Gluten-Free Boston Cream Pie Recipe

Boston Cream Pie is an American classic, gluten-free vanilla pudding-like cake, creamy custard and a chocolate ganache glaze. Triple goodness in one dessert. It doesn’t get any more delicious than this when we think of desserts!

Pie or a cake?

Surprisingly Boston cream pie isn’t a pie at all. Instead, this stunning dessert is made with two layers of moist vanilla cake, encasing a delicious, lightly sweetened custard and finished with a dark chocolate ganache glaze. So no, it is not a pie, this gluten-free dessert is a cake. But if you are looking for a pie with custard, you may enjoy the Gluten-Free Coconut Lemon Custard Pie or the Coconut Crème Brûlée.

This Boston cream pie is made mainly with milk. Yes, 3 1/2 cups of milk. The recipe may look complicated, but it is sooo easy to make. It took me 20 minutes of prep time to put this gluten-free dessert together.

easy steps to make gluten-free Boston cream pie…

To not overwhelm you, I will break down the steps of making this Boston cream pie recipe. The recipe may look complicated because of the long instructions, but it’s not. 

To start,

Gather all the ingredients. What I love about this Boston cream pie recipe is the ingredients are basic pantry things. Milk, eggs, butter, vanilla, sugar, baking powder, and to keep the flours simple, I used a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. The only ingredient you may have to get is tapioca flour/starch, but you can also use corn starch. The glaze is also easy, chocolate and cream. 

Begin with the custard. The custard needs to cool, so that is why I started with the custard. First, you heat the milk with sugar. Then, in a separate bowl, whisk the remaining custard ingredients. Next, add some hot milk to the bowl, pour the mixture into the remaining hot milk, cook until it thickens, then cool—nothing to it.

The cake,

Super easy! Whisk the eggs with sugar and salt until light and thick. This is pretty standard with most cake recipes. In a small saucepan, heat the milk until very hot but not boiling. Remove from the heat, stir in butter until melted and then vanilla.

Slowly pour the hot mixture into the eggs while the mixer runs, then fold in the dry ingredients. Done! Pour the mixture into the baking pans and bake.

The chocolate ganache glaze…

You will need two ingredients. Good gluten-free chocolate or chocolate chips and cream. Using a double boiler, heat the cream and chocolate until the chocolate has melted. About 3 minutes. Done!

And lastly, assemble the Boston cream pie…

This is the fun part. Spread the custard over the bottom cake, top with the second cake and pour the chocolate glaze over the top. Then refrigerate the cake for a minimum of two hours, allowing the cake to set. Done!

1 or 2 cake pans?

I like to simplify things, so I used two 8-inch round cake pans. If you don’t have 8-inch cake pans, you can use one 9-inch round cake pan and split the cake into two layers after cooled. You may need to bake the cake about five minutes longer. 

2 things to remember when making Boston cream pie…

You need to allow time for chilling. The custard needs time to set and become firm enough for slicing, so plan ahead when making this dessert.

Slicing the Boston cream pie. You will need a sharp knife and very hot water. Resting your knife in a jug of hot water in between slices will give you a perfect slice of cake.

Trust me, this gluten-free Boston cream pie is roll your eyes back insanely delicious. Every bite is filled with a vanilla pudding cake, light custard and chocolate ganache. I am super excited to share this perfect gluten-free dessert with you today because it is exceptional!