My recipes
A whole Boston cream pie with pastry cream and a chocolate glaze.
Baking Molten Cakes

Boston cream pie bars

Prep 40 min Cook 25 min Total 3 hr Servings 12

By Lukasz Jagiello

Published Oct 12, 2026 · Updated Oct 12, 2026

Photo: GorillaWarfare, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Jump to recipe
About this recipe

I only post recipes that I have tried and verified and are good to my taste — all taste may vary.

The cream has to thicken until it bubbles, or it soaks the cake. Chilling the glaze until it sets is what lets you cut clean bars instead of a smear.

Ingredients

  • Cake
  • Pastry cream
  • Glaze

Method

  1. 01

    Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch pan and line the bottom with parchment.

  2. 02

    Whisk the flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Beat the 1/2 cup butter with 1 cup sugar until light. Beat in the 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Add the flour mixture and 1/2 cup milk in turns, and spread the batter in the pan.

  3. 03

    Bake 18 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan.

  4. 04

    For the cream, whisk 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the yolks in a saucepan. Whisk in 2 cups milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking, until the cream bubbles and turns thick, about 5 minutes. Take it off the heat, stir in 2 tablespoons butter and 2 teaspoons vanilla, and press plastic onto the surface. Cool until it is warm, not hot.

  5. 05

    Spread the cream over the cake. Chill 30 minutes.

  6. 06

    Heat the heavy cream until it steams, pour it over the chocolate, and stir until smooth. Spread the glaze over the cream. Chill at least 2 hours, until the glaze is set.

  7. 07

    Lift the sheet out with the parchment and cut it into bars.

Notes & swaps

  • The photograph is a whole Boston cream pie, the round cake these bars come from. The recipe is the sheet, so it travels in a tin.
  • The total time includes the chill. The oven is only about 20 minutes.

Related recipes