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).

The pasta-centric Italians believe pasta dates back to the ancient Etruscans, who inhabited the Etruria region of Italy (the central-western portion of Italy, what now are Tuscany, Latium, and Umbria). They occupied the area from the Iron Age into Roman times (the 11th century B.C.E. to the 1st century B.C.E.).

Around 400 B.C.E., the Etruscans began to prepare a very wide, lasagna-type noodle made of spelt, an early version of wheat.

The Romans who followed made what they called lagane, a kind of lasagna, from a dough of water and flour. However, both the Etruscans and the Romans baked their noodles in an oven; boiled pasta had yet to be born in Italy. Here’s more on the history of pasta.

But let’s circle back to Asia. What happened to pasta in that large region?

It’s called noodles, and it’s plentiful. Different Asian cuisines developed different types of noodles; not just from wheat, as in Italy, but from other starches that happen to be gluten-free, such as rice, sweet potato, arrowroot starch, bean curd skin, potato starch, and tofu. You can feast on Asian noodle dishes in a splendid variety.

Below:

> The different types of Asian Noodles.

> The difference between noodles and pasta.

> A recipe for Chicken Chow Mein.
 
 
Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> 15+ noodle recipes.

> The history of noodles.

> The year’s 20 pasta holidays.

> The year’s 15 Chinese food holidays.
 
 
ABOUT ASIAN NOODLES

We’ve done our best to put together the list of different noodle types below. You may see some familiar names, but there are a lot of Asian noodle types to get to know. You can find them in Asian markets and of course, online.

[1] Asian rice noodle salad with pan-fried tofu. Cook the noodles and tofu, toss with vegetables of choice, rice vinegar, a bit of oil (we like sesame oil) and cilantro. Add an optional sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds or shichimi togarashi, a Japanese mixture of dried chiles and other spices (photo © Lightlife).

[2] Thai lemongrass shrimp soup with glass noodles. Here’s the recipe (photo © Sunbasket).

Although they may look similar, Asian noodles and Italian pasta have key differences. Most pasta is designed to be cooked to an al dente texture, but Asian noodles vary widely: Some are meant to be eaten soft; others have a firm bite. Some are chewy, others are springy.

A second difference: Italian pasta is boiled in water or broth (even baked pasta is boiled first). Chinese noodles can be boiled in water, cooked in soup or stir-fried. And third, unlike Italian pasta, most Asian noodle dishes do not have a sauce on top. If there’s a sauce, they are tossed in it. Asians also add noodles to salads, a treatment not typically found in the West.

Unlike the short cuts developed in Italy (bowties, elbows, tube pasta, etc.), all Asian pasta is a strand or ribbon pasta. Finally, some Chinese noodles contain eggs, but the majority of Asian noodles do not.

Other European Noodles

The distinction between Italian pasta and other European noodles is more about culinary tradition and technique than strict ingredient differences, though there are some key variations:

 
 
TYPES OF ASIAN NOODLES

  
Hungry? How about a stellar version of the Americanized chicken chow mein? This recipe is from Melissa’s The Great Pepper Cookbook, now available in paperback.

[3] Chicken Chow Mein, the way it should be (photo © Melissas.com).

[4] If you’d rather have shrimp, check out this recipe for Shrimp Chow Mein (photos #4 and #5 © Taste Of Home).

Chow mein is a Cantonese term that literally means “fried noodles.” The dish comprises stir-fried noodles mixed with vegetables, protein (beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, tofu), and a savory sauce. Chow main is characterized by its crispy, texture, distinguishing it from lo mein, which is boiled and soft.

Ingredients

1. COMBINE 1/4 cup soy sauce. 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, and chile and sesame oils in a large bowl. Add the chicken and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge and let marinate, stirring often, for 1 hour.

2. PREPARE the noodles according to package directions. Rinse with cold water; drain.

3. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Heat 1 tablespoon peanut oil and the butter in a large wok or ovenproof skillet. Add the chicken and cook 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the oven and bake until the chicken is completely cooked through and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 165°F, about 15 minutes. Cool the chicken until it can be handled, then shred it.

4. HEAT the remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.

5. ADD the garlic and the remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce, and the remaining hoisin and oyster sauces, the noodles, green onions, chiles and sugar snap peas. Cook, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are crisp-tender.

6. ADD the shredded chicken to the pan and cook until heated through. Stir in the salt and black pepper to taste. Serve.
 
How To Shred Chicken

1. COOL the cooked chicken until you can handle it; it should still be warm. Remove any skin.

2. USE one hand or a fork to steady the chicken. With the other hand, use a second fork to scrape and tear the flesh into shreds. When the fork gets clogged with chicken shreds, use your fingers or another fork to move them into a bowl.
 

[5] Beef chow mein. Here’s the recipe.
 
________________

*They can be made from buckwheat, but also from potatoes and sweet potatoes.

**We’re talking real ramen, not the instant fast food.

†Substitute any cherry pepper or mild to medium chile.
 
 

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So before Halloween, we’re recommending them as the better-for-you treat, for the people you love. Everyone else can get those miniature junk candies from the supermarket. (Sorry if we have maligned your favorite candy bars; but honestly, you hardly taste the chocolate for the sugar/corn syrup.)

Consisting simply of baked apple chips—no added sugar—these sweet, crisp chips satisfy the desire for sweetness an crunch. They’re fat-free, gluten free, fiber-filled.

The apple chips are made from non-GMO project verified Washington State apples. And they’re certified kosher by Earth Kosher, an organic and kosher certifier.

There are four flavors of all-natural apple chips, 90-100 calories per ounce (half cup serving), depending on the flavor.:

 
There’s also an organic line, including each of the flavors above plus a combination of all of them in one bag, Medley Apple Chips.

There’s also an organic line, including each of the flavors above plus a combination of all of them in one bag, Medley Apple Chip
This time of year we particularly like Simply Cinnamon Apple Chips, but will gladly eat whatever is closest. Who needs apple pie when you can have Bare Fruit Apple Chips?

But you may think that Caramel Apple is better for Halloween. Plan ahead for stocking stuffers, and keep a supply in your glove compartment, desk drawer, gym bag, etc.

TOP PHOTO: It’s like apple pie in a crunchy chip. Phot6o courtesy Bare Fruit. BOTTOM PHOTO: Out of the bag. Photo courtesy Love With Food.

They’re available in individual .53-ounce bags and in 1.69-ounce bags, three portions’ worth.
  
NUTS FOR CRUNCHY COCONUT CHIPS

After success with the apple chips, Bare Fruit came out with a divine line of coconut chips:

 
Loved ‘em all, but Chocolate Bliss truly is.

GO BANANAS
 
Most recently, the company has introduced crunchy banana chips. We haven’t yet had the pleasure of trying them, but you can let us know how you like them:

These crunchy popcorn nuggets are popped without oil. Photo courtesy Halfpops.

If you grew up loving CornNuts, as we did, take note of the non-fried, gourmet version.

Some people dig through the popcorn bowl to find those crunchy, half-popped kernels that taste even better than the fully popped corn. Smaller than a fully popped kernel, they’ve got the soft popped portion on the inside while the kernel remains crunchy on the outside.

Halfpops is an entire bag of them. We like this fiber-filled half-popped popcorn even better than the conventional full-popped. It was love at first bite for us. These little nuggets are a go-to snack whenever we need something crunchy and salty.

These are healthy, whole grain snacks. They’re all-natural, with zero sugar or preservatives. As a whole grain product, each bag contributes 3g fiber/serving. Halfpops are certified gluten-free and are also nut-free.

Halfpops are currently available in four flavors:

Each one-ounce serving contains 130 calories and 260 mg salt. And we love each flavor Don’t decide: Try them all!

They’re certified kosher (dairy) by OU. Get yours at HalfPops.com. There’s also a retail store locator on the website.
  

Brack?

The original barmbrack was a sweet yeast bread with raisins and sultanas. Barm is the term for the yeast filtered out of beer in the final stage of production, a cheaper yeast source than commercial yeast.

In Ireland it is sometimes called bairín breac, Gaelic for “speckled loaf.” The speckling refers to the raisins and sultanas in the loaf. It is usually made in flattened rounds. The dough is sweet but not as rich as cake, so it can be enjoyed any time of the day. It is similar to Irish soda bread, minus the baking soda.

In Ireland, barmbrack is often served with afternoon tea, toasted with butter. But barmbrack evolved into an Irish Halloween tradition.
 
 
A FORTUNE-TELLING BREAD

For Halloween, the traditional loaf was baked with talisman-like items inside. They formed a kind of fortune-telling game. Whoever received a slice with a talisman could interpret it thusly:

Barmbrack, an Irish tradition for Halloween, reinterpreted. Photo courtesy Stasty.com.

 
To us, the talismans imply that this cake was meant for single people. An optional talisman included a medallion of the Virgin Mary, foretelling that the recipient would go into a religious order (priest or nun).

Hmm: Do we want a bread or cake to predict our fortune? We think not. And as British baker Vicky of Stasty.com notes, “It kind of seems like a choking hazard now when I think about it!” (Commercially produced barmbracks for Halloween still include a toy ring.)

Vicky has created her own take on bambrack, a denser speckled loaf, a fruit cake with the dried fruits steeped in tea and whiskey.

The original barmbrack loaf resembled Irish soda bread. This one is from Maplespice.com.

For this recipe, says Vicky, ”I went for a more adventurous selection of fruits than the traditional ones used in a barmbrack.

“This cake contains a colorful mix of dried cherries, apricots, cranberries, blueberries, golden raisins and dates [you can also add dried figs]. It’s a really simple cake to make, and as it’s very moist, it keeps fresh for well over a week.

“This barmbrack is best served with lots of salty butter and a nice, strong cup of tea on the side.”

It’s her Halloween tradition. Make it one of yours. Here’s the recipe, trinkets optional. Well, maybe just the ring.

As for the tea: How about a spiced tea like Constant Comment or chai?

Halloween has its origins in the festival of Samhain (sah-WEEN), celebrated at the end of the harvest by the ancient Celts of what is today Great Britain. (Pronunciation: It’s KELTS, not SELTS.)

Samhain marked the end of the “lighter half” of the year and beginning of the “darker half.” The Halloween colors of orange and black represent the lighter side (fall harvest) and the darker side.

The Celts believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased returned to cause havoc.

To fool the spirits and ghosts that roamed the countryside, people began to wear masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human. To keep away spirits and ghosts on Samhain, they placed candles in their windows, using hollowed-out turnips and other vegetables as the holders. (Pumpkins, a New World fruit, took over when Irish immigrants discovered them in the U.S. in the 19th century.)

Around 600 C.E., Christian missionaries replaced the pagan festival of Samhain with All Saints Day, also called All Hallows Even (even means evening), abbreviated as Hallow’een. The name Halloween is first found in 16th-century Scotland, evolving from All Hallows Eve.

Afraid of Halloween? That’s called samhainophobia.
 
 

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Our mom loved to cook bacon: She loved the aroma. She also had a great exhaust hood, a kitchen with pocket doors to prevent the aroma from escaping to the rest of the house, and a window and a back door to let in fresh air.

She bought thick-cut bacon and cooked it slowly over medium-low heat in a stainless steel skillet big enough to hold the entire pound of strips without crowding. At a lower heat, all the fat renders (melts into liquid) while the bacon crisps. Once, we recall, she received a block of slab bacon in a gourmet gift basket, cut it in a small dice and cooked it the same way.

Call it bacon fat, bacon grease or bacon drippings: She strained it and stored the fat in a jar in the fridge, where it turned a creamy beige. She used it for pie crusts, for cooking eggs and a number of the uses below. And she always advised us never to pour it down the drain, or it would congeal and clog.

You can store bacon fat in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month. Use it instead of butter or oil—or in combination with them—to add hints of bacon flavor to your recipes.

Then, when you’re ready to cook, you can:

Cook the bacon, save the fat. Photo by Claire Freierman | THE NIBBLE.

 
Before you comment on the consumption of bacon fat: Yes, we know that cardiologists don’t support the consumption of any component of bacon. But that doesn’t stop Americans from eating 18 pounds of pork bacon each, per year. [Source]

TOP PHOTO: Potato salad with bacon fat (recipe below). Photo courtesy Samuel Adams. BOTTOM PHOTO: See how Sandy of Fancy Food Fancy uses bacon fat in her pie crusts. Photo courtesy Fancy Food Fancy.

 
BACON FAT AT LUNCH

 
BACON FAT AT DINNER

 
BACON FAT IN DESSERTS & SWEETS

People who love bacon may already have discovered German potato salad, also called Alsatian potato salad. It is typically mixed with a vinagrette and the grease from the cooked bacon, and served warm with grilled sausages. Here’s a recipe.

This recipe is by chef Michele Ragussis for Samuel Adams.

Ingredients For 6-8 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F. Bring the beer to a boil in a large pot. Add the potatoes and boil in beer for about 15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and let cool. Set aside.

2. BRING a large pot of water to boil, and hard boil the eggs for about 12 minutes. Let the eggs cool, then peel and chop.

3. COOK the bacon in a large sheet pan until crispy; then dice. Set aside.

4. MIX the diced red onion, scallions, celery, bacon, eggs and dill in a large bowl.

5. Once potatoes are cool, add to bowl of ingredients and smash together so they are half mashed.

6. ADD all wet ingredients, salt and pepper and mix well. Add about a tablespoon of the bacon grease for flavor.