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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.
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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 155 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

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.

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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4.99 from 155 votes (105 ratings without comment)

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282 Comments

  1. Elaine says:

    I did not like the way the crust turned out..mine puffed up the sides. Decided to make a graham cracker crust instead. Also you should beat the cream cheese first, otherwise you cannot get out the lumps! Next time I will do that and blend pudding and milk together and then add cream cheese. I know mine won’t be like a cream puff exactly, but here’s hoping it will taste okay…serving it to a women’s golf league!

  2. CJ says:

    MY FAVORITE CREAM PUFF IS WITH COCONUT CREAM !

  3. Mrsmac says:

    This turned out delicious…but the crust rose very high and freaked me out. To me the egg taste was very apparent. I wonder if you leave out one egg if would help or ruin it. The cream filling was so delicious it did cover the egginess, but I did notice it. Everyone elsevtjughtbitceas amazing. I’m gonna make it again, but tweak a little… Thank you for sharing it.

  4. Naj says:

    I made this Cream Puff cake today for my Family/Friends @ a Game night I hosted. I couldn’t have been happier with the results. This recipe is amazing! It came out just as the picture indicated it would. Everyone loved it, the crust was perfect and the filling was the perfect sweetness. If the directions are well followed, everyone will be happy with the results. I also loved how pretty it was. I will make again, and again!

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by! It really is my favorite cake ever! SO glad it turned out and that everyone loved it. Have a great day! 😀

  5. tabitha says:

    CANT WAIT TO TRY THESE THINGS !!

  6. Mica says:

    My filling was really runny. I followed your directions exactly so I don’t know what went wrong. Not too fond on the cake part, tastes like egg and flour will make sure to add sugar and vanilla next time.

  7. Michele says:

    Just tried this recipe and the crust rose up really high in just the middle. I’m not sure what the problem is.

  8. Nat D. says:

    MMMMmmmmmmmm!!!! Cream puffs are like one of my top 5 favorite foods. I am definitely going to be making this….like next week. Thanks!

  9. Kim says:

    This is a great recipe! My cream cheese didn’t thaw long enough and it was all crumbly 🙁 🙁 but still delicious!

    1. Mikayla says:

      If it doesn’t have enough time to thaw, you could put it in THE microwaVe for about 30-45 seconds, or until thawed. (Depending on the brand of your microwave)