October 28, 2007

The Pie That Eats Like a Cake

Feast your eyes on the Bostini Cream Pie, it’s just like its namesake the Boston Cream Pie, in that there’s nothing pie-like about it. It’s cake all the way. I happen to like cake better than pie anyways so I’m quite alright with this misnamed dessert. It wasn’t something I discovered on my own though, up until a month ago I had never heard of it. But then Mary of Alpineberry announced that this would be the challenge for the October edition of the Daring Bakers. It was then that I learned that the Bostini is a dessert composed of a layer of vanilla custard topped with orange chiffon cake and draped in a chocolate glaze.

This was the first time that I’ve made a chiffon cake that has turned out the way it’s supposed to and that would be thanks to the advice of some of my fellow Daring Bakers. Chiffon cakes call for whipped egg whites to be folded into the batter of the cake and egg whites are traditionally my downfall, (I blame them for my inability to make macarons). I either over whip them or under whip them or fold them too much or not enough… there’s always something wrong with the final product when I have to deal with whipped egg whites. But not this time and that’s because I took the advice of the Daring Bakers, (this was not in the recipe) regarding the process of combing egg whites and batter. Under their direction, I sacrificed some of my whipped egg whites and mixed them into the batter with reckless abandonment, before gently folding in the remaining whites and I think that’s what made the difference. My chiffon cakes, (which I baked in muffin cups) came out light and airy, just the way they should be. Who knows, after this success I might try my hand at macarons again.

To see hundreds of other Bostini Cream Pies, check out the Daring Bakers Blog Roll which is boiling over with members faster than an unwatched pot of cream on the stove. If you want to undertake this challenge yourself, visit Mary’s blog for the recipe.



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86 comments:

Julius said...

I love all the playful chocolate dots! Your plating is a beauty. :)

Please feel free to check out my bostini here.

Julius

Lis said...

I did the muffin tin too - and 2 mini cake pans I just bought last week. The "muffcakes" were the perfect size for snackin'!

Love the dots too! Beauteous plate!

xoxo

Anh said...

So lovely! And your custard sets so well. Mine is not as firm I think!

Elle said...

Your presentation is, as usual, just delightful! Congrats on the cake...and yes, do try the macrons again...if you want to. Bet they will be lovely and rounded with cute 'feet'.

Belinda said...

Gorgeous, Brilynn! Your Bostinis would be right at home in the most fancy of restaurants. Super job! :-)

kellypea said...

Congrats on your chiffon turning out! Funny -- I made some chocolate dots on mine, too.

steph- whisk/spoon said...

tall and beautiful! congrats on showing those egg whites who's boss!

glamah16 said...

See practice makes perefect with the egg whites. I love your chocolate dots. Great photo.

Gigi said...

I love the way you plated your Bostini. As always you do such great job with all your desserts :)

Anne said...

The chocolate around the bostini made it even look so decadent. LOve the presentation :)

Alice Q. Foodie said...

Hi Bri - looks like your custard came out nice and thick - looks great!

Karen Baking Soda said...

Don't you just love the advice you can get at this wonderful group? Well done! Goooo Egg whites!

K and S said...

your version is so cool! love all the chocolate dots all around it!

Anne said...

Great job as always! I love the chocolate dots as well, and you were very brave to unmold the custard! :)

Anonymous said...

The idea of folding eggwhite into the cake batter is scary and that's the reason why I've never attempt any chiffon cakes because of my fear of failing. lol

But your pie/cake looks so gorgeous, can I have one please?

Pille said...

Lovely chocolate dots indeed! I'm amazed how different our custards looks (not just you and me, but all participating daring bakers) - mine was much, much thinner than yours!?

Ilva said...

How did you manage to make your custard set so nicely? I had to freeze mine to make a photo!

Anonymous said...

What a fun challenge for this month! Your bostini came out beautifully, and how incredibly rich does that custard look?! Nice work!

Michelle said...

Your Bostini looks amazing! The presentation is awesome. I need to learn how to do that.

Can't wait to see your next months recipe.

Anonymous said...

fantastic brilynn! How come your custard set? I'm so jealous!

Annemarie said...

Congrats on being all light and chiffony. I love your little speckles of chocolate glaze - so pretty that it might keep you from piling on more calories by ruining the effect and lapping up all the blobs of chocolate!

Laura said...

I did muffin babycakes too, I love how beautifully you plated those up and well done on beating (many apologies for the half-assed pun) your egg white demons!

Jenny said...

Yeah! Congrats on the chiffon cake! Now you go conquer those macaroons and make us proud!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Lovely plating and photography. You are truly a daring baker!

Megan said...

I love your pictures.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Wow, yes you've got the egg whites moves now Brilynn. Great Bostini!
You are so right with that "unwatched pot of cream on the stove."

David T. Macknet said...

OK, now how in the world did you get your custard to be so stiff? I think that everybody had to go with glasses & things because there was no hope for the custard being stable ... and you go and pull it off!

Beautiful.

Anonymous said...

mmmm that custard looks out of this world!

Anonymous said...

Lovely presentation!

Anonymous said...

I love the way you presented your Bostini! It truly looks like a work of art.

www.chocolateshavings.ca

Unknown said...

I love what you did to the chocolate on the plate! So artistic!

Anonymous said...

wonderful presentation, Brilynn. And I´m glad you got the egg white folding method down, I don´t even think about it much because they´ve wired that method in my brain from countless cooking shows.

Laura Rebecca said...

I have tons of problems with egg whites, too. I'm glad your bostinis came out so beautifully!

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Beautiful presentation. I don't think my custard would have set, not even if I'd put it in the freezer!

Simona Carini said...

Those choco-dots are really a nice touch! I am glad you got over the egg white bump.

Shandy said...

This is such a pretty idea Brilynn, with the chocolate dots on the plate wrapped around the Bostini Cream Pie! Yum! When something goes well, it is infectious with wanting to start another project that was difficult in the past. I bet your macaroons will come out great now! Especially with the extra practice on the egg whites with this dessert =D

Shandy (Pastry Heaven)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful Brilynn! I too love the dots.......and the nice firm pastry cream!
xoxo

Elisabeth said...

What a good idea to use muffin cups. I liked how you put chocolate dots around your pie. Very nice!

Nabeela said...

Love the dessert!

Katie said...

I love your chocolate drizzle dots around the edge. They really make it look stylish

Kelly-Jane said...

I love your first picture! It was my first chiffon cake too, and the texture and taste was great, well done =)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the chiffon success! Don't you love getting a new technique under your belt? It looks wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Your custard looks better than most :)

Anita said...

Fabulous, Brilynn! I love your presentation! And it looks like the cake came out perfect!

Brittany said...

beautiful presentation! Th chocolate sauce looks so sexy!!

broadcasting from a knitting parlour said...

Oooh, doesn't your chocolate look just perfect? Mmm. And what glorious rich looking custard! Mine was so pale in comparison! Yum.

Alpineberry Mary said...

I'm so glad that you've conquered chiffon cakes. Your plating is really fun and pretty!

slush said...

Beautiful! And Im envious that you have even attempted macaroons!!

Unknown said...

Great presentation! I think my egg whites whipped up better than I've ever whipped egg whites before!

Unknown said...

your cake does look great, i should have followed the instructions you had, love the custard it looks great.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! Beautiful! Just beautiful! I too want to know why a cake is called a pie ... but who am I to question???

eatme_delicious said...

I love the little dots of chocolate! And the glaze looks perfectly draped over the cake. I didn't know that about stirring some of the whipped egg whites into the batter - something to keep in mind for next time!

Andrea said...

What a fun presentation! I love the dribbles and dots on the plate, and your cake looks like it rose perfectly! I forgot about that little egg white tip when I made mine, and I'm sure it would have made all the difference.

the chocolate doctor מרת שאקאלאד said...

oh! very nicely done! Sweet little dots.

breadchick said...

Bri, I always love coming here and seeing what you did with our challenge for the month! Great job as usual and such yummy looking cake...

cupcaketastic said...

These look fabulous, I am loving the shin on your glaze and the texture of your custard. All this reading is making me want one again.

Anonymous said...

I am so with you on the chiffon cakes and egg whites...these have always been my downfall as well! I have taken sue note of the advice you have here though for next time :) Your Bostini looks gorgeous...so beautifully plated!

The Caked Crusader said...

What fabulous presentation and photos. I'm typing this at 9.20am and suddenly feel very hungry!!!

Truffle said...

What elegant plating. Those dots are a fabulous touch!

Lindsay Blau Portnoy said...

loved the muffins, loved the plating. i can see that you had fun with this one!

Anonymous said...

So cute! I love the presentation. Makes me want to lick the plate! lol!

Jen Yu said...

Those look like some awfully perfect chiffon cakes, Brilynn! Just gorgeous. You're fast becoming a pro :) Congrats on the bostini.

jen at use real butter

Sheltie Girl said...

You did a wonderful job on your bostini. I love all the drizzles of chocolate...it was actually my favorite part of the dessert.

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

Deborah said...

Your plating is wonderful!! And I'm so glad your cake turned out and you will no longer be afraid of egg whites!!

Madeleine said...

Wonderful job! It looks very lovely, my custard not set so firm like yours....

thepassionatecook said...

the muffin tin idea is great! might try this next time, although my spoons turned out real nice as well. i do think smaller portions like ours lend themselves very well for bostini pie, otherwise it'd be to overwhelming. well done!

Dagmar said...

Beautiful plating, I love the dots!

Amy said...

Your custard turned out so beautifully creamy and thick. And the cake looks superb! I definitely think you should give macarons another go. Egg whites are my downfall too.

Anonymous said...

Very pretty...you created a true chocolate feast ;) And your custard looks so firm!

Christine said...

Your custard set up wonderfully! Great job.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Wow, it looks amazing! I love those pretty little dots. Your presentation is wonderful! I also used a muffin pan...

Cheers,

Rosa

test it comm said...

Nice presentation/photos!

kitten said...

gorgeous, just gorgeous. I too took the advice from our fellow DBer's about sacrificing a 1/3 of the whipped egg whites to mix in before folding in the rest. great job !!

iCook2live said...

I wish I had read some of the egg white incorporation suggestions, my cake might have been better. Great job.

Helene said...

You did a beautiful job! I went all out and covered my rounds with chocolate (go big!!). Mouth watering shots!!

marias23 said...

Love your presentation. J'adore!

Stephanie said...

Your plating came out so pretty!! I find pastry cream so gloppy, I was content to pour it over & be done with it. Very nice.

sher said...

Divinely beautiful!

Julie said...

That is so cute! The dots are a lot of fun!

Katie B. said...

Great presentation - its like a chocolate rainstorm passed through!!! :)

Peabody said...

Glad you had a successful chiffon cake this time around!

Paul said...

I must say, your "Bostini" is the prettiest one I have seen so far! X

Jeanne said...

OMG I LOVE your pictures! Have had a look at quite a few of the Bostini cream pies and these are my favourite pictures so far. Very impressed with your daring baking :)

Inne said...

Great looking Bostini, Brilynn. Bring on those macarons!

Dolores said...

I spent all month wondering what you were going to do with this month's challenge. I'm glad you were able to make the egg whites behave this go-round -- that was also one of my favorite pieces of advice. Beautiful presentation, as always!

LizG said...

Fantastic plating and photography, Brilynn! Well done.