These are my favorite cupcakes—and you can make them a batch of 18 in 15 minutes prep time, about 30 minutes elapsed time with baking.
Boston cream pie cupcakes are made with a vanilla bean cake mix, filled with Bavarian cream, and topped with chocolate ganache. Here’s how to make them with step-by-step pictures.
Step 1: Bake the Cupcakes
- Mix the batter as directed on the cake mix package. We used our vanilla bean cake mix and our stand-type mixer.
- While the cake was mixing, we put paper liners in two standard muffin pans. We also used this time to assemble the ingredients for the chocolate ganache: chocolate, butter, and cream.
- Use a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop, to fill the cupcake liners. Fill the scoop about 3/4 full. The scoop will give you uniform cupcakes and the slide action will cleanly discharge the batter.
- Bake the cupcakes per package instructions. In our oven, the cupcakes were baked in 16 minutes.
Step 2: Filling the Cupcakes
For this step, you will need a package of premade Bavarian cream pastry filling. It comes in a two-pound plastic tube with tapered ends. Clip the end so that you have an opening of about 1/4 inch.
Holding a cupcake in the palm of your hand, stick the open end of the tube through the top of the cupcake. Gently squeeze the tube forcing Bavarian cream into the cupcake. You will feel the cupcake expand as it is filled. Repeat with all 18 cupcakes.
Step 3: Topping with Ganache
Ganache is a very simple but very scrumptious mixture of chocolate, butter, and cream. Be sure to use fine quality dark chocolate.
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces dark chocolate wafers or equal
- 4 tablespoons butter
Directions
- Place the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat slowly in the microwave stopping to stir a couple of times until just melted.
- Stir until smooth. Add the cream and stir.
- Carefully reheat just as necessary and stir until the ganache is smooth.
The ganache should be thick enough that you will have a heavy coating of ganache to top the cupcakes. If it is too thin, let it cool for a moment. You can adjust the thickness by heating or cooling your ganache.
Dip each cupcake in the ganache. If the coating is too thin, let the ganache cool or double dip, waiting a second or two between dips. Set aside.
You will have some leftover ganache. Store in the refrigerator to use later as an ice cream topping or as frosting for cookies.
What You’ll Need
You’ll have most of what you need in your kitchen or can pick up at your local grocery store. You will need:
- Two good quality muffin pans so that you can bake all 18 cupcakes at once. (Place both pans side-by-side on the same rack two-thirds up in the oven)
- Cupcake liners
- A 1/4 cup slide action ice cream scoop
- Premade Bavarian cream pastry filling
- Good quality chocolate. We used our dark chocolate wafers
