Jan. 23 marked National Pie Day. Missed it. Jan. 27 was National Chocolate Cake Day. Missed that, too. Oh, the shame.

But making amends could not be more delicious. Nothing says “happy belated National Pie and National Chocolate Cake days” like a Boston cream pie. As anyone who has ever eaten one knows, it is not really a pie, but a cake. It’s not a chocolate cake, either, though it is covered in chocolate.

Boston cream pie, historians tell us, probably had its origins in a British confection called custard cake. The thinking is that the dessert was called a pie because, in early times, cake tins were rare and it was baked in a pie plate.

In 1856, the chef at Boston’s Parker House hotel (birthplace of the Parker House roll) served a “pudding cake pie.” He iced it with chocolate and called it Parker House cream pie. Over time, presumably due to its association with one of the most famous hotels in Beantown, the name evolved into Boston cream pie. In 1996, the Boston cream pie was named the official dessert of Massachusetts.

A recipe for Boston cream pie (and Parker House rolls) can be found on the Omni Parker House website. But check out this one from “Perfect Pies” by Michele Stuart (Ballantine Books, 2011).

Amends made. To coin a phrase: “Let them eat pie-cake.”

Note: The cake and filling need to cool completely before you can assemble the pie. Plan ahead.

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DESSERT

Boston Cream Pie

For the cake

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, separated

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the filling

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups whole milk

3/4 cup water

3 large egg yolks, beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the icing

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

For the garnish (optional)

1 cup chocolate minichips

Whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch pie pan.

To make the cake, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk, oil, vanilla and egg yolks and, using an electric mixer set on low speed, beat about one minute. Increase speed to high and continue mixing about two minutes, until batter is smooth. In a separate mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into the batter until fully incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pie pan. Bake about 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, whisk together sugar, salt and flour in a medium saucepan. Mix in milk and water. Set over medium heat and cook until mixture begins to simmer and thickens to the point where a spoon, inserted and removed, will be opaquely coated with the mixture. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and stir in 1/4 cup of hot milk mixture. Pour this yolk mixture into the saucepan and simmer three to four minutes, stirring constantly. Remove saucepan from the heat, add vanilla and whisk to thoroughly combine. Pour cream filling into a large bowl to cool for at least two hours.

At this point, you can wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature up to 24 hours, and cover and refrigerate the cooled filling for 24 hours.

Or, you can proceed with assembling the confection. To start, remove the cake from the pie pan and carefully cut in half horizontally to make 2 layers. Place bottom layer back in the pie plate. Pour cream filling over the cake and top with the second layer of cake. Allow to set for at least one hour.

To prepare the icing, place chocolate chips in a medium heat-proof bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour over the chocolate and mix vigorously until melted.

Pour chocolate over the top of the cake, making sure it covers the top layer completely. For extra crunch, add chocolate minichips along the edge of the pie. Refrigerate at least two hours or, covered, up to three days. Serve cold with whipped cream, if desired.

Yields eight slices.