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Smooth + rich Cream Puff Cake is a take on the popular cream puff dessert. Drizzle it in chocolate for a perfect bite!

If you love desserts like Cream Puffs and Eclairs, then you’ll love this cake version. Cream Puff Cake is like one giant cream puff in cake form!

A slice of cream puff cake drizzled in chocolate sauce.

Cream Puff DESSERT

This Cream Puff Cake is an ALL-TIME favorite dessert!!

I have my mom make it for my birthday each year, because it’s my favorite, and I’ll tell you why I LOVE it so much. It’s because it’s like a GIANT Cream Puff, and I LOVE Cream Puffs!!

If you like them too, then I promise you will love this Cream Puff Cake Recipe. It’s the perfect combination of crust, cream, and pudding, and I think I could eat it all day long.

How to Make Cream Puff Cake

This Cream Puff dessert is easier to make than you’d think. The crust is the hardest part and that’s not very hard either – it just takes getting used to.

PREP. Prepare a 9×13 ceramic or glass baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

CRUST. Boil the margarine and water in a medium saucepan. Add flour and mix well. Remove from heat and add eggs – ONE AT A TIME (this is important). Mix well and spread the dough into a greased 9×13 dish.

Bake the crust at 400° for 30 minutes. The crust will puff up the sides, which is what you want. Let cool.

FILLING. In a large bowl, mix pudding, milk, and cream cheese. beat until lumps disappear. Pour the pudding mixture into the cream puff crust. Top with Whipped Cream and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Before serving, drizzle with chocolate syrup. We love to drizzle it with our homemade Chocolate Fudge Sauce. You can also top it with a chocolate ganache or sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top.

RECIPE Tips

Pudding. Use INSTANT vanilla pudding or white chocolate, or it won’t set. Only use the pudding powder. Do not make it into pudding.

Room temperature ingredients. The butter, cream cheese, and eggs all need to be at room temperature so that they mix together smoothly.

Pastry. Cool the pastry crust completely before adding the filling or the cream will melt and not set. A hot shell will also get soggy more quickly. 

Toppings. Add berries to the top of the slices of cake. Use the homemade Chocolate Fudge Sauce to create a pretty design on the top of the cake.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Make your own Whipped Cream using 2 cups heavy whipping cream, 4 tablespoons powdered sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

  • Chill your metal mixing bowl then add heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to the bowl.
  • Use an electric mixer and whip on low speed then increase to medium-high. Mix until soft peaks form.

Use Cool Whip instead of Whipped Cream. Cool Whip is an easy substitute for whipped cream. Make whatever is best for you and be sure to still have some homemade Chocolate Fudge Sauce on hand to drizzle over it – you won’t regret it!

Storing Info

Make ahead of time. Up until you add the Whipped Cream, this can be covered and placed in the fridge up to 24 hours in advance. If you don’t want to mess up the whipped cream with Saran Wrap, just leave that off until right before serving.

STORE. Covered and stored in the fridge, this Cream Puff Cake can last up to 5 days. Keep it refrigerated when not being eaten because the dairy products need to stay cool.

A slice of cream puff cake drizzled with chocolate syrup.

For more Cake recipes:

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4.99 from 153 votes

Cream Puff Cake Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna
Smooth + rich Cream Puff Cake is a take on the popular cream puff dessert. Drizzle it in chocolate for a perfect bite!
Servings: 12
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 35 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 cup butter, or margarine
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 box instant vanilla or white chocolate pudding (large box)
  • 3 cups milk
  • 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 8 oz whipped cream
  • chocolate syrup
Save This Recipe!
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Instructions 

  • Prepare a 9×13 ceramic or glass baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Boil the margarine and water in a medium saucepan. Add flour and mix well. Remove from heat and add eggs – ONE AT A TIME (this is important).
  • Mix well and spread the dough into a greased 9×13 dish.
  • Bake the crust at 400° for 30 minutes. The crust will puff up the sides, which is what you want. Let cool.
  • In a large bowl, mix pudding, milk, and cream cheese. beat until lumps disappear. Pour the pudding mixture into the cream puff crust. Top with Whipped Cream and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
  • Before serving, drizzle with chocolate syrup. We love to drizzle it with our homemade Chocolate Fudge Sauce. You can also top it with a chocolate ganache or sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 307kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 95mg, Sodium: 250mg, Potassium: 169mg, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 900IU, Calcium: 119mg, Iron: 0.8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Making this recipe? Tag us!
Share it with us on Instagram using the hashtag #lilluna, so we can see what you’re creating in the kitchen!

About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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Recipe Rating




277 Comments

  1. Joy says:

    5 stars
    This cake has been a huge hit anywhere I take it!! It’s so smooth & creamy & I love the little bit of fudge on top, since I need chocolate!

  2. Lavonne says:

    it looked great until I saw the margarine and cool whip. I’m sure butter will substitute fine, but does anyone know if you can use whipped cream instead of the fake stuff?

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      You sure could 🙂

  3. Olivia says:

    5 stars
    The best of cream puffs but in a 9×13 pan. Easy to put together with all the yuminess of cream puffs. This is a favorite dessert in the summertime!

  4. Helen says:

    I make all these. My family loves them. Now my grandchildren. Thank you

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      That’s awesome! I am glad it is a hit! Thank you!

  5. Karen says:

    On the cream puff cake recipe
    Onestick of margarine, is that 1/2 cup or 1 cup stick

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      One stick equals 1/2 cup 🙂

  6. Gsil Fesnak says:

    This cream puff cake was absolutely delicious. So easy to make and so easy to eat. I made this as a test cake to take to work in the next few weeks. By myself I ate half of It in two days. It is so….light and refreshing. Thanks for this amazing recipe.

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      Love hearing that!! It’s a great recipe to share! Thanks!

  7. katherine wilson says:

    I tried making this cake and it turned out terrible! the pastry puffed up in all the wrong places! could it be because I used a glass pan? I have made the cream puffs before and they were perfect.

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      Oh, no! I am sorry it did. I am not sure why it did that?? I wish I knew! I appreciate you giving it a try though 🙂

  8. Mel says:

    Hey there! Are the nutrition facts for the whole cake? Or how many servings are in the entire thing? Thanks!

  9. Judy says:

    5 stars
    Luv your recipes.

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      Awe, thank you so much 🙂

  10. Elsie says:

    Hi Kristin in cream puff cake recipe you say a stick of butter how much in weight as in Australia we don’t have sticks butter . Also pudding mix you say large box how much does it weigh and lastly what is cool whip is it cream with something added we have cream whip here and it’s already mixed in a aerospace type container that you press missed to use it.

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      No problem at all! One stick of butter is half cup. The larger box of pudding is 5.9 ounces. And, lastly, cool whip is whipped cream, so you could use whatever you use as whipped cream. You could also make it from scratch. I would just google the recipe 🙂 Hope that all helps!! And, hope you try it & like it!