A few weeks ago, I had one heck of a craving. I needed Boston Cream Pie, and bad. 

The problem was, I wasn't feeling great and didn't want to spend the hours required to make it. Every recipe I looked at seemed so complicated. . . bake the sponge cake, make the pastry cream, then the ganache.

On a whim, I created a 'cheater' recipe for Boston Cream Pie cupcakes.  I have to say....they weren't too bad.  I simply made some Jiffy yellow cake from a box, made some french vanilla pudding and made some easy ganache with chocolate chips, heavy cream and a tiny bit of butter.

How cute are these!?!?

I just made the cupcakes and filled a pastry bag with some pudding.  I stuck the bag into the top of a cupcake (with a wide tip) and piped the pudding into the middle until the sides bulged.  EASY!!!

So, they were good, and they fed the fix.....temporarily.  But I wanted real Boston Cream Pie.  I stopped obsessing about it (this was my migraine week) but it didn't go away.

The next weekend I went to the mediation/yoga retreat and came home to the best guy and kid a gal could have....and the REAL Boston Cream Pie they made for me!!

It was wonderful!!!

How sweet are they?!?!?!