If you love Boston Cream Pie nearly as much as I do, you’re going to go crazy for these totally amazing blondies!! I think I could’ve literally eaten the entire pan myself!
They start with a from scratch soft chewy brownie-like base, they’re then filled with an incredible homemade custard and are drizzled with a deliciously rich dark chocolate chocolate ganache!
I always kind of wondered about why we call it Boston Cream “Pie” since it’s not really a pie at all, it’s a cake! Either way, the flavors are amazing with delicious custard from scratch and chocolate.
When making the custard layer, you’re going to want to temper the egg yolks. It sounds like a fancy term but it’s actually really easy, it just means to bring the eggs up in temperature slowly so they don’t scramble.
If you’re a fan of Boston Cream Pie, you’ll want to check out my Boston Cream Pie Parfaits too… and they can be made two ways (from scratch or with a mix).
Note: All recipes on SpendWithPennies.com are tested and retested time and again. From time to time recipe improvements will be made and recipes will be modified. This recipe originally used a box mix in the base however to improve flavor this recipe has been updated with a scratch base.
Items You’ll Need For This Recipe
* 8×8 pan * chocolate chips *
Boston Cream Blondies
Ingredients
Blondie Base
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg room temperature
Custard
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar divided
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 egg yolks
- 4 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
Ganache
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8"×8" pan with foil or parchment paper.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
- Cream sugar, butter and vanilla. Add in egg. Stir in flour mixture. Press into prepared pan and bake 20-22 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.
CUSTARD
- Over medium heat, combine milk and 3 tablespoons sugar. Bring just to a boil.
- In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks with remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and vanilla. Add in cornstarch and stir until completely mixed and smooth.
- Slowly add 1 cup of the hot milk to the yolks and stir well. Pour the yolk mixture back into the pot and whisk continuously over medium heat until mixture thickens. Cool slightly in the pot for about 10 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Spread custard over prepared bottom and refrigerate until completely cooled. Once cooled, cut into squares.
GANACHE
- Bring heavy cream & corn syrup just to a boil in the microwave. Add chocolate chips and let sit 5 minutes without stirring. Whisk until completely smooth.
- Drizzle over squares and let cool. Refrigerate until serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
More Recipes You’ll Love
* Boston Cream Parfaits * Boston Cream Pie Cookies * Peanut Butter Chocolate Lasagna *
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I made these last minute for one of my kid’s therapists, because someone else was already making boston cream cake, and that was all I knew she liked. It turned out absolutely fantastic, with a few alterations. I’ve never made custard before and this was a very easy one to do! I doubled the ganache ingredients for flooding and instead of corn syrup used granulated sugar. (One of those, I went to the store to get all the stuff, I got home and realized my corn syrup was bad.) Which even with that it turned out great! Without having ever made it or anything like it before, I was able to get it done in one hour, which was absolutely perfect as a last minute thing! After licking my custard and ganache bowls, I’m going to make some more for myself later….!
That’s so great Jen! I am so happy it worked out for you!
Your Boston Cream Brownies look delicious.
Thanks Mary Anne!
Everything turned out great until I got to the ganache- I followed exactly but mine was completely runny/watery almost and impossible to drizzle. What’s the trick here to get it right?
Different types of chocolate may lead to different consistencies Joy. Perhaps try a different chocolate, or rewarm slightly and add more chocolate until you get the consistency you desire. I hope that helps!
Can I use vanilla pudding instead of the custard? I don’t have enough eggs and want to make it now!
I think it will have a slight change in flavor with the pudding, but I often make recipes to work with what I have on hand and sometimes discover something amazing that way. If you make it with pudding, please let us know how it tasted!!
You know, I’m not so sure this Pinterest is not going to be detrimental to mankind one day. First, I spend WAY too long on it some days. I swear hours can go by without me even realizing that much time has passed and then I find FAR too many creations, crafts, redecorating ideas, landscaping, and well you get the idea…..today I discovered these bars. Everyone in the family has always loved Boston Cream Pie but my dad and my brother have always been exceptionally fond of it. I hope to make these as a surprise treat and if they turn out well I’ll make them for other events. Being single and being Celiac I’m stuck as far as taste testing items. Every so often I lose my willpower and have a small amount of something but I don’t keep gluten items around just for this reason. I think both of them would prefer the ganache over the entire bar versus a drizzle. What I’m wondering is the recipe amount designed for the drizzle or the complete layer? If I make these will the recipe be enough or should I double the amount for the ganache to cover everything? thanks
I would suggest doubling the ganache if you’d like to cover the bars. I can’t wait to hear how they enjoy them!
You wrote:
“I always kind of wondered about why we call it Boston Cream ‘Pie’ since it’s not really a pie at all, it’s a cake!”
Wonder no more:
“The dessert acquired its name when cakes and pies were cooked in the same pans, and the words were used interchangeably. In the latter part of the 19th century, this type of cake was variously called a ‘cream pie’, a ‘chocolate cream pie’, or a ‘custard cake’.”
Thanks! That is pretty interesting.
Made this the other night, and OMG AMAZING. Sooooo good. I used a different reciepe for the ganache. 4oz of bakers chocolate and 3/4 cup of heavy cream. Will totally be making this again. Thanks so much for this recipe…..
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT
I”m so glad you loved this recipe Tannis!
Help!! Why is my custard rubber??
Oh no!! I’ve made this custard several times and the custard is definitely firmer than a typical custard (to hold its shape on the bars) but I haven’t had that problem. I can’t say for sure why yours didn’t work out.
Can you freeze?
I haven’t tried freezing this recipe before.
i like to bake from scratch and the recipe looks very good, my concern is that in the photograph it looks like there are a top and bottom of the brownie base. is this right or is it just brownie base-then custard base-then ganache? thankis diane
Just brownie, custard and ganache. :)
hi ,whats recipe for flooded top ?
To flood the top instead of drizzle, I use
9oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
Bring heavy cream just to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and do not stir. Let sit 5 minutes add butter and whisk until completely smooth. Pour over custard layer and let cool at room temperature 30 minutes. Refrigerate until serving.
These look delicious! I need to make these soon :)
those look yummy!!
Thank you for the lovely recipe. I love bars and especially this one.
Thank you Liz!
Did you recently update this recipe? When I first saved it, the blonde brownie layer called for a yellow cake mix, but now when I open up the link, the brownie layer changed to a “made from scratch” recipe. The amount of ingredients for the custard and ganache layers also changed. Not that I mind, but just making sure I’m not crazy! :) I will be making these today – probably going to double the recipe.
:) Yes April, this recipe was recently updated (which I have just added to the post). The original recipe called for a box of yellow cake mix mixed with eggs and oil as the base.
Based on reader feedback the recipe was reworked and retested to improve flavor and texture. This now includes a from scratch base with the same custard and topping as the original recipe. The amounts have been changed for a better ratio of base to custard! I hope you enjoy the new recipe!!
Do you think these are better with the ganache drizzle or the flooded top layer? I really like the classic Boston cream pie look with the flooded tops, but don’t want it to be overwhelming.
You can certainly flood the tops, they’re delicious that way too… just a little messier to eat! :)
I made these the other days. I do love chocolate, but the ganache is way too thick, my husband scrapped off as much as he could. The custard is really tasty. Not sure I’ll make again though, the yellow cake mix tasted kind of strong, sorry, I’m sure this all just personal preference and love the idea of these bars.
My custard layer looks yellow and in the picture it looks white. Did i do something wrong?
Not at all, it could be my lighting or even just the color of your egg yolks. :) Enjoy!
When I followed this recipe, 18-20 minutes in the oven wasn’t enough for the base. I followed the directions the way it said on the recipe. Is there any reason for that?
Mine worked perfectly in 18-20 minutes. The texture should still be soft, somewhat brownie like.
Hi Holly,I want to ask a question. What can be yellow cake mix replaced with? I live in Slovakia. These bars look very yummy, I’d like to try them. Thanks for your answer.
If you have a recipe for blondies, you could try that. It won’t exactly be the same flavor.
Lydia, this recipe was updated with a from scratch base! Enjoy!
I just wanted to verify that an 8×8 pan is correct…Normally a boxed cake mix will make a 13×9 size cake…Thanks!
It is correct. The base is more like a brownie texture rather than a fluffy cake so it doesn’t need as large a pan!
Will half and half cream also work in the bottom layer?
Yes it will work just fine!
This sounds delicious! I had a quick (and possibly dumb) question. For the “3 tablespoons cream” called for in the bottom layer, is that just heavy cream or something else? Thanks!!
Thank you! :)
I used light cream (around 10-12%) but either should work just fine.
Thank you!