Cream Puff Cake
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This Cream Puff Cake is a showstopper! Light, airy, and filled with silky-smooth German buttercream. Think of it as an oversized, layered version of your favorite bakery cream puff.
Table of Contents
- Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- In Photos: How To Make Cream Puff Cake
- More Dessert Recipes
The choux pastry, or pâte à choux, comes from classic French baking and forms the base for favorites like éclairs and profiteroles. German buttercream, meanwhile, is a rich yet fluffy filling made by blending custard with whipped butter. It is less sweet than American buttercream, but so luxurious.
With golden, crisp pâte à choux layers and a decadent custard-based filling, it’s the kind of dessert that feels both elegant and comforting. This cake combines two beloved pastry elements into a single, beautiful dessert that’s sure to impress at any gathering.
The texture combination is what makes this cake unforgettable: crispy tops, tender pastry interiors, and that luscious, fluffy filling. It’s perfect for holidays, celebrations, or just when you’re in the mood to impress.
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This cake has classic cream puff flavor in the form of an elegant layer cake.
- The German buttercream filling is both light in texture and rich in flavor.
- Its impressive presentation belies how simple the ingredients and methods are.
- You don’t need any special cake pans or equipment to make it at home. No special cake pans required.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the German Buttercream Filling
- Milk: You can use dairy or a plant-based option like almond or coconut milk.
- Vanilla bean: Split and scraped for intense, aromatic flavor. You can also use vanilla extract in a pinch.
- Granulated sugar: Used in both the pastry cream base and when whipping the butter.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the pastry cream without the need for flour.
- Kosher salt: Balances the sweetness.
- Egg yolks: Provide richness and help thicken the custard.
- Unsalted butter: Softened and whipped to create the buttercream texture.
For the Pâte à Choux Cake Layers
- Water: The base for the dough.
- Unsalted butter: Adds richness and flavor.
- Granulated sugar: A touch of sweetness.
- Kosher salt: Enhances the flavor.
- All-purpose flour: Forms the structure of the choux pastry.
- Eggs: Create steam for the signature puff.
- Powdered sugar: Optional, for dusting the top.
In Photos: How To Make Cream Puff Cake
Step 1: Make The German Buttercream
In a small pot, heat the milk over low and add the vanilla bean and seeds.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks until smooth.
Gradually whisk the warm milk into the yolk mixture to temper, then return to the pot.
Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and reaches about 185°F.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a heat-safe bowl, press plastic wrap onto the surface, and chill until firm (about 2 hours). Learn how to make pastry cream here.
Whip the softened butter with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar until pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
Add the chilled pastry cream to the butter a spoonful at a time, whipping after each addition. Learn more about German buttercream.
Step 2: Make The Pate a Choux Cake Layers
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment.
Combine the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Add flour all at once and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the dough forms a ball and a film appears on the pot.
Transfer to a bowl and beat on medium speed, adding eggs one at a time.
Divide dough between prepared pans. Smooth one and swirl the other for texture.
Bake 45–55 minutes until puffed, golden, and hollow inside.
Cool completely.
Learn more about pâte à choux here.
Step 3: Assemble
Place the flatter choux layer on your serving platter.
Spread the German buttercream evenly over it.
Top with the textured choux round and dust with powdered sugar.
Slice and serve!
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Don’t underbake the choux layers. They should be dry and hollow.
- Make the pastry cream ahead of time so it’s fully chilled before whipping.
- Use a serrated knife to slice through the crisp choux without crushing it.
- Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
Yes! You can prepare the choux layers and the German buttercream a day ahead. Store the choux at room temperature in an airtight container and refrigerate the buttercream. Assemble just before serving.
You can substitute 1 to 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. Add it to the milk once it’s heated.
Freezing is not recommended as the texture of the choux pastry can become soggy upon thawing. However, the pastry cream base (before whipping into buttercream) can be frozen for up to 1 month.
This usually happens when they are underbaked. Make sure the layers are puffed, golden, and sound hollow when tapped before removing from the oven.
More Dessert Recipes
Cream Puff Cake
Ingredients
For the German Buttercream Filling:
- 1 1/2 cups milk, dairy, nut, soy, or coconut milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 egg yolks, from large eggs
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
For the Pate a Choux Cake Layers:
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs, large
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, approx., for garnish
Instructions
To Make the German Buttercream Filling:
- Place 1 1/2 cups of milk in a small pot over low heat and add the vanilla bean and seeds.
- Place 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of cornstarch, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Stir in the 6 egg yolks until smooth.
- When the milk is steamy, start whisking a ladleful at a time into the yolk mixture to slowly warm it without scrambling the eggs.
- Once all the milk has been added, transfer the mixture back into the pot and cook over medium-low heat (whisking constantly) until it reaches a temperature of approximately 185 degrees and becomes very thick.
- Remove from the heat and immediately pour through a fine mesh strainer into a heat-safe bowl (use the back of a ladle to push it through).
- Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and chill until cold and firm (approx. 2 hours).
- Place 1 cup of softened butter in a large mixing bowl with 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar.
- Using the whip attachment, cream 1 cup of soft unsalted butter and 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar together until very pale and fluffy (approx. 5 minutes on medium-high speed).
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula and add the chilled pastry cream in a spoonful at a time, whipping after each addition.
To Make the Pate a Choux Cake Layers:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and grease and line (2) 8-inch diameter cake pans with circles cut from parchment paper.
- Place the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a small pot and cook over medium-high heat until the butter is completely melted and the mixture is simmering.
- Add in the flour all at once, and continue to cook, whisking, for about 5 minutes, or until the dough gathers itself into a ball and a film begins to form on the bottom of the pot.
- Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl, and beat on medium speed.
- Drop in the eggs, one at a time, while continuing to beat. (Allow each egg to become fully incorporated before adding the next.)
- Divide the dough equally between the two cake pans, smoothing one out into an even layer and swirling the other to create peaks and valleys.
- Bake until puffed, golden brown, hollow, dry and light (approx. 45 to 55 minutes).
Assembly
- Cool completely, then spread the German buttercream filling over the flatter cake layer, and top with the remaining cake layer.
- Dust with powdered sugar, for garnish.
