Yucky Boston Cream Pie
We went to eat at the Omni Parker House because it’s famous for being the origin of the Boston Cream Pie and got a shock: turns out they offer the original recipe and the original recipe isn’t as good as typical current BCP and it’s got nuts all over it. Yuk.More
We are sorry you were disappointed with our famous and originial Boston Crème Pie. However, we understand that not everyone enjoys the same things, so we hope that you may come back so that you may try our many other fine entrees and delicious desserts served in Parker’s Restaurant, Parker’s Bar and The Last Hurrah. Whether you are looking for a peaceful fine dining experience or a more relaxed atmosphere, we have the perfect ambiance for you. The Parker House is proud to be celebrating a rich culinary tradition since 1855 and we are proud continue to offer a menu that we believe can appeal to everyone tastes. We look forward to seeing you again!
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- Trip type: Traveled on business
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- Trip type: Traveled with family
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In Literature And Music
For more than 150 years, the Parker House has appeared in prose and poetry set in and around Boston.
Edith Wharton included a private meeting between characters Mr. Newland Archer and Countess Ellen Olenska at the Parker House in her celebrated work of the early 20th century, The Age of Innocence. Archer is told that the Countess Olenska is staying in Boston at the Parker House, and he flees Newport to meet her there.
Quentin Compson treats himself to a meal at Parker’s Restaurant before committing suicide by flinging himself from the Anderson Memorial Bridge into the Charles River in William Faulkner’s 1929 novel “The Sound and the Fury.”
In Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ Willy Loman claims he ‘met a salesman in the Parker House’. One imagines that as today a salesman would meet people in the public areas of such a grand hotel but stay, like Willy, at somewhere like the ‘Standish Arms’.
Although many “haunting” books and “ghost tours” claim that Stephen King‘s 1999 short story 1408about a writer who experiences a haunted stay at a New York hotel called the Dolphinwas based on Room 303 of the Parker House and the supernatural events surrounding the room, King’s personal assistant says that claim is false.
In Donna Tartt’s 1992 novel The Secret History, the characters stayed at the Parker House, mentioning it was where Dickens had stayed. In Anita Diamant’s 2004 novel, The Boston Girl, the main character experiences a bad date at the Parker House.
Eat Cake And Be Married
Today individual sized pies are still served in Parkers Restaurant. The hotel states that it is in this restaurant at the table 40 that John F. Kennedy proposed to Jackie Bouvier. You can request the table for dinner if you are planning a romantic getaway in Boston. The hotel is gorgeous and worth a visit just to marvel at the beautiful architecture. Although, there is also Martins Tavern of Georgetown that claims the proposal happened in their booth 3. Where is the truth?
If you dont have time, drop by a gift shop called Morsels inside the hotel. They have coffee and a variety of desserts, including Boston cream pie. I chose this option since a dinner at Parkers Restaurant costs a pretty penny. I grabbed this baby to go and enjoyed it in a nearby coffee shop. Its a genuinely good cake: moist sponge, not overly sweet cream and delicious chocolate ganache. Almond flakes add a beautiful nutty note to it. A good old classic that you can rely on, but it wont blow your mind away.
I was a bit underwhelmed at the first bite, but after giving it some thought I realized: maybe this pie isnt supposed to blow your mind away? Since when has a piece of good cake stopped being enough? This is the traditional recipe this is how the pie used to be made 160 years ago its delicious. What else can you ask from it? So I say when in Boston, definitely head down to this historic site and have a bite of the legendary dessert!
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Revolution And The Siege Of Boston
A south east view of the great town of Boston in New England in America
The weather continuing boisterous the next day and night, giving the enemy time to improve their works, to bring up their cannon, and to put themselves in such a state of defence, that I could promise myself little success in attacking them under all the disadvantages I had to encounter.
,in a letter to , about the British armys decision to leave Boston, dated March 21, 1776.
Many of the crucial events of the occurred in or near Boston. Bostons penchant for mob action along with the colonists growing lack of faith in either or fostered a revolutionary spirit in the city. When the British parliament passed the in 1765, a Boston mob ravaged the homes of , the official tasked with enforcing the Act, and , then the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. The British sent two regiments to Boston in 1768 in an attempt to quell the angry colonists. This did not sit well with the colonists. In 1770, during the , British troops shot into a crowd that had started to violently harass them. The colonists compelled the British to withdraw their troops. The event was widely publicized and fueled a revolutionary movement in America.
Where The Famous Began
Not only have the rich and famous enjoyed a luxurious stay or two here at the oldest hotel in the USA, but they have also put in some hours behind the scenes making other guests experiences just as fabulous.
Like, did you know that Malcolm X worked here in the kitchen? So did Ho Chi Minh and world renowned chef Emeril Lagasse! These notables make up another element of the Omni Parker House history. Its these fun tidbits that bring many guests near and far through the lobby to learn more about this venue that gave many their starting point to success.
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Boston Cream Pie At Parker House To Go
Does anyone know if we can just get a serving of Boston Cream Pie at the Parker House without having to do the fine-dining in the restaurant? We will only be in Boston for a few days and there are so many food places on our list that we’re trying to avoid having to eat a big meal at Parker House and stuffing ourselves silly. Does just going for dessert look ridiculous? I thought of the Last Hurrah Bar that’s at Parker House but we don’t drink so I was trying to avoid ordering only pie and water there. Such a dilemma. 🙂
The Last Hurrah does serve food and there is no requirement that you consume alcohol there so you do not have to indulge or drink water. Many people look ridiculous in bars and it isn’t usually because of ordering pie. i don’t drink either and have never had a problem in a bar. If all else fails, the Parker House has the recipe on their web site.
Edited: 7 years ago
Thanks for the recipe link. For fun, I’ll try out the recipe after I eat the real one. 🙂
You can have the pie in parkers or the last hurrah, no problem. My wife and I have done that a couple of times on different trips. Nice way to relax for a short time between shopping, sightseeing etc.
Enjoy!!
I went searching because I thought I had read that you could get it to go. I found a few reviews that say the person bought the pie in the gift shop at the Parker House. I may just stop by this weekend and get one. I haven’t had their version in many years.
Penny
Penny
The Sweetest Part Of Omni Parker House History
So lets get to the sweet spot of this post. You guessed it. The iconic Boston Cream Pie. I love travelling to the original sites of creation whether it be a culinary dish, a classic book , an historical event, etc. So of course when we learned that the Omni Park Houses talented pastry chefs created the famous Boston Cream Pie dessert, I just had to stop in and try it.
This classic cake brings together the light texture of vanilla genoise sponge and the thick richness of the pure chocolate completed with classic feathering. The blanched almonds on the outside give it that contrasting crunch that elite pastries are known for and deserve. It was pure heaven on a plate. Sheer luxury with every bite. It was so incredible that I deem it one of the best desserts I have ever eaten. !?
Tasting the original recipe of Omni Parker House history truly gave perspective on the replicated versions enjoyed elsewhere. They were in no way comparable to the original in my mind. And, Boston certainly took note of the unmatched nature of this dessert by crowning it as the official dessert of Massachusetts!
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Recipe: Parker Houses Boston Cream Pie
The venerable Boston hotels famed pie is the official dessert of Massachusetts.
Boston Cream Pie
5 oz. Fondant for white icing6 oz. Fondant for chocolate icing3 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate, melted
Substitution for Fondant Icing:
6 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate, melted2 oz. Warm water
1 cup 10X Sugar 1 tsp. Corn syrup1 tsp. Water
Directions:
Bring to a boil in a saucepan the butter, milk and light cream. While this mixture is cooking, combine the sugar, cornstarch and eggs in a bowl and whip until ribbons form. When the cream-milk-butter mixture reaches the boiling point, whisk in the egg mixture and cook to boiling. Boil for one minute. Pour into a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Chill overnight if possible. When chilled, whisk to smooth out and flavor with 1 tsp. dark rum.
Level the sponge cake off at the top using a slicing knife. Cut the cake into two layers. Spread the flavored pastry cream over one layer. Top with the second cake layer. Reserve a small amount of the pastry cream to spread on sides to adhere to almonds.
For chocolate fondant: Warm 6 oz. of white fondant over boiling water to approximately 105 degrees. Add melted chocolate. Thin to spreading consistency with water.
For white fondant: Warm 5 oz. of white fondant over boiling water to approximately 105 degrees. Thin with water if necessary. Place in a piping bag with a 1/8-inch tip.
For more info:
The Haunted Restaurant In Boston That Invented The Boston Cream Pie
The Omni Parker House Hotel is renowned for many reasons. This establishment is the longest continuously operating hotel in the nation. So, its not altogether surprising that its also been dubbed the most haunted hotel in New England. While these are both compelling reasons to visit, for me, the hotels biggest draw is dessert!
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Omni Parker House Boston Cream Pie
Owners of the Parker House Hotel in Boston claim that the Boston cream pie was first created at the hotel by renowned French chef Augustine Francois Anezin, who led the hotel’s culinary staff from 1865-81. The Boston cream pie is the official dessert of Massachusetts, declared as such on 12 December 1996
The Kind Of Pie That Is Actually A Cake
Boston cream pie is a cake made of two layers of sponge, filled with rum infused custard cream and topped with chocolate ganache frosting. Why is it called pie then? As Yankee Magazine points out,
at that time, pie and cake tins were often considered interchangeable, as were the words themselves. This lax approach to labeling is likely why Sanzians French-inspired concoction débuted as Chocolate Cream Pie in 1856, and why subsequent versions continued to be called pies rather than cakes.
But theres still more to its unique history. The use of chocolate icing on top was revolutionary.
When the Parker House opened, chocolate was mainly consumed at home as a beverage or in puddings. So the Parker House cake might have become well known for its rather innovative use of chocolate.
Can you believe that before this timeless dessert was invented the words cake and chocolate didnt belong together? Can you imagine a world without chocolate frosted cake? What a sad world that would be!
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What Is Boston Cream Pie
Despite the name, its not a pie at all. Filled with a rich and velvety pastry cream, what truly makes this two-layer golden cake so special is the rich chocolate icing. Back in the 1800s, chocolate was mainly consumed at home as a beverage or in puddings. With this inventive use of chocolate, the dessert was originally named Chocolate Cream Pie. Over time, the name changed, and in 1958, the Boston Cream Pie became so popular it was fashioned into a Betty Crocker boxed cake mix recipe.
Its so wicked awesome , were sharing our original recipe so you can learn how to make your own Boston Cream Pie at home. But if baking isnt your thing, you can always order Boston Cream Pie delivery from Goldbelly.
The Historic History Of The Boston Cream Pie
The fact is that this pie is not really a pie at all, but thats not even the most confusing part about it.
The pie known as Boston Cream takes many forms these days: donuts, cookies, and even cupcakes. However, that doesnt conceal the fact that the dessert thats known as pieis actually a layered cake with quite a confusing and long history thats entangled in early American food culture.
Related:
There is an explanation for the cake thats actually called a pie two explanations, actually and while one seems to make sense, the other is a little more out of the box. Or, in this case, out of the pie tin. The original inspiration for the Boston Cream Pie was actually the result of another, similar pie, that was named after the first president of the United States. Therefore, it could be considered to be the all-American dessert, except that it was not the original custard-filled cake. Have the feelings of confusion sunken in yet? Good, because its going to be a wild ride as we trace our way back through history to determine when, how, and why this cake was created, and how it became so popular. And, furthermore, why its so associated with Boston rather than the entire New England region.
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