Having guests for the weekend is always a fantastic excuse for baking, and this weekend was no exception. I flicked through How To Be A Domestic Goddess for some inspiration and as usual, ended up drooling over Nigella’s Boston Cream Pie. In a sudden flash of brilliance I realised that since this cake/pie was peculiar to America, Cooking Light might well have a lightened version on their website. And they did! Two versions, in fact; the triple-butterscotch one you see above (please excuse the small spot of flour!) and the standard chocolate & vanilla cake. I chose the butterscotch version as I love butterscotch even more than chocolate….

The recipe is rather long but it’s really very simple to make. The only part I had trouble with was the custard filling. Make sure that you cook the custard on the lowest possible heat once you add the egg-mixture to the butterscotch in the pan. Custards which use cornflour/cornstarch to assist the thickening scorch much more easily and are very hard to handle. I couldn’t tell that the bottom of the pan was covered in a thick layer of almost cooked custard which nearly resulted in disastrous lumping. If this happens to you, whip the pan off the heat and then whisk madly with a balloon whisk. Your custard should recover. If it’s really disastrous, push it through a nylon sieve….

By the time I assembled the cake, no trace of my near disaster with the custard could be found. The custard was smooth, very thick and had an incredibly powerful butterscotch taste. Very yummy!! The glaze was just gorgeous – very thick and fudgy and a surprisingly generous amount of it for a low-fat recipe!

The cake was a huge hit. After a couple of hours in the fridge the cake and custard had melded together beautifully and it became an amazing hit of butterscotch. I’ll definitely make it again, maybe even for my birthday cake!

Triple-Butterscotch Boston Cream Pie, from Cooking Light Magazine

I didn’t have time to weigh the ingredients, so everything is still in US measures. Sorry!

INGREDIENTS

Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup evaporated fat-free milk
1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk (semi-skimmed milk)
2 tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake:
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons cake flour
1-1/4 cups sifted cake flour (I used plain flour and replaced 2 tbsp with cornflour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk (semi-skimmed milk)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons evaporated fat-free milk
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

Like its famous namesake, this isn’t really a pie but a sponge cake with a butterscotch-custard filling and butterscotch glaze. Don’t be put off by the long ingredient list. You can make the filling in advance, and it will keep for two to three days in the refrigerator. In addition, the glaze takes only a few minutes to prepare.

1. To prepare the filling, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup evaporated milk, stirring constantly, and cook for 2 minutes. Bring to a boil, and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Heat 1 cup 2% milk in a small, heavy saucepan over medium- heat to 180 degrees or until tiny bubbles form around the edge (do not boil). Remove milk from heat.

2. Combine the cornstarch, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1 egg, and egg yolk in a bowl; stir well with a whisk. Gradually add hot 2% milk to egg mixture, stirring constantly. Add milk-egg mixture to brown sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly; cook 1 minute. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Spoon filling into a bowl. Cover surface of filling with plastic wrap; chill.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4. To prepare cake, coat bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pan); line bottom with wax paper. Coat the wax paper with cooking spray, and dust with 2 teaspoons flour. Lightly spoon 1-1/4 cups flour into dry measuring cups, andlevel with a knife. Combine 1-1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Place 1 tablespoon butter and 1/3 cup 2% milk in a small, heavy saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat (do not boil). Remove from heat. Cover and keep warm.

5. Beat 2 eggs in a large bowl with a mixer at high speed for 3 minutes. Gradually add 1/3 cup brown sugar and granulated sugar, beating until thick (about 3 minutes). Add flour mixture to egg mixture alternately with warm milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan; peel off wax paper. Cool cake completely on wire rack.

6. Split cake in half horizontally using a serrated knife; place bottom layer, cut side up, on a plate. Spread with filling. Top with remaining cake layer.

7. To prepare glaze, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons evaporated milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Add powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, stirring with a whisk until well-blended. Spread glaze over top of cake. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

YIELD: 10 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

NUTRITIONAL INFO
CALORIES 292 (27% from fat); FAT 8.7g (sat 4.7g, mono 2.7g, poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 5.3g; CARB 48.3g; FIBER 0g; CHOL 107mg; IRON 1.9mg; SODIUM 253mg; CALC 129mg