Boston cream pie is two layers of sponge cake filled with thick pastry cream and topped with chocolate ganache. Massachusetts's official state dessert since 1996, invented at the Parker House Hotel in 1856.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
The Boston cream pie was created in 1856 by French chef M. Sanzian at the Parker House Hotel on School Street, three years after the hotel opened. The original recipe layered yellow sponge cake with custard cream and finished the top with a chocolate fondant, not a ganache. Massachusetts named it the official state dessert in 1996 over the Toll House cookie and the Indian pudding. The Omni Parker House still serves the original recipe in its Parker's Restaurant dining room. The dish is technically a cake, not a pie; the historic name dates to a period when American kitchens used pie pans for both shapes.
Common allergens: Gluten, Eggs, Dairy
Tip from the editors. The pastry cream must be fully cold before assembly or the cake will weep. Make the cream the day before for the cleanest slice.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Modern Pastry on Hanover Street has filled cannoli to order in Boston's North End since 1930. Chocolate-dipped shells, lighter ricotta cream, the local pick over Mike's.
Tip: Locals line up at Modern; tourists at Mike's. The chocolate-dipped shell is the headline item; Italian rum cake is the under-ordered cake.
Worth the queue: Chocolate-dipped cannoli with sweet cream
Mike's Pastry on Hanover Street has filled cannoli to order in Boston's North End since 1946. 19 cannoli flavours, cash and card, white string-tied box the giveaway.
Tip: The line on weekends runs 20 minutes; the inside-counter line moves faster than the to-go window. Cash and card both.
Worth the queue: Ricotta cannoli with chocolate chips
Joanne Chang opened Flour on Washington Street in Boston's South End in 2000; the city's pastry empire grew to 10 locations across Boston and Cambridge. Sticky buns the headline bake.
Tip: Sticky buns sell out by 14:00 weekends. Order ahead online; the South End original is the calmest of the 10 locations on weekdays.
Worth the queue: Sticky bun with pecans and caramel
Tzurit Or's Tatte runs an Israeli-style bakery-cafe across Boston and Cambridge since 2007. Shakshuka, pistachio croissants and the green-shakshuka brunch list; multiple locations citywide.
Tip: Shakshuka books out by 11:00 weekends. The Charles Street and Harvard Square branches keep the strongest pastry selection late.
Worth the queue: Shakshuka with feta and herbs
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