How To Make Cream Puff Dessert — Simple, Impressive, and Delicious

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Straight from the 1970s Recipe Box — and Still a Winner

This vintage cream puff dessert has everything you love about classic cream puffs — a tender crust, silky vanilla pudding, and a fluffy cream cheese filling. It’s an old-fashioned showstopper that’s surprisingly easy to make and always a hit at potlucks.

This cream puff dessert is fun to make, and it's delightfully fun to eat because it's absolutely delicious. Who doesn't love a showy dessert that isn't hard to put together?

Cream cheese added to the pudding makes a soft yet firm, meltingly delicious filling. Notice how each piece stands up nicely and tall for a great presentation!

How To Make The Cream Puff Dessert Crust

Cream puff batter is fascinating. It looks hard, but it's only got five ingredients! Combine the water, salt, and butter, and bring them to a boil. When you cook it, the ingredients magically come together into a ball of dough that doesn't stick to the pan.

Next, take the dough off the stove and let it cool for about 5 minutes. This is an important step. Then, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir in four eggs, one at a time.

The eggs are what make the dough do fancy tricks. If you bake it in individual blobs of batter plopped on a baking sheet, the puffs end up hollow inside. When you bake it in a pan, it creates undulating hills and valleys of tasty golden crust.

Spread that eggy batter in a greased 13" by 9" pan.

Bake the crust for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Let it cool until it's no longer warm to the touch.

Look at that beautiful landscape of light and tasty crust! Looks fancy, but it's deceptively easy!

Now Make The Yummy Cream Puff Dessert Filling

You'll want to have the cream cheese at room temperature. Warm the milk slightly in the microwave. Add about a cup of the warm milk to the cream cheese and beat until it's nice and soft.

Next, add the puddings and the remaining milk. Continue beating the pudding mixture until everything is completely blended and all the flecks of cream cheese are incorporated. This will be a thick mixture.

I can't believe my avocado green mixer from the 1970s is still on the job! When it finally gives up the ghost, I have my eye on a cute red KitchenAid hand mixer, but I'm patient.

Spoon the mixture onto the crust and spread to the edges of the pan. Chill until the pudding is set.

Beautiful Final Touches For Cream Puff Dessert

When the pudding is set, smooth a whole tub of whipped topping over the top, clear to the edges. Sprinkle on candy bits of your choice. Here I used brickle bits and semi-sweet mini chocolate chips for the chocoholic birthday girl we were celebrating.

I got this recipe from a darling young mom who got the recipe from her mom. Her recipe is dated 1992. I still had a high school student at home then!

PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD

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Yield: 16 servings

Cream Puff Dessert

Print

Chocolate pudding with cream cheese sits atop a cream puff crust then is slathered with whipped topping and sprinkled with candy bits.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

Crust

• 1/2 cup butter (one stick)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs

Filling

• One 8-ounce block cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 small 3.9-ounce box instant pudding
• 1 large 5.85-ounce box instant pudding
• 3 3/4 cup milk, warmed slightly

Topping

• 1 regular size tub of whipped topping, defrosted
• About 1/3 cup candy bits of choice, more if you want

Instructions

1. Combine water, salt, and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Add flour all at once and stir until the mixture forms a ball of dough.
3. Set aside and let cool for 5 minutes.
4. Use a wooden spoon to beat in four eggs, one egg at a time.
5. Spread mixture in a greased 13" x 9" pan.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.
7. Cool crust.
8. Warm milk slightly in the microwave.
9. Add about 1 cup of warm milk to cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat until cream cheese is quite soft.
10. Add remaining milk and pudding mixes to the cream cheese mixture and beat until all blended and no flecks of cream cheese are showing.
11. Spread pudding mixture over crust and chill until pudding is set.
12. Spread a container of whipped topping over the pudding.
13. Garnish with candy bits and refrigerate until it is served.

Notes

This recipe used instant chocolate pudding, but you can use butterscotch, vanilla, or pistachio pudding, too!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 214Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 212mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 0gSugar: 5gProtein: 6g

Today, we're making this a chocolate dessert for all those chocoholics out there, but butterscotch, lemon, or pistachio pudding would also make this a killer dessert! Try Butterfinger bits on pistachio! Delish!! Another idea is to add sliced strawberries or peaches to chilled and thickened vanilla pudding.

🍰 If You Liked This Recipe…If you love vintage layered desserts like this, here are a few more creamy classics to try next:

• 🥄 No-Bake Lemon Dessert Recipe— light, bright, silky, and perfect for spring or summer — or anytime after a heavy meal.
• 💚 Pistachio Dessert — that unmistakable retro favorite, rich with gorgeous green pudding, a sweet/salty crust made with Ritz crackers, and whipped topping with crushed Butterfingers.
• 🍫 Oreo Dirt Cake — a fun, crowd-pleasing twist with crushed cookies and creamy layers

Each one uses simple pantry ingredients and the same easy make-ahead method — just new flavors to love!

If you liked this cream puff dessert recipe, you are my people! If you did, please share it on your social media accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter! It would sure tickle me, and I would be ever so grateful!

If you haven't already, please look me up on Facebook and Pinterest, where I share easy, delicious, family-friendly recipes every week!

If you enjoyed a post, I'd love it if you would leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review or a comment. It really helps my little business. ❤❤

🐝 Bee Sweet: Few things say “I love you” quite like a special homemade dessert. Every whisk, fold, and swirl is a small act of kindness, and whispers "I know what you like"— proof that joy grows when it’s shared.

Love, GB (Betty Streff)

Real food. Real kitchen. Real easy.

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