Cream Puff Cake

                              

I don’t think I’ve ever had a real cream puff in my life, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I made this cake from a recipe I found in a magazine. I figured with pudding and cream cheese, I couldn’t go wrong, so I gave it a go. It was absolutely fabulous. Thus, when I made the dessert again, I used some ingredients that weren’t quite as fattening and it turned out just as good.

Crust:

1 cup water

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

4 eggs

Filling:

1 - 8-oz. package neufchatel cheese, softened

2-3/4 cups milk

3 - 3.4-oz. packages vanilla pudding mix

1 - 8-oz. carton light whipped topping, thawed

 

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Add the flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Continue beating until smooth and shiny. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Transfer dough to a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish and spread evenly over the bottom. Bake for 25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool completely. For filling, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, milk and pudding mixes until smooth. Spread over the crust; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Spread whipped topping over pudding mixture. Chill until ready to serve.