Bewitching in dark or milk chocolate. Photo courtesy Li-Lac Chocolates.

We’ve been looking around, and think we’ve found the best chocolate witch for Halloween. Eight inches tall and weighing in at 14 ounces of solid chocolate, the Big Halloween Witch from Li-Lac Chocolates is our favorite this season.

There are many nifty chocolate molds around, but we like the garments and expression of this particular paranormal practitioner of magic. With her crooked smile, flowing robe and pointed hat, carrying her broomstick and jack-o’-lantern, she’s almost too cool to eat.

The chocolate witch is made fresh to order in milk or dark chocolate, and is certified kosher (dairy) by OU.

Get yours at Li-LacChocolates.com, or at the company’s retail stores in New York City.

The 90-year-old chocolatier has been delighting New Yorkers for generations. We love to sneak in for a bite; or, in the case of this witch, many bites.

“Guising” traditions began as a Christian practice in the Middle Ages, when children and sometimes poor adults would dress up in the costumes and go around door to door during Hallowmas (All Saints Day, November 1st, the day after Halloween). They begged for food or money in exchange for songs and prayers for the dead (the latter called “souling”).

That tradition was ported to the U.S., with children going door to door for treats in exchange for reciting a poem or singing a song. Bonfires, a European tradition on All Hallows Eve (Halloween), were also held.
 
The night before Halloween came to be called Mischief Night, when the neighborhood youth would sow some wild oats. Front gates were removed, windows were soaped and outhouses were tipped over [source].

The term “trick or treat” didn’t emerge until the 1920s. The first printed reference is found in a newspaper from 1927 [source].

While today the “trick” portion of trick-or-treat is usually an idle threat, it began with youthful participants who insistently rang doorbells and promised worse (knocking over trash cans, sticking a pin in the bell so keep it ringing, papering the house) if they did not get a treat. The residents paid the price in candy or other treats, and the costumed visitors went on to the next house.

Individual trick-or-treating evolved in some locales in the 1960s and 1970s, into community events for the whole family, house parties for kids, and other activities that circumvented the need to send children to strange houses (and the reverse, to avoid having to opening one’s door to strangers).

For hundreds of years, Halloween came and went with no candy! Costumed children going door-to-door received everything from homemade cookies and cake to fruit, nuts, coins and toys.

It wasn’t until the 1950s that candy manufacturers began to promote their products for Halloween.

In the 1960s, following a hoax that miscreants had inserted pieces of glass into apples and other treats, factory-made, wrapped candy became the only acceptable treat to hand out. Producers of the most popular candies made miniatures, making a household’s candy giveaway more affordable.

Here’s some trivia about popular Halloween treats:

Chocolate pumpkins from Woodhouse Chocolate.

 
[Source]

(In fact, because there’s no extra sugar- and butter-laden filling and frosting, it is a bit better. A bit.)

That’s why we allowed ourself to buy another loaf pan. This intricately sculpted pan adds autumnal beauty to a banana bread, carrot cake, chocolate loaf, pound cake, pumpkin bread, spice bread, zucchini cake….

Not to mention, cornbread soda bread and other homemade loaves.

All you have to do is buy the pan and pour in the batter. The beautiful Nordic Ware pan—an exclusive to Williams-Sonoma—will take over.

You can top the cake with a simple glaze or a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, but we think the plain relief of pumpkins and vines is lovelier.

The pumpkin loaf pan is made of durable cast-aluminum, which ensures even baking. The nonstick finish guarantees your cake will release easily, and clean-up will be a breeze.

Get yours at Williams-Sonoma stores or online.
  

October 23rd is National Boston Cream Pie Day, but don’t let the name fool you. Boston Cream Pie is a layer cake: two layers of buttery sponge cake sandwiched with crème pâtissière (pastry cream or vanilla cream filling) or custard filling and topped with a glaze of chocolate ganache.

The history and recipe follow, but first:

> A brief history of cake and the different types of cake: a photo glossary.

> The history of sponge cake.

> The year’s 55 cake holidays.

> The difference beteween crème pâtissière, custard, and other custard-related desserts and fillings.

> The history of pie: a photo glossary.

> The year’s 31 pie holidays.

> How about a recipe for Boston Cream Cheesecake?
 
 
BOSTON CREAM PIE HISTORY

The modern Boston Cream Pie was created for the opening of the Parker House Hotel in Boston, in October 1856. An Armenian-French chef, M. Sanzian, sandwiched two layers of sponge cake with crème pâtissière, and topped the cake with a chocolate ganache glaze.

His recipe was a re-working of the early American pudding-cake pie. The first reference, a recipe published in 1855, calls it a “pudding pie cake.” It had a powdered sugar topping.

According to What’s Cooking America, the cake was originally served at the hotel with the name Chocolate Cream Pie or Parker House Chocolate Cream Pie. “Boston” came later.

As a throwback to its origin, the ganache top of the cake is sometimes decorated with confectioners’ sugar, or icing designs can be made in the ganache, as in the second photo.

For a more festive cake, the bare sides can be covered with pastry cream and toasted almonds (which is how the cake is currently prepared at the Parker House—here’s their recipe).

According to Omni Parker House, what made the dessert so special was its chocolate icing. Back in 1856, chocolate was mainly consumed as a beverage or in puddings; the chocolate bar was yet to be perfected (here’s the history of chocolate timeline).

So chocolate icing was an innovative use of chocolate at the time. [Source]
 
 
But why is the cake called a pie?
 
The answer is most likely that, in the mid-19th century pie tins were more common than cake pans. The distinction between calling something pie or cake was more flexible than it is today. The cake might well have been baked in pie tins. (By the same token, cheesecake is not a cake, but a cream cheese-flavored custard pie.)
 
 
How About Cream Pie Vs. Creme Pie?

What’s the deal with two different spellings, cream, and creme?

Cream is the appropriate spelling in the U.S. Crème, pronounced KREHM, is the French spelling.

To make things appear more fancy or exclusive, some Americans began to use the French spelling without the accent, pronouncing creme as KREEM.

It may be pervasive, but it isn’t correct.

Boston Cream Pie was declared the official dessert of Massachusetts in 1996. The pie beat out other iconic Massachusetts desserts, including Fig Newtons, Toll House Cookies, and Indian Pudding.

The combination of flavors are such a hit that you can find Boston cream angel cake, bar cookies, cupcakes, donuts, ice cream, even cocktails (photo #11)!

Check out photos #7 to #11 for recipes.

Trivia: You may have noticed that éclairs and cream puffs share a very similar flavor profile, substituting choux pastry for Boston’s sponge cake. The combination of pastry cream and chocolate icing makes them close cousins to the Boston cream pie concept.

All three recipes emerged in the mid-19th century.
 
 
RECIPE: BOSTON CREAM PIE

This recipe was sent to us by GoBoldWithButter.com. It was developed by Taylor Mathis of TaylorTakesATaste.com. Prep time is 30 minutes, cook time is 40 minutes.

For a different twist, here’s a Boston Cream Cheesecake recipe (actually a pie).
 
Ingredients For A 9-Inch Cake
 
For The Sponge Cake

 
For The Vanilla Cream Filling

 
For The Chocolate Glaze

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.

2. SIFT together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. BRING the milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring until the butter melts. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, stir and set the pan aside.

4. BEAT the eggs on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer, for 7 minutes. Add the sugar and mix for an additional 8 minutes.

5. REDUCE the mixer speed to low. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture. After the flour has been mixed in, add 1/2 of the milk mixture and blend. Add the next 1/3 of flour and blend. Add the remaining milk mixture and blend. Add the remaining 1/3 of the flour and blend. Turn off the mixer and scrape the batter down from the sides of the mixing bowl.

6. DIVIDE the batter equally between the two prepared pans. Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and let the layers cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Invert the cakes and cool completely on a wire rack.

7. PREPARE the vanilla cream filling: In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks, flour, sugar, and salt. Stir with a fork until the flour and sugar are well mixed with the egg yolks. Set aside.

8. BRING the milk to just boil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Remove the pan from the stove. Add 1/3 of the hot milk to the egg mixture; stir to blend. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining 2/3 of the milk; stir to blend. Return the saucepan to medium-high heat, stirring constantly. When custard begins to boil…
 
9. REDUCE the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until the pastry cream thickens. Remove the pastry cream from the heat and pour it into a bowl. Add the butter and stir until well incorporated. Add the vanilla and almond extracts; stir to blend. Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool.

10. PREPARE the chocolate glaze: Place chocolate chips, milk, and salt into a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir the chocolate until melted and well blended with milk. Remove from the heat. Add the butter to the chocolate, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add the vanilla and stir to blend. Set chocolate glaze aside.

11. ASSEMBLE the cake: Place 1 sponge cake layer on a cake plate. Generously cover with chilled vanilla pastry cream. Top the cream with the second layer of cake. Cover with chocolate glaze. Some of glaze should run over the sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until the glaze sets, about 30 minutes. Serve.
 
_______________

*Try a better brand liken Guittard or Callebaut (photo #10) chocolate chips. You can also chop up a bar of good chocolate, of 70% cacao.
 
 
 
 

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[1] Boston Cream Pie. Of course it’s a layer cake, not a pie (photo © Cara Fealy Choate | Wikipedia).

[2] If you like, make the icing fancier (photo © Mackenzie Ltd).

[3] Show it off for special occasions (photo © Raw Spice Bar).

[4] A luscious Boston Cream Pie, begging for you to take a a bite (photo © Taylor Mathis | Taylor Takes A Taste for Go Bold With Butter).

[5] We love the chocolate ganache top and sides (photo © Wikipedia).

[6] Simple, but just as tasty (photo © Kraft).