Easy Boston Cream Pie Recipe
Today I'm sharing a moist, delicious, Easy Boston Cream Pie Recipe from Cake Mix!
I just love the look of a Boston Cream Pie, with it's moist cake layers filled with cream and topped with decadent ganache.
We have a great scratch version of Boston Cream Pie, and are happy to now include a simpler doctored cake mix version as well!
Table of Contents
Why we Love It
There are so many reasons to love this easy Boston Cream Pie! Here are just a few:
- The Vanilla Cake Layers are from cake mix, making it so simple to whip up! (See our easy Boston Cream Cupcakes as well!)
- The chocolate glaze, cream filling, and "naked" sides make it look extra special and impressive.
- Rather than the more time consuming pastry cream filling that we used in the scratch version, we optioned for a luscious vanilla cream filling that can be whipped up in minutes, with instant vanilla pudding and cream!
- Keep this recipe in mind the next time you need a birthday cake recipe, or other special occasions!
- We love classic cake recipes like this one, as well as our Easy German Chocolate Cake and Easy Italian Cream Bundt Cake!
How to Make Boston Cream Pie from Cake Mix
We have all of the details in our printable recipe card further down in this post- but here is a quick rundown of our steps!
You can use any favorite yellow or vanilla doctored cake mix recipe for this cake.
For the Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, grease and flour two 8x2 or 9x2 inch round pans. We like to add a circle of parchment paper to the bottom of each pan as well.
- Add the cake mix, sugar, and flour to the bowl of your mixer. Whisk to blend.
- Add the remaining five ingredients to the mixing bowl (vanilla extract, milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and sour cream.)
- With an electric mixer set to low speed, mix for 30 seconds to combine. (Use a paddle attachment if using a stand mixer.)
- Increase speed to medium and mix for two minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans. For 8 inch pans, bake 25-30 minutes. For 9 inch pans, 23-28 minutes. Baking times may vary.
- The cake layers are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Cool in the pans on a wire rack for five minutes before turning out.
Vanilla Cream Filling
Our scratch Boston Cream Pie recipe calls for vanilla pastry cream filling.
This vanilla cream filling made from heavy cream and vanilla pudding can be whipped up and ready in minutes! If you've never tried it, you must. It is delicious!
(We've used variations of this recipe in many of our cakes, changing up the pudding flavor based on the type of cake. So many great options!)
Chocolate Ganache Glaze
This decadent chocolate glaze is a simple ganache made from chocolate and heavy cream. It can be prepared in the microwave! We've used it on many cakes, including our Mint Oreo Cake, Chocolate Truffle Cake, and more!
- To prepare it, simply combine the dark or semi-sweet chocolate and cream in a microwave safe bowl, and heat it for 30 seconds. Give it a stir, and heat for 30 seconds more (adjust to a shorter time if much of the chocolate has melted).
- Once the chocolate has almost completely melted, remove from the microwave and stir until smooth.
- The ganache with thicken as it cools. Cool to desired consistency for spreading over the cooled, assembled cake.
- *We used Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips for today's cake. If using a bar of chocolate, you can grate it or break it into smaller pieces for easier melting.
Putting it all Together
- After the cake layers have completely cooled, place the first layer on a cake plate or pedestal. Spread with a layer of vanilla cream and top with the second cake layer.
- Fill in any gaps between the cake layers with more vanilla cream (you can do this with a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away, and smooth away the excess with a spatula.
- Top with thickened (but still soft) ganache and use a spoon or spatula to guide the chocolate ganache over the top and slightly down the sides of the cake.
If you notice that the ganache glaze is running too quickly down the side of the cake, just allow it to cool a bit longer before continuing to apply it.
You can also chill the cake to slow down the flow of the ganache. As you can see, my drips have a mind of their own, but I love the look!
Recipe FAQs
More Doctored Cake Mix Recipes
If you're looking for even more cake mix recipes, we have many!
We have several more cake mix versions of classic cake recipes like today's Boston Cream Cake. Here are a few: Hummingbird Cake from Cake Mix, Italian Cream Bundt Cake from Cake Mix, Carrot Cupcakes, and German Chocolate Cake from box mix are sure to please a crowd!
I'll link to a few more below, but you can find our full collection here: Cake Mix Recipes!
Cinnamon Roll Layer Cake- Cake Mix
Carrot Cake- Doctored Cake Mix
Enjoy the Recipe
Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope that you enjoy this easy recipe for Boston Cream Pie. Make sure to check out our full collection of Cake Recipes and Cake Decorating Tutorials!
Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!
Boston Cream Pie (Doctored Cake Mix)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 box White Cake Mix or Yellow Mix 15.25 oz -(Our photo was using Duncan Hines Yellow)
- ½ Cup (100g) Sugar
- ½ cup (61g) All Purpose Flour (Plain in the UK)
- 1 Cup (227g) Sour Cream
- ½ cup (121g) Milk
- ½ cup (108g) Vegetable Oil - we used canola oil
- 3 Large Eggs
- 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract (see notes)
For the Vanilla Cream Filling
- 1 (3.9 oz) small box instant vanilla pudding (We like to sift the pudding mix before using)
- 2 cups heavy cream (or whipping cream)
For the Chocolate Glaze
- 6 oz semisweet or dark chocolate this is 1 cup or 171g We used Ghirardelli chocolate chips
- 6 oz (171g) heavy cream (this is ¾ cup)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, grease and flour two 8x2 or 9x2 inch round pans. We like to add a circle of parchment paper to the bottom of each pan as well.
- Add the cake mix, sugar, and flour to the bowl of your mixer. Whisk to blend.
- Add the remaining 5 ingredients to the mixing bowl.
- Mix on low speed for 30 seconds to combine. (Use a paddle attachment if using a stand mixer.)
- Increase speed to medium and mix for two minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans. For 8 inch pans, bake 25-30 minutes. For 9 inch pans, 23-28 minutes. Baking times may vary.
- The cake layers are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
For the Vanilla Cream Filling
- Combine the sifted pudding mix and heavy cream in a mixing bowl. I prefer to mix with a handheld mixer, but a whisk is fine too. If using a mixer, start on low speed until well combined.
- Then, switch to medium-high speed and whip the pudding until thick and fluffy. If mousse is too thick, mix in a bit more heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency.
For the Chocolate Glaze
- Place the chocolate into a microwave safe bowl.
- Pour heavy cream over the chocolate and place in the microwave for 30 seconds. (times may vary)
- Remove and stir. Microwave for 30 seconds more and when the chocolate has melted almost completely, allow it to sit for 1 minute more before stirring. Stir until you've reached a silky smooth consistency.
- * If your chocolate hasn't melted after the 1 minute recommended in the instructions, microwave in small 10-15 second increments until it has nearly but not completely melted. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth.
- The ganache will cool thicken as it cools. Cool for about 15 minutes or until the ganache has thickened to the desired consistency. It should not be hot when applying to the cake. You can speed up the cooling process by pouring it into an elongated glass casserole dish.
- If the ganache becomes too thick to work with, just microwave for a few seconds at a time until it returns to desired consistency.
Assembling the Boston Cream Pie
- After the cake layers have completely cooled, place the first layer on a cake plate or pedestal.
- Spread with a layer of vanilla cream and top with the second cake layer.
- Fill in any gaps between the cake layers with more vanilla cream (you can do this with a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away, and smooth away the excess with a spatula.
- Top with thickened (but still soft) ganache and use a spoon or spatula to guide the chocolate ganache over the top and slightly down the sides of the cake.
Rerigeration
- Because of the vanilla cream filling, this cake should be refrigerated. However, you can remove it from the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving to allow the cake and ganache, etc. time to warm and soften.
OMGosh that looks delish! I love the quick filling. That's a must try for sure :-) Incredibly clever as always.
If I don’t want to use sour cream, I just don’t like the taste, with what ingredient can I replace with? It looks so delicious and the filling, miammm 😋
Thank you
Hi Claudine, You could replace the sour cream with plain yogurt, preferably Greek yogurt and not reduced fat.
Made this today for an early Father’s Day dinner - huge hit! Recipe made more ganache than I think was needed but there were no complaints from my crew, just groans of tasty delight! Easy to follow directions; will definitely make again. As evidenced by the picture I could have done a better job applying the ganache but no matter, tasted out of this world!
Hi Arlene! We are so happy to hear that you loved the recipe! Thanks so much for your feedback.
Should this cake be refrigerated until serving time?
Hi Bobbi, sorry that I missed your question, you can remove it from the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving. This will allow it to soften.
I made the Boston Cream Pie for Easter and it was a big hit! Adding the extra ingredients to the cake mix gave it a bakery feel. I do have one question/comment. I stored the cake in the refrigerator, and the chocolate glaze on top hardens to the point where you can’t slice a piece without the cake being crushed after breaking through the ganache. Is there any way to make the glaze not quite so hard?
Hi Marcia, I'm so glad that you all enjoyed it! In the future, you can take the cake out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving. This will allow the cake and glaze to soften. We used a 1:1 ratio of chocolate to cream- and this works well for us. However, you can always play with the ratio a bit if you would like a softer glaze-- using a bit more cream. Removing from the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving should solve it though! ;0)
Made cake twice and got rave reviews. Second cake ganache did not thicken like first so put it fridge to harden. That worked and was big hit with friends.
Hi Sandy! I'm happy to hear that you all enjoyed it!
Hi there! A friend of mine asked for this cake for her birthday for about 30 people.. I am thinking of doing a 6” & 8” tiered cake.. will the cream hold up the 2nd cake? or will it be too heavy? any suggestions?
Thank you!
Hi Tiffany! The vanilla cream is nice and thick- you won't have any trouble. You probably know this but just to be sure-- the top tier should be on its own cake cardboard cut down to size with supports (like bubble tea straws, or dowels) beneath it that are cut to the height of the bottom tier. Otherwise, the weight of the top tier would cause it to sink into the bottom. Hope you enjoy the cake!! ;0)
I just made this cake and it turned out great!
I used sugar free pudding and cake mix (because of my gestational diabetes)- and it was delicious 😋
Thank You - I so enjoy your recipes.
Hi Amanda! Thanks so much for your review, I'm so glad that you enjoy the cake!
sounds really delicious
I made this cake for my husband's grandmother, as Boston cream pie is her favorite. She said it was the best Boston cream pie she has ever had, hands down! Everyone ranted and raved about this Boston cream pie. So much so that my 10 year old niece wants me to make one for her birthday party!
If I'm making one for a larger group, would you suggest making two cakes, or is it possible to make a sheet cake variation? If you think sheet cake would work, what do you think the best way to do that would be?
Hi Jen! Thanks so much for your review, I'm so glad that you all loved the recipe!
I don't see any reason that a two layer sheet cake version couldn't work- I would just double the recipe if making a two layer 9x13.
And then you could just double the amount of filling as well (or you would probably also be fine to use the large box of instant pudding and substitute the cream for the milk called for, plus a bit more until you reach the right consistency.)
Let us know if you give it a try!
How far ahead can I make this?
Hello,
My question is this: the Boston cream cupcake version has powdered pudding mix in both the cake and the filling. This Boston Cream cake version does not contain pudding mix in the cake, only in the filling. Wondering why? Thank you. Prefer to make the cake and want to be sure the recipe is complete.
Hi Bridget! We have lots of different ways of doctoring up cake mixes. This one just happens to not have pudding in the mix.
However, if you prefer going that route, I'm sure that the recipe that we used for the Boston cream cupcakes would work as a layer cake also! We hope you enjoy it!
This cake was a success! I never thought about using instant pudding, but what a hit. It was smooth and creamy and the sour cream added the right touch. Friends are already thinking of other any excuse for a celebration so I can make the cake again. Kudos!
Hi Clara! I'm so glad that you all enjoyed it, thanks so much for your feedback! ;0)