Cream Puff Cake

This homemade Cream Puff Cake is super EASY to make and tastes so good everyone will ask for this dessert recipe!

With a cream puff pastry like crust covered with a rich and creamy vanilla filling topped with whipped topping and drizzled with chocolate, this Cream Puff Cake is simply irresistible!

Best Cream Puff Dessert

My family loves this cake so much we’ve made it twice in the past two weeks! While it’s a toss-up between our Best Chocolate Cake from a Box Mix, Heath Bar Cake and Glazed Rum Bundt Cake this one may be a new FAVORITE cake!

A unique homemade puff pastry crust is the base layer that my husband adores. Topped with a rich and creamy pudding and cream cheese layer that is my favorite, this dessert is only made better with a layer of whipped topping and drizzled with chocolate. The cream puff cream is so good I could eat that for dessert and be satisfied.

I’m the type of dessert fan that believes more chocolate is better, so I added even more chocolate syrup to my piece of puff cake and discovered that I like a hint of chocolate more than dousing the cream in chocolate. Shocking, I know!

Whether it’s the layers in our Cinnamon Cream Cheese Bars, Gooey Marshmallow Brownies or Candy Land Dessert I love when complementary flavors come together to make each bite magical. And that’s exactly what happens in the layered cream puff cake!

Easier Than a Cream Puff

Eaten with a fork instead of being handheld, this Cream Puff Cake doesn’t look the same as an individual cream puff, but it certainly doesn’t lack any flavor!

The real star of a cream puff dessert is the cream. This Creamy pudding and cream cheese-based dessert is so much quicker to make in cake form, so this recipe is truly a winner!

This Cream Puff Cake is an easy make at home version of a fancier bakery style cream puff pastry. I love cream puffs! I only get them occasionally at festivals or at one of the most famous restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, Schmidt’s Sausage Haus.

Sometimes family parties or banquet type meals will have mini cream puffs that are purchased from GFS, but nothing holds a candle to this homemade cream puff cake! And adding chocolate syrup makes it reminiscent of a chocolate eclair.

Tips for Making Cream Puffs Cake

• Allow time for the dough to cool so that the puff layer is prepared properly.
• Allow pan and dough to cool before adding the cream filling so that cream layer can remain firm and cool.
• Cream cheese that is VERY soft will be easiest to mix, if there are small bumps know that they will not negatively affect the quality of the dessert.
• Begin with a very light drizzle of chocolate as we’ve found that less equals more.
• Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, but know that it will taste best in the first couple days.
• The dough could be prepared and frozen, but the finished dessert would not freeze well.

How to Make Easy Cream Puff Cake

1. Boil together water, butter and salt then pour into a mixing bowl.
2. Add flour and beat by hand until it forms a ball or beat for a couple of minutes with an electric mixer until very well mixed. I prefer to use an electric mixer, so a ball does not form with the beater I have, so I just take time to mix well.
3. Cool! The next step is adding eggs and the base of the dough needs to cool enough that the eggs don’t start cooking as soon as they hit hot dough.
4. Preheat oven to 450°F and grease a 9×13″ baking pan.
5. Add eggs and beat until thick and smooth. Dough surface should have a satin sheen.
6. Cool again for about 5 minutes.
7. Pour into greased pan and bake for 15 minutes at 450°F. Corners and edges will PUFF up, this is normal.
8. Prick with a knife several times to allow air to escape.
9. Reduce oven heat to 350°F and bake another 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the dough so that it doesn’t get too brown. If this happens the edges can be covered with foil, but I have not had to do this.
10. Allow pan and dough to cool before adding cream filling. You should not feel heat in the bottom of the pan when applying the cream layer.
11. Beat softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Add pudding and milk, mix slowly at first and then beat well. Pour over baked cream puff.
12. Cover with Cool Whip. Store in the refrigerator.
13. Drizzle with chocolate syrup immediately before serving.

Other Easy Spring Dessert Recipes:

• Lemon Cake Cookies
• Best Sour Cream Cookies
• Farmhouse Lemon Bars 
• Strawberry Lemonade Pie 
• Lemon-Raspberry Bars
• Angel Food Cake Dessert Trifle

Printable Cream Puff Cake Recipe

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Cream Puff Cake

This homemade Cream Puff Cake is super EASY to make and tastes so good everyone will ask for this dessert recipe!

With a cream puff pastry like crust covered with a rich and creamy vanilla filling topped with whipped topping and drizzled with chocolate, this Cream Puff Cake is simply irresistible!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, French, Italian

Keyword Cream Puff Cake

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 20 pieces

Calories 205 kcal

Author Jennifer @ Plowing Through Life

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 packages instant vanilla pudding
• 1 cup flour
• 8 ounces cream cheese very soft
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 1 container Cool Whip defrosted
• 1/4 cup chocolate syrup

Instructions

1. Boil together water, butter and salt. Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl.

2. Add flour and beat by hand until it forms a ball or beat for a couple of minutes with an electric mixer until very well mixed.

3. Cool!

4. Preheat oven to 450°F and grease a 9×13" baking pan.

5. Add eggs and beat until thick and smooth. Dough surface should have a satin sheen.

6. Cool again for about 5 minutes.

7. Pour into greased pan and bake for 15 minutes at 450°F.

8. Prick with a knife to allow air to escape. Reduce oven heat to 350°F and bake another 20 minutes.

9. Allow pan and dough to cool before adding cream filling.

10. Beat softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Add pudding and milk, mix slowly at first and then beat well. Pour over baked cream puff.

11. Cover with Cool Whip and drizzle with chocolate syrup. Store in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

• Allow time for the dough to cool so that the puff layer is prepared properly.
• Allow pan and dough to cool before adding the cream filling so that cream layer can remain firm and cool.
• Cream cheese that is VERY soft will be easiest to mix, if there are small bumps know that they will not negatively affect the quality of the dessert.
• Begin with a very light drizzle of chocolate as we’ve found that less equals more.
• Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, but know that it will taste best in the first couple days.
• The dough could be prepared and frozen, but the finished dessert would not freeze well.