Boston Cream Pie Cupcake

This cupcake was awesome. I found this recipe on That Skinny Chick Can Bake and that recipe was adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.  I used the cupcake and ganache recipe from that site but I used my own pastry cream recipe because I've had such great success with it and didn't want to try anything else when I already love my pastry cream.  My husband felt there wasn't enough pastry cream in the middle so I had to drizzle it on top too.  

Cupcakes:

6 tablespoons butter, plus more to grease the cupcake tins

1 1/2 cups flour, plus more to dust the cupcake tins

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease cupcake tins (makes about 20 cupcakes), then dust with flour.  Set aside.

Cut butter into tablespoon sized pieces.  Heat butter and milk in microwave till butter is melted. Set aside.

In electric mixer, whip sugar and eggs on high till fluffy and pale yellow, and thick enough to form a ribbon when mixture drips off whisk attachment...about 5 minutes.  Reduce speed to medium and add baking powder, salt, then slowly add flour.  Mix only till just incorporated.

With mixer on low speed, slowly add milk and butter mixture.  Mix just till smooth.  Add vanilla and mix just till incorporated.

Divide batter into the 20 cupcake slots...about halfway full.  Bake, rotating halfway through if needed (check to see if baking evenly), for about 15 minutes.  Check by gently pressing center of cupcakes with finger...if done, the cake will spring back immediately.

To serve, either cut out a part of the center to fill with pastry cream and replace top on hole or cut cupcakes carefully in half with serrated knife, top bottom half with about one tablespoon of pastry cream, add top half and drizzle with ganache.

Pastry Cream:

2 c. half-and-half
1/2 c. sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
3 tbsp. cornstarch
4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat half-and-half, 6 tbsp. sugar and salt in saucepan over medium heat until simmering and sugar is dissolved.  Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl until combined.  Whisk in the remaining 2 tbsp. sugar until thick and creamy about 30 seconds.  Whisk in the cornstarch until pale yellow, about 30 seconds. Gradually whisk the half-and-half mixture into the yolk mixture to temper.  Be VERY slow so you don't scramble your eggs.  Return the entire mixture to the saucepan scraping bowl with spatula and return to a simmer over medium heat whisking constantly until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened and glossy, like a pudding.  Off the heat whisk in the butter and vanilla.  Strain through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl.  Press plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until set and cold which is at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.    

Chocolate Ganache:

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon light corn syrup (or honey)

Heat cream and corn syrup in microwave till hot.  Add chopped chocolate, and let stand till chocolate starts to melt.  Stir until smooth.