Bostini Cream Pie

Have I gotten myself into something that I can't handle? I don't know! We'll just have to wait and see. My mom asked me how I was going to do it. I told her, it's only once a month...surely I'll have time. But will I have time? Will I succeed? What am I rambling about...I've joined the Daring Bakers!!! For months I've been watching, enjoying the posts, and thinking that would be fun. So I finally joined. Another reason...they make things that I can make but never would without "having" to make it...so it's a challenge for myself! This month the challenge was given by Mary to make Bostini Cream Pies. Yes...Bostini! Basically, it's a Boston Cream Pie made with an orange chiffon cake and a true custard rather than just a cream...and it's set up a bit differently...custard on bottom, then cake, then chocolate. I made this for a get together with some friends from school. I don't really have any good ramekins that can be put in the oven, so I decided to make a large version of this. In the end, it turned out okay but my original plan didn't work. I wanted to let the custard set in a round cake pan, flip the pan over on a plate, and have the custard beautifully slip out onto the plate. Well...the slipping out was just a dream! I ended up scraping the custard out and spreading back into the proper shape on the plate. Then I topped it with my chiffon cake, which I thought turned out great. Everyone at the party enjoyed the cake. If you want to see some other entries drop by the Daring Bakers site. I ended up halving the recipe because I didn't check how much cream I needed and only had half...it worked fine! In fact, a whole recipe would have been WAY too much!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 (EDITED: vanilla extract is okay)

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 (or refrigerate and serve later).