Putting together the pieces

This month, the cooking and eating routines to which I cling when all else turns helter-skelter fell apart and scattered. I'm eating olives for lunch, salted popcorn for dinner, and, owing to a glut of apples in my CSA farmbox, lots...


and lots...


... of apple pie.


I love a good, simple pie, and this is an excellent recipe for just such a thing. My trust in Ms. Stewart's pastries continues to grow, but my taste for good, simple apple pie is now on the wane. The fourth pie in four weeks did it. I suppose I have nothing to blame other than my own lack of improvisation in the apple recipe category. I did make a whole pot of apple chutney, but that was about all I could muster. October has not been a month for cooking. And now, while my ramshackle diet could certainly use a daily apple to keep the doctor away, I'm foisting bags of them on my neighbors.

It seems like more than a stroke of good fortune that in this time of culinary stagnation, I stumbled upon a lively bunch of cooking and blogging adventurers. The Daring Bakers took me in, and I hope they'll keep me. This month's secret challenge recipe, chosen by Mary of Alpineberry, helped me break out of the October apple funk. Let me introduce you to the Bostoni Cream Pie.

Borrowing its name from its larger, more popular cousin, the Boston Cream Pie, these little desserts are testimonies to the good things that come when a tried and true dessert is taken apart, shaken up a bit, and put back together. Rounds of orange-chiffon cake rest on a bed of vanilla custard, and, on top, a slick of dark chocolate. The result is rich (count those eggs!), and sweet, and--as triple layered desserts often are--a tad fancy.

When I received my October baking mission, I was relieved to find that this pie had been denuded of its crust, but despite all those apple pies, I missed it. And, while I appreciated the sophisticated pairing of citrus and chocolate, the chiffon cake was a tad too orange-y for me. Having sworn to stick strictly to the recipe (this being a part of the Daring Bakers' canon), I'll tweak future incarnations accordingly.

The best part about the Bostoni cream pie is that I would never have made one without the enthusiasm of a gaggle of other bakers whisking, stirring, and assembling along with me. I'm a day late posting my results (Mea culpa Daring Bakers!!!), but I'm hoping for a touch of mercy from the veterans.

Bostini Cream Pie
(from Donna Scala & Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni and Scala's Bistro)
Makes 8 generous servings


Ingredients:

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
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

Chiffon Cake

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

8 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate
8 ounces unsalted butter

Instructions

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.

To prepare the chiffon cakes:

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.