My first encounter with Boston cream pie was in doughnut form when I was in middle school. My best friend Melissa’s family had a standing Saturday doughnut-breakfast policy.

It was one of my favorite parts about sleeping over her place on Friday night. Her parents would go out early Saturday morning and bring the treats back for us. While they drank coffee, we ate doughnuts in our pajamas. I always chose Boston cream and I always wished I could eat more than one.

There is something so magical about the Boston cream combination: cool, creamy custard nestled in fluffy cake and topped with bittersweet chocolate. It’s the perfect dessert for the indecisive. Chocolate, vanilla, cake and custard all wrapped up in one. It’s a genius invention.

Get the Recipe: Triple-Chocolate Boston Cream Pie

Now that I’m a baker, I can make Boston cream pie whenever I wish. I’ve made the classic for many birthdays, fashioned it into cupcakes, made it gluten-free and gotten my fill of homemade Boston cream doughnuts.

Now it’s time for a different twist. This triple-chocolate Boston cream pie starts with a fudgy chocolate cake that tastes even better the next day. It’s filled with a luscious chocolate custard and topped with shiny chocolate ganache.

Traditional Boston cream pie may be the official state dessert of Massachusetts, but this chocolate twist has become the official dessert of my apartment.

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Samantha Seneviratne is a New York-based writer, recipe developer and food stylist. She is the author of The New Sugar and Spice (Ten Speed Press), a baking cookbook combining family stories and food history with recipes that reimagine dessert as a more balanced mix of sugar and spice.