Boston Bucket List: Have you truly tasted the original Boston cream pie, as it was born to be?
Boston, Massachusetts — the city that gave the world the Boston cream pie won’t settle for anything less than the original. You’ll find Boston cream pies in almost every Massachusetts grocery store, but to savor the authentic version, you must visit the very place of its invention: the Omni Parker House in Boston.
As Parker House pastry chef Sheri Weisenberger puts it, “I say that all the time. You haven’t had it until you’ve had ours.” That’s because their pastry kitchen still uses the original recipe dating back 170 years.
The original Boston cream pie from Parker House
A Parker House Boston cream pie is exceptionally light in texture, understated in flavor, and distinct in its presentation. More than anything, it feels like stepping back in time for your palate. The sweetness is restrained, a telltale sign of its 19th-century origins. The cake relies on the delicate pastry cream and a bittersweet chocolate topping for its signature flavor.
Visually, the outside is crowned with toasted almonds, and you’ll notice the Parker House’s white chocolate “spider web” design on the ganache.
Then there’s the pie’s most curious trait: despite its name, it’s not a pie at all.
Is it a pie or a cake?
Let’s be clear: this dessert is a cake. It earned the moniker “pie” for two reasons: it’s baked in a pie tin, and in the 1800s the line between “cake” and “pie” wasn’t firmly drawn. Parker House historian Susan Wilson explains that the terms were used interchangeably in that era because most cakes were made in pie tins.
The hottest dessert of 1856
The iconic dessert from Parker House was created by pastry chef Augustin Anezin in 1856, just one year after the hotel opened. His concept—two layers of vanilla cake filled with pastry cream and finished with chocolate ganache—remains the core of today’s Boston cream pie.
In the 1800s, putting chocolate on top of a cake was a revolutionary move, a fact that modern diners may find hard to imagine. Fast forward 170 years, and the Boston cream pie has become a Massachusetts institution. In 1996 it was designated the official state dessert.
But the name didn’t appear overnight. Initially listed on menus as “cream pie,” it later appeared as the “Parker House chocolate cream pie.” The term “Boston cream pie” didn’t become common until the 1950s, when commercial brands like Pillsbury popularized box mixes and home use.
The authentic Parker House recipe
Executive chef Gerry Tice asserts that the hotel’s pastry kitchen still uses the same “core” recipe Anezin developed 170 years ago—the cake, pastry cream, and ganache are faithful to the 19th-century version.
Two modern touches keep the classic cake fresh for today:
- A coating of toasted almonds on the outside, with a thin layer of pastry cream acting as the adhesive.
- A subtle white chocolate drizzle to create a “spider web” look across the ganache, achieved by swirling and then slicing with a skewer.
Beware of impostors
The Parker House team takes seriously its mission to protect the legacy of one of the area’s most beloved desserts. Pastry chef Weisenberger jokes that she’s often the harshest critic when she encounters imitations, noting that no other version she’s seen places nuts on the side like theirs.
Chef Tice, who has led the Parker House kitchen for over 25 years, highlights the telltale differences between their version and run‑of‑the‑mill copies: presentation, the often-visible chocolate drips on store-bought pies, and a noticeably sweeter profile in copycat versions.
He’s quick to affirm: “There are a lot of impostors out there that try to make the Boston cream pie. But we are the original.”
Where to get the real thing today
If you want the authentic Boston cream pie, the Parker House is the place to go. The quickest route is to visit the Last Hurrah bar or Parker’s Restaurant on the hotel’s first floor, where personal-sized Boston cream pies are served for about $12.
For a larger celebration, the hotel also offers an 8-inch pie that serves 10–12 people. You can order that version online and have it shipped via Goldbelly for just under $100.
Would you like tips on pairing this dessert with beverages or suggestions for making a Parker House–style Boston cream pie at home using their core ingredients? I can tailor a simple home-baking guide or a pairing menu to match your taste and occasion.
