Cream Puff Dessert has all the flavors of a cream puff but without all the work. Think of this easy twist on the classic French dessert as a cream puff cake!

Jump to Recipe

Table of Contents

Cream Puff Dessert Ingredients
Substitutions and Additions
How to Make Cream Puff Dessert
How to Serve Cream Puff Dessert
Storage
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
JUMP TO RECIPE

Cream Puff Dessert is an easy twist on the classic French dessert. Made with a crispy choux pastry base, a layer of creamy vanilla custard, fluffy whipped topping, and a drizzle of rich hot fudge sauce, you can think of it as a cream puff cake. So simple to make, yet incredibly impressive and delicious, if you like cream puffs, then you will adore this cream puff dessert.

If you love delicious pastry desserts then you’ll also want to make Eclair Cake, Crescent Roll Cheese Danish, and Cream Puffs.

Cream Puff Dessert Ingredients

You will need:

½ cup salted butter
1 cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
8 ounces cream cheese softened
6.8 ounces French Vanilla instant pudding mix (two 3.4-ounce packages)
2 cups whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
8 ounces frozen whipped topping thawed

hot fudge sauce – try this delicious hot fudge sauce recipe!

PRO TIP: Make sure you are using instant pudding and not regular pudding that requires cooking on the stovetop for this recipe.

Substitutions and Additions

FRENCH VANILLA PUDDING MIX: There isn’t too much difference between French vanilla pudding and regular vanilla pudding, so you could use the regular kind for the delicious filling in this easy cream puff recipe if needed.

HOT FUDGE SAUCE: Chocolate syrup would also work to drizzle on top of this dessert.

TOPPINGS: If you wanted, you could add chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or any other small candy pieces on top of this dessert. You could also go a different route and add fresh fruit on top of this delicious dessert.

WHIPPED CREAM LAYER: You can either use store-bought or homemade whipped cream in this delicious recipe. Check out our own stabilized whipped cream recipe.

How to Make Cream Puff Dessert

STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat a 9×13 glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

STEP TWO: In a 4-quart saucepan heat butter, water, and salt over medium heat. When the butter has melted completely and the mixture begins to boil, remove it from heat.

STEP THREE: Immediately mix flour into the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a smooth ball.

STEP FOUR: Allow mixture to cool for about 5 minutes.

STEP FIVE: Adding only one egg at a time, beat each egg into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon.

PRO TIP: The mixture will separate with the addition of each egg but then come back together to form a smooth paste-like batter.

STEP SIX: Spread batter into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

STEP SEVEN: Bake for 25 minutes or until the edges have poofed up the sides of the baking dish and the batter is golden brown. Some of the batter on the bottom of the dish may puff up also, which is fine.

STEP EIGHT: Cool completely.

STEP NINE: Use the wire whisk attachment on a hand or standing mixer to beat together softened cream cheese, pudding, milk, and heavy cream.

PRO TIP: A wire whisk will help to break down the cream cheese, but it is important that the cream cheese is quite soft and at room temperature before mixing. A few lumps won’t matter to the end result.

STEP TEN: Spread the pudding mixture to fill the cooled puff. Spread the whipped topping evenly over the pudding filling.

STEP ELEVEN: Serve with hot fudge sauce drizzled over the top.

How to Serve Cream Puff Dessert

Cream Puff Dessert is an impressive and scrumptious dessert to whip up for company. Already delicious, this dessert would be even more indulgent with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side or some hot fudge sauce drizzled over the top.

Storage

IN THE FRIDGE: Cover this cream puff dessert with plastic wrap and you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to five days.

IN THE FREEZER: You can make this puff dessert in advance and freeze it for up to one month. Thaw in the refrigerator before adding the hot fudge drizzle.

Cream Puff Dessert has all the flavors of a cream puff but without all the work. This lip-smacking dessert uses creamy pudding and frozen whipped topping on top of a cream puff crust to create a delicious dessert that’s so simple to make. A decadent treat that’s also an easy make-ahead dessert makes this cream puff dessert perfect for parties or get-togethers with friends and family.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I freeze this cream puff dessert?

This easy recipe is an excellent make-ahead dessert and can be frozen for up to a month.

Can I use a store-bought puff pastry instead of making the crust from scratch?

For the puffy crust, it is best to make this choux pastry from scratch. Choux pastry is slightly different than puff pastry and therefore, will give you slightly different results.

Can I add extra toppings to this dessert?

You can make this cream puff dessert extra decadent with sweet toppings such as chocolate chips, nuts, or even fresh fruit.

MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE

Cream Puff Dessert

Cream Puff Dessert has all the flavors of a cream puff but without all the work. Think of this easy twist on the classic French dessert as a cream puff cake!

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 15

Ingredients

½ cup salted butter
1 cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
8 ounces cream cheese softened
6.8 ounces French Vanilla instant pudding mix two 3.4-ounce packages
2 cups whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
8 ounces frozen whipped topping thawed
hot fudge sauce – try this delicious hot fudge sauce recipe!

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat a 9×13 glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a 4-quart saucepan heat butter, water, and salt over medium heat. When the butter has melted completely and the mixture begins to boil, remove it from heat.
Immediately mix flour into the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a smooth ball.
Allow mixture to cool for about 5 minutes.
Adding only one egg at a time, beat each egg into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon. The mixture will separate with the addition of each egg but then come back together, forming a smooth paste-like batter.
Spread batter into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Bake for 25 minutes or until the edges have poofed up the sides of the baking dish and the batter is golden brown. Some of the batter on the bottom of the dish may puff up also, which is fine.
Cool completely.
Use the wire whisk attachment on a hand or standing mixer to beat together softened cream cheese, pudding, milk, and heavy cream. A wire whisk will help to break down the cream cheese, but it is important that the cream cheese is quite soft before mixing.
Spread the pudding mixture to fill the cooled puff. Spread the whipped topping evenly over the pudding filling.
Serve with hot fudge sauce drizzled over the top.

Notes

TIP: Make sure you are using instant pudding and not regular pudding that requires cooking on the stovetop for this recipe.

TIP: The mixture will separate with the addition of each egg but then come back together to form a smooth paste-like batter.

TIP: A wire whisk will help to break down the cream cheese, but it is important that the cream cheese is quite soft and at room temperature before mixing. A few lumps won’t matter to the end result.