Boston Cream Cupcakes

Boston cream pie is a classic chocolate and vanilla dessert, but it isn’t actually a pie. A traditional Boston cream pie is made with layers of vanilla cake sandwiching vanilla custard and topped with a thick chocolate glaze or ganache that droops over the sides but doesn’t completely cover the cake. These Boston cream cupcakes capture the same flavors and textures but in an individual size that makes them easier to bake and serve.

This small-batch recipe makes six cupcakes filled with prepared vanilla pudding and topped with a two-ingredient chocolate ganache. If you need more cupcakes, doubling the recipe is straightforward, or you could consult our cooking measurement conversion chart to ensure your kitchen math is right. These Boston cream pie cupcakes are perfect for when you need a quick and easy dessert that’s still sure to impress.

Boston Cream Cupcake Ingredients

• Shortening
• Sugar
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Milk
• Prepared vanilla pudding
• Semisweet chocolate chips
• Heavy whipping cream

Directions

Step 1: Make the cake batter

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, cream the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, five to seven minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk, beating well after each addition.

Step 2: Bake the cupcakes

Fill six paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 3: Fill the cupcakes

Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry bag. Insert a small tip and fill the bag with pudding. Push the tip through the top to fill each cupcake with pudding.

Editor’s Tip: You can also scoop out a bit of cake from the center of the cupcakes with a spoon or melon baller before filling for a thicker pudding middle.

Step 4: Make the ganache

Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream just to a boil.

Pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, until the ganache thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

Step 5: Top the cupcakes

Dip the cupcakes in the chocolate or spoon the chocolate over the cupcakes. Let stand until it sets. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

How to Store Boston Cream Cupcakes

Store filled and frosted Boston cream pie cupcakes in the refrigerator in an airtight food storage container. They will last for three to four days. For longer storage, freeze the baked cupcakes for up to eight months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then fill with pudding and top with chocolate ganache before serving.

Can you make Boston cream cupcakes ahead of time?

For the best texture, fill and top the cupcakes the day you plan to serve them. However, you can bake the cupcakes ahead of time and make and refrigerate the pudding. Then, you will be ready to assemble your cupcakes when needed. Since the ganache needs to be thick and fluid, make it before filling the cupcakes so it has time to cool to the correct consistency.

Boston Cream Cupcake Tips

Can you make Boston cream cupcakes with a boxed mix?

While this recipe starts with one of our best vanilla cupcake recipes, you can shortcut things with a boxed mix. Use the best yellow cake mix or your favorite vanilla mix and bake as the label directs. You will have more than six cupcakes, so you can make more filling and ganache or freeze the extras for a future treat. You could also give the dessert a bolder chocolate taste by starting with a devil’s food cake mix.

What’s the best vanilla pudding to make for Boston cream pie cupcakes?

This recipe calls for prepared vanilla pudding, so you have a few options. You can buy already-made pudding, cook vanilla pudding from scratch, or whisk together milk and a box of instant pudding mix until thick. To intensify the vanilla flavor, add some vanilla bean paste or more extract to the pudding.

How do you fill Boston cream cupcakes?

This recipe calls for using a pastry bag and piping tip to squeeze the pudding into the center of the cupcakes, but there are other methods you can use that may be easier or allow for a bigger pudding middle. A cupcake corer is a small tool, similar to an apple corer, that removes the center of a cupcake so you can spoon the filling into the hole. If you don’t have a corer, you can use a small knife or a melon baller. Gently press the removed cupcake over the pudding before topping with the ganache.