Boston Cream Pie Cheesecake
ShareBoston cream pie meets cheesecake in this layered dessert, featuring two layers of moist yellow cake, cheesecake and pastry cream, topped off with a silky chocolate ganache. A must make for Boston cream pie fans!
…cake. Yes. I went there.
When my mom’s birthday was approaching, I got to thinking about how fun it’d be to make another Boston cream pie dessert. It’s her favorite donut so a few years back I whipped up some simple and fairly mess free Boston cream pie cupcakes.
I searched for a recipe and came up empty handed. Sure there are recipes out there but not for the style I wanted. I didn’t just want a cheesecake with a chocolate ganache topping because that is in no way a Boston cream pie cheesecake. It’s cheesecake and chocolate! It at the very least needed pastry cream because next to the chocolate, the pastry cream is essential.
After some planning and a bit of research, I pulled together a tasty recipe. The only issues I faced were that for some reason, even though the same pan was used, my cheesecake turned out larger than my cake. I ended up having to trim away the edge during the stacking process. Not a big deal really, but be prepared for that. The kids enjoyed snagging the scraps anyway so I guess it was a win for them.
Secondly, it’s not a smooth and pretty outside edge because of the various items stacked. You could easily fix this by using a dark chocolate frosting instead of a ganache but honestly, once you take a bite of this… you won’t care what the outside edge looks like. Just look at the inside! The inside is absolutely what matters.
Layers of moist yellow cake, cheesecake and pastry cream topped off with a silky chocolate ganache.
Make this and be sure to share it with your favorite people. They’ll thank you.
*Please note: This recipe does take more time than the average cake or cheesecake recipe. The yellow cake ingredients have been cut in half to create a single 9″ cake. The cake will be sliced in half for layering. Also, I used Bake Even Strips by Wilton for both the cake and cheesecake to create a flat top.
Boston Cream Pie Cheesecake-cake
Ingredients
Cheesecake ingredients:
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- 2/3 C granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 C sour cream
Pastry cream ingredients:
- 1 C milk
- 1/4 C granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/8 tsp salt
Yellow cake ingredients:
- 3/4 C granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp butter softened
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 C cake flour
- 3/4 tsp tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 C buttermilk
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Chocolate ganache ingredients:
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
- 3/4 C heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
Cheesecake
- Preheat oven to 325F°. Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper to fit inside of a 9-inch round cake pan. Lightly grease the sides and bottom of your pan. Place one round in the bottom, set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream softened cream cheese and granulated sugar. Add salt, vanilla and sour cream, beating until nearly combined. Add eggs and mix until no streaks remain. Poor batter into prepared cake pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes (with bake even strips attached if desired). Turn off the oven after 45 minutes, leaving cheesecake in to rest for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cool on a wire rack for several hours prior to transferring to the fridge to chill until fully set, or overnight.
- When cheesecake is completely chilled, carefully remove to a large platter or cutting board lined with parchment paper. Return to the fridge.
Pastry Cream
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook milk and 2 tbsp sugar. When sugar has dissolved, add flour and salt. Bring to a low boil. In a small bowl, combine yolks and remaining 2 tbsp sugar. While whisking eggs, in a slow and steady stream add some of the hot milk to the eggs. Return mixture to pan and return pan to heat. Boil for 1 minute, stirring continuously. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Stir until completely incorporated. Transfer to a small bowl. Tightly cover with plastic wrap pressed into the custard surface, to prevent a crust. Cool to room temperature prior to chilling in the fridge.
Cake
- Clean and prepare 9-inch round cake pan, as done previously. Preheat oven to 350F°.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. With mixer on low, add half of the dry ingredients followed by the oil and half of the buttermilk, repeat with remaining ingredients. Transfer to prepared cake pan. For a level top, wrap pan with 1 soaked bake even strip. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until cake is golden and a cake tester comes out clean.
- Allow cake to rest in pan for 5-10 minutes prior to inverting cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Layer cake
- Slice cake in half, to create two rounds. Place one half on your desired surface. Top off with cheesecake layer, trim edges if needed. Spread entire bowl of custard on top of cheesecake. Carefully place remaining cake half on top of the pastry cream. Set aside.
Ganache
- Add chocolate to a medium bowl, set aside. Heat cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, bring to a low boil. Pour warm cream mixture over chocolate. Stir gently until completely smooth.
- Slowly pour ganache over the top cake layer, allowing it to drip down the sides. Even out with an offset spatula. Use as much or as little ganache as desired.
- If eating within 24 hours, cheesecake-cake may be covered and left out at room temperature, any longer and it should be refrigerated.
Notes
Items used in this recipe:
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I am obsessed with this cake! Seriously, obsessed. That picture is just so sinful! It looks so rich and delicious. Like I could eat the entire cake myself then feel guilty about it after…
Your mom is one lucky lady! I want this for my birthday! I think I may need to check out those cupcakes for a quick Boston cream pie fix.
Oh holy moly, this looks amazing! I haven’t had a proper boston cream pie in any form since i left new england, so i’m jonesing for a slice of this right now. beautiful!
Gorgeous! This cake looks like a real treat. :)
OH MY… Seeing this at 8 in the morning was just the thing I needed! If there was ever a way to my heart, this cheesecake would be it. I need to make this!
You weren’t lying about needing stretchy pants!
I wish I could just reach into the computer and pull out a slice of this cake. It looks delicious!
Mercy! What a perfect cheesecake!
Oh my goodness, this is SOOOO sinful! I love it!!!
That chocolate really melts in my mouth and I want it now…literally! That looks so great and what a nice idea for a birthday cake.
Wow – great minds thing alike! I made a Boston cream pie cheesecake cake back in August. Haven’t gotten around to posting it yet…
What a good looking cake! I want a small slice of it right now, for my lunch!
this looks so pretty and perfect! so those baking strips really do work, huh? i need to get myself some cause i want to make another cake soon! how “fool-proof” is the pastry cream? i’m making something involved with that soon and the process sounds…difficult lol and i really don’t want to mess it up!
They really do! I first used them for 5yo’s cake and was wowed. Definitely a must buy if you make cakes at all… even just occasionally! As for the pastry cream. It’s pretty easy. I’ve made it a few times without issue.
This is so much more appealing than plain old boston cream pie! And I bet that ganache on the outside is delicious!!
Your mom could possibly request this for every one of her birthdays! That ganache looks amazing. A few extra steps to create this cake but it certainly looks worth all the effort.
What a great idea! It’s beautiful!
All I can say is WOW!
That looks heavenly! On this week’s Cook’s Illustrated free e-newletter, they included a recipe for a Boston Cream Cake that has their usual successful tips.
What an awesome idea to combine two delicious desserts into one! Looks amazing!
My goodness, what a stunning cake.
This cake looks positively scrumptious! I love both Boston cream pie (and the donuts) and cheesecake, and combining those two is really a great idea.
Oh my goodness! This looks decadent and sinful, and I love it!!
I NEED this!!!
That looks really beautiful!
Oh wow this looks awesome. My husband loves boston creme pie so I know he would love this.
That looks like it could soon be my favorite thing…
OMG. This sounds so amazing. I have to admit that I have never had Boston Cream Pie though. AND I work across the street from the originator. what is wrong with me???
Perfect. This cake is exactly what I was looking for as an after piece for my easter party.
Enjoy! :)
I just made this for my boyfriend’s birthday since both Boston cream pie and cheesecake are his favorites. It was a hit!! Thank you so much for the recipe,
Just one question, is the cake usually a little soft? I’m wondering if I didn’t add quite enough flour or something, because it was soft and a little sticky. No big deal though, it was still delicious!!
Having just moved to southern NH myself, I’m excited to see someone baking from there!!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! I don’t recall how sticky the exterior of the cake was, it’s been a while since making it. Slight tackiness is okay. As long as it’s cooked through I wouldn’t worry about it. :)
How do you get the cheesecake out of the cake pan? Can you use a springform pan?
Cake pans are used for this recipe so the sizes are the same. If a cake pan and a springform pan are used, the sizes will not be the same. Parchment paper is used on the bottom of the pan for both the cake and cheesecake. It comes out of the pan easily. Good luck!
This looks delicious! My son loves Boston Cream Pie, so decided to give it a try. Have made it, but not yet served it LOL. I have two suggestions. First, the pastry cream instructions do not state when to add the vanilla. I assumed when the butter was added, so that is what I did. You might want to edit the instructions. Also, for the ganache, you say to put the cream in a bowl and set aside, I believe you meant chocolate. I also want to THANK YOU for the suggestion on the bake even strip. Loved it!
Thanks for catching those tiny errors! I hope everyone enjoyed the cake!