Like many East Coast families, ours had ties to New England, which my grandparents often referred to as the “Boston States.” My mum still remembers her long car rides from Nova Scotia to Massachusetts with her parents. She would stretch out in the back seat of her dad’s sedan, munching potato chips and napping away the hours on bumpy, twisting roads long before divided highways. Her aunt, uncle, and cousins would make return visits north of the border, a tradition that continued for many years, and a connection the next generation still maintains.
Boston Cream Pie was part of my grandmother’s dessert repertoire, usually reserved for a “fancier” dinner like New Year’s Day, but it was a treat I always associated with our cousins in the States. I’m not sure if she had a recipe passed along to her or if she simply used her own sponge cake and vanilla custard method beneath a glossy chocolate glaze, but it was always one of my favourites.
It’s been years since I’ve made the dessert for my own family, but with one of our Nova Scotian Christmas trees making its way over the border this November for the annual Boston tree lighting, I can’t help but think of that connection once again. Just as the tree symbolizes friendship between our regions, Boston Cream Pie feels like a little slice of my family’s own history.
Pie or cake?
Despite its name, Boston Cream Pie is actually a cake, with layers of airy sponge filled with pastry cream and topped with chocolate. The dessert was first created at the Parker House Hotel in Boston in the mid-19th century. At the time, “pie” and “cake” were often interchangeable terms, and the name stuck. In 1996, the state government declared it the official dessert of Massachusetts.
Recipe