Go Back
–+ servings
Easy Boston Cream Cupcakes on Gray Background- Closeup Shot.
Print Recipe
5 from 1 rating

Boston Cream Cupcakes (With Cake Mix)

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.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Decorating time20 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Cupcakes, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Calories: 282kcal
Author: Abeer Rizvi

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

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

Serving: 18g | Calories: 282kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 201mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 425IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 1mg