Cream Puff Dessert (+Video)
Cream Puff Dessert (also known as Cream Puff Cake) has a soft, puffy crust topped with a delicious vanilla pudding and all topped with whipped topping and chocolate syrup.
AN EASY CREAM PUFF INSPIRED DESSERT
If you like cream puffs, then you’re gonna love this Cream Puff Dessert. It has all the flavors of a cream puff without all the work! This dessert puts a neat little spin on the traditional cream puff. It has a light, soft, puffy bottom layer. Then it is topped with a delicious, creamy vanilla pudding layer and all of that is topped off with whipped topping and a little syrup to make it truly magical.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
This is a perfect dessert to make in advance of when you want to eat it. Just cover it in some plastic wrap and pop it into the fridge.
A cream puff is a round, nearly hollow, light pastry shell made from choux pastry dough. The hollow inside is then filled with a cream filling.
The base layer that we are making here is called a choux pastry. Choux pastry has only four ingredients and it doesn’t contain any kind of leavening agent. It has a high moisture content (because of the eggs) so you are left with a light but slightly chewy dough. It’s unique and not at all sweet so it works perfectly with this filling.
The simplest way to describe it is puff pastry is layers of dough combined with layers of butter. The fat content in the butter gives you that puffy rise and crumbly texture that is associated with puff pastry.
Choux pastry, on the other hand, relies on the moisture content in the eggs to basically steam the pastry to give it a rise. This creates a chewy texture unlike what you get with a puff pastry which is more crumbly. Puff pastry is not what we want to use in this recipe so they shouldn’t be interchanged here.
Yes it can. But it has to be wrapped very well and I would not recommend freezing it with the whipped topping on top. If you wrap it very well with freezer safe wrapping, it should keep for about 2 months. Then thaw in the refrigerator. Once thawed, you can add the whipped topping and slice and serve.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- unsalted butter
- water
- all-purpose flour
- eggs
- instant vanilla pudding
- cream cheese
- vanilla extract
- milk
- whipped topping (Cool Whip)
- chocolate syrup
HOW TO MAKE CREAM PUFF DESSERT:
Preheat oven to 400F degrees. In a medium pan, melt butter with water.
Bring to a boil (but don’t burn!) Turn off heat. If your burner is staying too hot after you turn it off, just remove the pan from the heat altogether. Add in flour and combine until it looks like a paste.
Add in eggs. Stir mixture until completely combined. This may take a minute or two to get it completely combined. Spread crust into a 9×13 baking dish. I like to spray my hand with some nonstick spray and then press it down evenly using my hand. It just makes it spread much easier. Bake crust for 30 minutes until golden brown. Allow crust to cool completely.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, mix cream cheese until smooth. Add in pudding, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined and mixture begins to thicken (this may take a couple of minutes). If your cream cheese has not come totally to room temperature, it will come out a bit lumpy (like mine.) It does not affect the taste of this dish though. Spread this pastry filling mixture on top of the cooled crust.
Spread whipped topping on top of filling.
Drizzle with chocolate syrup.
Cover and refrigerate for about an hour. Then slice and serve!
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Cream Puff Dessert (+Video)
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
FOR THE FILLING:
- 5.1 ounce (large) instant vanilla pudding
- 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups milk
FOR THE TOPPING:
- 8 ounce tub whipped topping, thawed
- chocolate syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
- In a medium sauce pan, melt butter with water.
- Bring to a boil (but don’t burn!) then turn off heat. Remove pan from the heat.
- Add in flour and combine until it looks like a paste.
- Add in eggs – one at a time. Stir mixture until completely combined. This may take a minute or two to get it completely combined.
- Spread crust into 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
- Bake crust for 30 minutes until golden brown. Allow crust to cool completely.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, mix cream cheese until smooth.
- Add in pudding, milk and vanilla extract.
- Mix until thoroughly combined and mixture begins to thicken (this may take a couple of minutes.)
- Spread ths pastry filling mixture on top of cooled crust.
- Spread whipped topping on top of filling and drizzle with chocolate syrup.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: September 2011
Updated & republished: May 2019
Love the crust recipe! I was afraid it was going to be puff pastry sheets. Thank you for simplifying it.
Gorgeous dessert. I always something that looks just like this at a local restaurant. I am now stoked to know how to make it. Lol!
I have a recipe almost exact to this one, we call it Moon Pie. Gosh I haven't made that in about 5 years. Thanks for posting this, you made it look beautiful.
What a delicious dessert, looks amazing! 🙂
Yum! Mouthwatering.
These look amazing and I can't wait to try them. Thanks for sharing =))
What a great treat! this sounds so delicious
mary x
I'm always looking for new dessert ideas for my Bunco group. This was another hit Brandie
I am copying this recipe and making it!!! It looks so delicious! Thanks for posting it!
That looks fantastic. I cannot wait to try it out. Come over and visit We have some wonderful stuffed pork chops.
Just when I thought I was about caught up on my "to try" desert list, you go and post this….sigh, that looks SO yummy!
Yes Please! Just give me a spoon and I will eat straight from the pan!
What a great twist on the cream puff! This sounds really yummy!!
I love cream puffs! Your version looks great.
I love your version! I have not had a cream puff in ages, but this is absolutely to die for!
Looks divine!
This is very simple to a vanilla slice, but sounds a lot simpler to make. Great job!
Brandie, I love this spin on cream puffs…a one pan wonder for sure. Thank you for sharing this treat with us, you sweet dear!
Dang girl!!! This looks AMAZING! I love desserts like this, and yes I do adore cream puffs… Gosh it's been over 5 years since I've had one… 🙁
Looks perfectly delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
This looks so good!
AMAZING! Thanks for sharing, pinned it for later! 🙂
Stephanie
Come. To. Mama.
Oh yum. This looks so easy and delicious! My kind of food : )
This was so yummy!