Easy Boston cream cupcakes recipe with cake mix box, homemade with simple ingredients. Composed of soft and fluffy vanilla cupcakes, smooth pastry cream filling (creme patisserie), rich ganache topping. They have all the flavors of a classic Boston Cream Pie Cake but in mini individual cupcake form.
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I am not really sure why this dessert has the word "pie" in it because it does not resemble a pie at all. Regardless of its name, it's one of my family's favorite dessert. If you are fond of stuffed cupcakes, be sure to check out these Coffee Cupcakes (Mocha Cupcakes), which are filled with caramel. You would probably also like these Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes, which are filled with chocolate truffles.
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Key ingredients
Variations
- Decorate- Once you drip Chocolate Ganache (2 Ingredients) on top of cupcakes, toss some colorful sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts or even chocolate shavings. You can also make them bakery style and fancy by decorating with these Fondant Flowers, Wafer Paper Flowers or even these Royal Icing Flowers (Sugar Flowers).
- Try a different topping- Such as this this Chocolate Glaze or Maple Glaze and even this Vanilla Powdered Sugar Glaze.
- Consider a different filling- Obviously, that won't be the classic choice but for a change, try Homemade Banana Pudding or Best Vanilla Pudding or Chocolate Pudding or even this Easy Homemade Vanilla Custard.
- Make cupcakes from scratch- Instead of using a cake mix box, you can make my Yellow Cupcakes or these Vanilla Cupcakes. Both are so delicious!
- ADD MORE.......
How to make easy Boston cream cupcakes recipe with cake mix box?
- Bake vanilla cupcakes- Let them cool.
- Prepare pastry cream filling - Allow it to cool too.
- Make chocolate ganache- Allow it to cool slightly so it's not too runny.
- Assemble- Slice cupcake in half, fill lower half with pastry cream, place other cupcake half on top, pour ganache on top.
Tips and techniques
- Use the best quality of vanilla extract you can find- Trust me, it makes a difference!
- Do not over-mix the cupcake batter- Over-mixing will change the texture and make cupcakes very tough.
- All ingredients for cupcake batter should be at room temperature- Because they blend together more smoothly and evenly.
- If you are short on time- Use store-bought pastry cream which is already pre-made. You can also use store-bought chocolate frosting and melt it in the microwave and pour it over the cupcakes just like ganache.
- Don't assemble warm cupcakes- Because that will cause the filling to melt and make a sticky mess.
- ADD MORE....
Recipe FAQs
1. You can do what I did. Slice the cupcake in half and scoop a tablespoon of pastry cream on top. Then, cover with the other half of the cupcake and press gently until everything sticks together like a sandwich.
2. Attach a round tip to a piping bag and fill the bag with pastry cream filling. Poke the center of the cupcake with the your tip and squeeze the bag until the center is fully filled. Top off with ganache.
3. You can use an apple corer to make a hollow center in your cupcake. Don't go all the way through. Leave the bottom of the cupcake intact so that that the filling doesn't leak out. Spoon a few teaspoons of pastry cream filling in the hollow center and top off with ganache.
4. I have a a video tutorial on How to Make Filled Cupcakes (Stuffed Cupcakes) that would be very helpful, if you have never done this before.
Storage
- Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 3 days.
- Freeze- Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen in a sealed container for up to 1 month. The pastry cream cannot be frozen because it's a heavy milk-based dessert, which tends to separate upon thawing. Ganache can be frozen in a sealed container for up to 1 month. When you are ready to enjoy these treats, let the cupcakes and ganache thaw in the fridge overnight and prepare the filling and then, assemble as per my instructions.
- Room temperature- They can stay out for 1-2 hours but keep them away from direct sunlight, heat and moisture.
- Make ahead- These can easily be made 1 day in advance.
More cupcake recipes
- Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (With Mint Frosting)
- Sugar Free Chocolate Cupcakes (Soft)
- Brownie Cupcakes (From Scratch)
- Easy Oreo Cupcakes (With Cake Mix)
- Easy Biscoff Cupcakes (With Cake Mix)
Recipe
Boston Cream Cupcakes (With Cake Mix)
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Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 3 Eggs Large, Room temperature
- ½ cup Oil
- ¾ cup Milk Highly recommend using whole milk but 2% can be used if that's all you have at the time.
- ¼ cup Sour cream Full fat, Room temperature
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 box Yellow cake mix 15.25 oz. box
Shortcut Mock Pastry Cream Filling
- 1 box Vanilla instant pudding mix Small 3.4 oz box. I use the Jello brand.
- 1.5 cups Heavy cream Cold. Do not use milk or creamers.
Chocolate Ganache Topping
- 1 cup Semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup Heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add eggs, oil, milk, sour cream, vanilla extract and mix until combined. The mixture will look bubbly.
- Add cake mix and mix until batter is smooth. A few small lumps are totally fine and will dissolve during baking.
- Pour batter in liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow them to cool to room temperature.
- While the cupcakes are baking, make the filling. Add pudding mix and heavy cream in a large bowl. Mix with a hand-held mixer until mixture becomes thick and fluffy. If it's too thick, mix in additional heavy cream (1 tablespoon at a time) to thin it out to your desired consistency. Keep this chilled until you are ready to assemble cupcakes.
- Also, make chocolate ganache. Add chocolate chips and heavy cream in a bowl. Heat in the microwave at 30 second increments. Mix often until chocolate chips are fully melted and you have a smooth and glossy mixture. Let the mixture cool down and thicken a bit.
- To assemble, remove liners from cooled cupcakes and slice them in half with a sharp knife.
- Pour about 1 tablespoon of the thick filling on the bottom portion and then stick the other half of the cupcake on top.
- Pour 1-2 tablespoons of ganache on top of the cupcake and let it drip a little along the sides. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can replace my shortcut mock vanilla pastry cream filling with your own homemade pastry cream from scratch.
- Do not over-bake cupcakes because that will make them dry.
- Don't over-mix cupcake batter that will yield very chewy, gummy cupcakes.
- Do not assemble warm cupcakes or else the filling will start melting and you will end up with a sticky mess.
- Please use room temperature ingredients for cupcake batter because they blend together smoothly and evenly.
- For a different flavor profile, try mixing in other extracts in the batter or use a different flavor of cake mix box or try a chocolate filling.
- Read additional tips and variations above.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Amy
Oh wow, this is for sure easier than making a Boston cream pie! Yum!
Abeer Rizvi
Oh definitely! It's easier toe eat too.
Karly
Cupcake goals. I mean come on, the perfect cake, frosting, and that filling? I'd take a bath in that stuff. These look incredible!
Betsy
These are so creative. Love the recipe, too!
Tamanna
Wow...i thought you have to deep fry the dough but i am glad to see the baked version. Thank you Abeer for sharing my favorite donut recipe!! your plates are really cutee and i love the vibrancy!
Kimberly
I used rice milk due to my milk allergy. I made cupcakes for a party and was asked for the recipe, great stuff!
Vera Zecevic
These are great!
JulieD
These are beautiful and so cute!!! You can never have too many sprinkles and they don't have to be on top...as long as they are there!