If you have a "cake occasion" coming up, we recommend pie. Of course the Boston Cream Pie from Flour Bakery is more of a cake than a pie. And, unlike so many special occasion cakes, it has more than good looks, it's absolutely delicious!
We met this luscious creation at a friend's celebration of the completion of his PhD at MIT. Some of the same people were coming here for the fireworks on July 4th.
Ed had the task of choosing a cake for our guests to enjoy after the fireworks while the crowds cleared out of our neighborhood. He reviewed the Flour menu and asked if we could order a smaller version of the same cake.
We emailed our friends asking, "Don't you hate it when someone copies your great ideas?" No, they didn't. They were happy to have another round of this dessert. Ours was the long bar cake that serves 10-12 people. It fit in our small refrigerator, box and all. Looks like the crew at Flour thought of this detail.
Flour's description of this cake is, "sponge cake, vanilla cream, coffee syrup, chocolate ganache." We say it is a cross between a typical Boston Cream Pie and Tiramisu. It's lighter than either and wonderfully moist. Your guests WILL go back for seconds!
It has just enough of each of the elements. The ganache coating adds a nice hit of chocolate without overwhelming the lovely sponge cake. There is just enough coffee to know it is there and the vanilla cream is fluffy and light.
We picked it up the July 3rd and it was still wonderful last night.
To learn more about how Joanne Chang and crew create the lovely balance in a product like this, we suggest reading, Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 Penny Cherubino
