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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!
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.
For more Cake recipes:
More Collections: New Years Eve Desserts,
Cream Puff Cake Recipe
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the best cake ever! Not to sweet and not heavy. It’s divine.
I did substitute whip cream for the cool whip it was awesome!
Glad you think so!! It’s one of our go-to’s!! Thank you!
Oh my goodness!!! You share the most amazing recipes!! Thank you so much!
You are so nice! Thank you so much for saying that!
I made this cream puff cake recipe according to the recipe. Both times I refrigerated the cake. The next day when I served the cake the cool whip and pudding were not solid. The pudding and cool whip became a liquid and not a solid cake. I was wondering if the cake should have been frozened, since it was like it had thawed out and not firm at all like the video showed. What did I do wrong? Thanks for your assistance.
I’m not really sure what happened. It doesn’t turn solid, but stays the consistency of pudding & cool whip. The only thing I can think of is, did you make the pudding, then added 3 cups of milk?
Just wanted to share that I subbed in a gluten free flour blend (cup for cup) into the cream puff cake and it turned out perfectly! It was a hit! I’m sure it’s going to be requested for many birthdays to come!
Thank you for sharing! Hopefully, that will help some 🙂 Glad you liked it!
Your cream puff cake is delicous. I have always made cream puffs, now I only make your cake. Half the time and it is delicous and looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing
You are so welcome!!! I’m so glad you like it! It’s one of my favs!
I found alot of great!! Recipes that I will be enjoying this holiday! I cannot wait
Awsome site…????
Thanks so much!! You are too nice! Let me know what you think of the ones you try!
Hello
I wanted to make your Cream Puff Cake which looks delicious, but as I live in Spain we don’t have 1 box instant vanilla or white chocolate pudding (large box) or the cool whip… Do you know if I could substitute these with cream of something else?
Thank you very much and kind regards,
Rosemary.
I have not tried substituting something else . You could make a homemade pudding & whipped topping? Google is the best 🙂 Let me know if you try it!
I don’t use margarine, can I substitute butter?
Of course 🙂 Hope you like it!! Thank you!
I have made cream puffs many times and Danish Puff that uses the same crust and it is delicious. Time to try the cake now. Thanks for sharing!
I have never liked instant pudding, could this be made with cooked pudding?
Sounds so yummy!
Oh my goodness, just what a fat man on a diet needs, cream puff cake. I’m gonna enjoy every bite.
LOL!!! You are too funny!! Enjoy every bite 🙂 Thank you!