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Boston Cream Pie Parfaits – all the taste of a Boston cream pie in these fun layered dessert parfaits! You can make them ahead and have them in the fridge for parties or get togethers!
Boston Cream Pie is kind of a classic dessert. It is more of a cake than a pie, so sometimes if you people don’t know what it is they are confused when it is served. It is a yellow cake with a layer of pastry cream in the middle, and then topped with chocolate ganache.
I love the flavors together, I even made a Boston Cream Pie Ice Box cake a couple years ago. You get all the flavor without turning on the oven. Super easy in the summer when it is hot out.

To make these dessert parfaits you can use your favorite Boston cream pie recipe. And then just layer it up in jars. A classic yellow cake is the base. It is light and fluffy and doesn’t break down when it is layered with the pudding.
I took a shortcut from the store to speed up the pastry cream layer. I started with a box of instant pudding, and folded in homemade whipped cream. This way it gets a little structure and isn’t just straight pudding. It is more like traditional pastry cream this way.
And don’t forget the chocolate layer. Boston cream pie is pretty boring if you don’t top it with chocolate ganache. My husband doesn’t like chocolate, so when making the parfaits I left a couple without chocolate for him. Which is really nice and easy when to do when you are making individual desserts.
We brought these to a party and they disappeared quickly! A couple people went back for seconds, which is when you know you have a good dessert on your hands. If you are entertaining this summer, this is the perfect easy dessert recipe to make!
Plus when you made individual desserts it means you don’t have to share. So use big jars and hide those in the back of the fridge for yourself for later!
Boston Cream Pie Parfaits
Ingredients
Cake
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup milk
Cream Layer
- 1 (3.4 oz) box vanilla instant pudding mix
- 2 1/2 cups cold milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Layer
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To Make Cake Layer
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- Alternate mixing in flour mixture and milk until well combined and smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely.
To Make Pudding Layer
- In a large bowl whisk together pudding and cold milk for 2 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile in an electric mixer beat heavy cream until soft peaks. Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat cream until stiff peaks.
- Fold whipped cream into pudding mixture until combined. Set in fridge for 1 hour to set up completely.
To Make Chocolate Layer
- Heat heavy cream to a simmer, do not boil. Add chocolate chips and let stand for 2 minutes. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
To Make Whipped Cream
- In an electric mixer beat heavy cream until soft peaks. Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat cream until stiff peaks.
To Assemble
- Cut cake into cubes. Place a layer of cake in the bottom of 12 mason jars or cups. Spoon a couple tablespoons of pudding mixture over the cake. Drizzle about a teaspoon of chocolate mixture over the pudding. Add another layer of cake, pudding and chocolate. Top with whipped cream and a little drizzle of chocolate.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
WOWZA now this is a delicious way to devour a Boston cream pie!
How awesome are these, LOVE this idea!
I wouldn’t mind having this for dessert everyday!!! It looks amaaazing!!
Shortcuts are always welcome! This is a great treat (and I have had Boston cream pie in so long)! Very fun presentation!
I love Boston Cream so this looks PERFECT!!!
This looks amazingly delicious! I am sure my kids will go crazy for this!
Ohhh how fun are these!??