernickel bread
- Kerry Gold Irish butter
- thousand island dressing
Instructions
- Melt a little butter in a sauté pan. Add in slices of corned beef and brown for a couple minutes a side.
- Separately, top the bread slices with Swiss cheese.
- Top with the corned beef and sauerkraut. Place another slice of Swiss cheese on top of the sauerkraut.
- Melt a 1/2 tbsp of butter on a griddle over medium heat. Place the sandwich on the pan. Grill for 4 minutes.
- Add another 1/2 tbsp of butter to the pan. Flip the sandwich and grill for 4 more minutes.
Sizzling Gambus
Sizzling Gambus
Sizzling gambus has it’s roots from Spanish tapas bars. With Spain being a major culinary influence on the Philippines, this spicy, garlicky shrimp is the perfect appetizer or even a main course that will make many a belly happy. The shrimp is served on a hot cast iron skillet or plate topped with panko breadcrumbs, giving the shrimp a nice balance in textures.
Equipment
- cast iron plate or skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb 16/20 ct shrimp peeled and deveined; tail intact
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 head garlic peeled and minced
- 4 Thai chilies finely chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a sauté pan. Add the oil. Sauté the garlic and chilies for 2 minutes over medium high heat.
- Addin the bell peppers. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Add in the shrimp. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the cooking wine and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in the tomato sauce and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Transfer the shrimp to a hot cast iron skillet.
