We are covering U.S. regional cuisines in a culinary class I’m taking and talked about the popularity of Boston Cream Pie in New England— which promptly made me want to eat one. I also wanted to spend a school night doing anything but homework. The result? These adorable mini cupcakes!

Ingredients

Vanilla Cupcakes (I used this recipe)

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Vanilla Pastry Cream (modified from this recipe)

• 1 cup milk
• 3 tbsp sugar
• small pinch salt
• 1 ½  tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ egg yolks
• 1 ½ tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Chocolate Ganache

• ½ cup dark chocolate chips
• splash water

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Cupcakes…

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray the cups of a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray (or line with paper liners).
2. For the cupcakes, whisk together all of the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder). Then cream the butter and sugar until light and aerated. Beat in the eggs.
3. Add the dry ingredients and milk to the butter-sugar mixture. Alternate starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir in vanilla extract.
4. Spoon into prepared pan, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until risen and golden brown. Cool fully on a wire rack.

1. While the cupcakes bake, prepare the pastry cream. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the milk to almost simmering. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks, cornstarch, sugar, and vanilla.
2. Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly until combined. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until boiling and a few minutes after. It should have the consistency of pudding.
3. Remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring to melt. Place the pastry cream into a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cooled fully.
4. Create a hollow in the middle of each cooled cupcake (I used a large piping tip). Then, pipe in the pastry cream, filling the cupcake and smoothing any excess off the top.
5. Microwave the chocolate and water in 30-second intervals until fully melted. Let cool slightly, then dip the top of each cupcake into the ganache. Let sit at room temperature until ganache is fully set.
6. Enjoy!