Boston, Massachusetts is a city filled with history, flare, and flavor.

From midnight rides and tea parties to baked beans, cream pies, our nation’s first subway, Fenway Park, and so much more, Boston is a city with much to share.

In fact, you may be surprised to find that some of your favorite desserts and coffee treats originated in Boston!

Anyone love a custard filled donut topped with rich, decadent chocolate glaze?

What about a creamy, cold, coffee infused frappe?

Did you know both of these treats originated in Beantown?

No, not that kind of bean, as unfortunately this city’s nickname doesn’t actually refer to our favorite bean, the coffee bean. But, that’s not going to stop us from happily zeroing in on those last two Boston originals!

That’s right, today we’d like to feature one of our decadent and delicious flavored coffee selections - Lifeboost Boston Cream Donut Coffee - by sharing a few tasty recipes with you, including a creamy, smooth, Boston-inspired frappe!

Custard and Donuts and Frappes, Oh Yum!

The delicious Boston cream donut was inspired by a similar dessert, the Boston Cream Pie.

This pie is unique in that it more so resembles a cake than a pie, but any eyebrows raised in confusion over this dessert (cake or pie) are quickly traded for a bold smile after a single taste of its decadence - creamy, rich vanilla custard sandwiched between a top and bottom layer of moist sponge cake, covered with deeply delicious chocolate ganache - what’s not to love?!

And, speaking of love, Bostonians revered this delightful dessert so much, they eventually used this treat as inspiration for another, now iconic, offering: the Boston Cream Donut.

In the mid 1800’s, M. Sanzian worked as a pastry chef at the Parker House Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts.

It was here that the chef created the renowned Boston cream, a delicate combination of vanilla, milk, sugar, and eggs, to be used in a pie/cake.

At this time, the rich, thick cream was simply referred to as a vanilla custard, and due to the pie’s luxurious use of chocolate ganache to top the dessert, it was first known as a chocolate cream pie.

However, eventually the Parker House Hotel chefs decided to use the dessert to honor their great city, and thus the name Boston Cream was born.

Of course, it didn’t take long for this dessert to win over palates within the city and all across our nation, prompting a number of Boston Cream Pie dessert variations, including the Boston Cream Donut, also traced back to the Parker House Hotel, which is still a staple in Boston today.

In fact, Bostonians love this claim to their dessert fame so much, it was named the official donut of Massachusetts in 2003.

Now, I don’t have to tell you that one of the best companions to a fluffy, fried yeast donut filled with rich vanilla custard and topped with chocolate glaze is a smooth, bold cup of coffee, hot or iced.

But, did you know you can get the best of both worlds when sipping on our Boston Cream Donut flavored coffee? …which naturally brings me to our next Boston-inspired treat, the frappe.

Frappes are now a common coffee beverage, and like the Boston cream pie, these are also said to have originated in Beantown, but we’ve got a little bit of explaining to do here to avoid any confusion.

In the city of Boston, for many years folks have been sipping on milky, flavored, ice-cream filled treats known as frappes.

For instance, a chocolate frappe would contain milk, chocolate syrup or flavoring, and ice cream, all combined and blended to sippable perfection.

And, when Bostonians desire a similar treat without ice cream, they simply order a milkshake, which is made exactly as it sounds, by combining milk and flavoring, then shaking until frothy.

But wait?

If you’re from anywhere else in the states, you might be thinking, isn’t this rendering of a frappe actually a milkshake? …not if you’re ordering this treat in Massachusetts!

What the rest of the US refers to as a milkshake is called a frappe in Boston, and until the early 1990’s this had nothing to do with coffee.

Thankfully for java lovers, in 1992, Coffee Connection cafe owner, George Howell, traveled to the west coast to explore how coffee was being served in this area of the country. And, it was here that he fell in love with Seattle’s chilly coffee offerings, as baristas were serving up blended, iced cappuccinos.

Boston Creme Donut

Our specialty Boston Cream Donut coffee is a cozy cup of this favorite, decadent breakfast treat. Crafted to combine the smooth balance of our medium roast, stomach-friendly beans with the smooth vanilla, rich chocolate, and light airy pastry flavors typical of a Boston Cream Donut.

Shop Now

So, upon returning home, Howell tasked Andrew Frank, his young marketing manager, with creating their own unique cafe concoction based loosely on this west coast trend.

With the Boston frappe in mind, Frank developed a blend of coffee, sugar, milk, and ice which he added to a frozen yogurt machine to create a smooth, creamy, yet sippable treat.

And, as the creation contained coffee and other cappuccino ingredients, Frank called it a frappuccino, a delicious fusion of coffee/cappuccino and the Boston frappe.

As you might have imagined, especially given its popularity still today, the frappucino became an instant favorite in Boston, even causing George Howell’s business to double, necessitating the opening of an additional 23 cafes within a single year of the drink’s introduction.

Later, Howell sold Coffee Connection to Starbucks, which is why this drink, in name and making, is seen on their menu boards all across the world.

And now for the biggest drum roll of the day…

We’d like to combine both of these Boston born desserts in one delicious, sippable treat, using our Boston Cream Donut flavored coffee to make a delicious frappe!

Smooth, velvety vanilla, buttery sponge cake, decadent chocolate, and clean, bold, medium roasted coffee…what a phenomenal, delicious base for a Boston themed drinkable dessert. Yum!

Of course, if you’d prefer a less thick and creamy choice, we’ll provide a simple, but tasty, iced coffee concoction you can try as well.

My recommendation, however, is that you try both, and let us know which one you like best!

Boston Cream Donut Frappe

This incredibly delicious treat is like a traditional Boston frappe, or as the rest of the nation calls it, a milkshake, but with all the fabulous flavors of a Boston cream donut enjoyed alongside a fresh cup of coffee.

Yes, as you can imagine, this marriage of two Boston favorites and one of the world’s most loved beverages will soon become your summertime sweet treat go-to!

Oh, and we certainly won’t judge if you decide to indulge by garnishing this treat with a fluffy, custard filled, chocolate topped Boston cream donut!

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 6 ounces cold brewed Lifeboost Boston Cream Donut Coffee
• 1 cup ice
• 1 cup vanilla ice cream
• ½ cup homemade vanilla custard (see recipe below)
• ¼ cup milk
• 2-3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
• 1-2 dollops homemade vanilla custard, for topping
• Chocolate sauce, for topping

Instructions

• Add cold brew, ice, ice cream, custard, milk, and chocolate sauce to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
• Divide between two glasses, top with a dollop of custard and a drizzle of chocolate sauce, and enjoy!

*Note: if you’d like a thicker frappe, add a bit more ice cream. If you’d like a thinner frappe, increase the amount of milk, little by little to reach your desired consistency.

Homemade Vanilla Custard

• ¼ cup custard powder
• 2 ½ cups milk
• 2 tablespoons castor sugar (finely ground granulated sugar)

Combine custard powder and ¼ cup milk in a small glass and stir until smooth.
Add custard mixture, remaining milk, and sugar to a saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring continually until the mixture comes to a low boil and thickens. Simmer for one minute, stirring continually, then remove from heat and allow to cool prior to using in the frappe recipe.

Iced Boston Cream Donut Latte

I suppose we can’t indulge in frappes each and every day as this wouldn’t exactly be the best way to crush our health goals.

And, this is why we really wanted to include an iced Boston Cream Donut Coffee treat that you can sip and savor on a more regular basis, a recipe that contains a few less frills, but still tops the charts on flavor.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cold brewed Lifeboost Boston Cream Donut Coffee
• ½ cup, plus 2 tablespoons milk (your choice, dairy or non)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon chocolate sauce (see below for homemade recipe)
• ice

Instructions

• Add ice to a glass, then top with cold brew, vanilla extract, and ½ cup milk. Stir to combine.
• Add heavy cream, 2 tablespoons milk, and 1 tablespoon chocolate sauce to a glass and froth with a handheld frother until smooth, creamy, and almost doubled in size.
• Top iced coffee mixture with chocolate cold foam, and enjoy!

Homemade Chocolate Sauce

• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Add maple syrup and cocoa powder to a small bowl and stir or whisk until well combined and smooth. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

*Note: If you’d like this latte to have more of a frappe-like consistency, simply add the cold brew, ½ cup milk, vanilla, and ice to a blender. Blend on high, then pour into a glass before making the chocolate cold foam to use as a topping.
Then, you can either leave the cold foam as a topping, or you can gently stir it into the blended latte to allow the chocolate mixture to swirl throughout the beverage. Enjoy!

Check out Lifeboost Coffee Boston Creme Donut.

Becky Livingston Vance Content writer

Becky is a mother, educator, and content writer for Lifeboost Coffee. She has had three years’ experience as a writer, and in that time she has enjoyed creatively composing articles and ebooks covering the topics of coffee, health and fitness, education, recipes, and relationships.