Birthday Dessert

For as long as I can remember birthday dinners and dessert choices were always left up to the birthday person. (I have had tacos on my birthday for over 50 years now!) I've followed this tradition with our children. We recently celebrated our daughter's birthday. I didn't have to ask what to make for dessert, it's a given that her all-time favorite dessert is cream puff "cake". It's easy, it's decadent and definitely not low-cal, but birthdays are meant to be celebrated with lots of whipped cream, right!

The base of the cake starts with a basic cream puff dough. Instead of making individual cream puffs the dough is spread in a pan, then topped with layers of the pudding filling and whipped cream. It's much easier than making individual cream puffs! Cream puff dough is not difficult to make. I've observed, however, that the mere mention of cream puffs makes a novice baker shake their head and say that's too complicated. In reality, it's one of the easiest things to make!

To start it's a basic process of combining butter & water and letting come to a boil; stir in flour and stir until the mixture pulls away from the pan.

At this point eggs are added, one at a time, until you get a shiny, sticky dough. This process can be done with a spoon but I find it so much easier to plop the mixture into my mixing bowl and let the mixer do the work!

If regular cream puffs were being made this is the point where the puffs would be piped or spooned onto a baking sheet. In this version the dough is spread in a baking pan, spreading part way up the sides, to make a receptacle for the filling.

Steam forms as the puff bakes, and the strong gluten structure formed by beating the dough stretches to hold the steam. The puff will be golden brown, with a hollow center crisscrossed with soft filaments of dough.   If the middle is too puffy I will often take a small wooden skewer and make a few holes to let some of the steam out.  This flattens out the puff some, making it easier to spread with the filling.

Now fill with the pudding and whipped cream layers and you will have a dessert that is as good as any cream puff and much less labor-intensive!

Cream Puff Cake

1 cup water

½ cup butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1(8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

4 cups milk

3 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix

1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (I used freshly whipped cream, sweetened to taste)

¼ cup chocolate syrup

 

Preheat oven to 400°.

 

In a large heavy saucepan, heat butter and water to boiling over medium-high heat.  Add flour and reduce heat to low.  Cook and stir until it forms a ball and pulls away from the pan.  Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.

 

Spread in bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9x13-inch pan.  Bake at 400° for 35 minutes.  Cool completely.

 

To make the filling: In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and milk and beat until smooth.  Add pudding mix and beat until thickened.  Spread over cooled shell.  Top with whipped topping, and drizzle chocolate syrup over the top.

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