Cream Puff Cake

We enjoyed a great Easter dinner at our next door neighbor's home  - and I brought the dessert.  In going through my recipes I found this recipe that I realized I had not made for years.

Years ago - the 1980's! - the local newspaper where we lived at the time ran an annual recipe contest.  You did not have to create the recipe - just share a recipe that you liked.  There were categories for main dish, dessert, appetizer, etc. and each week you could enter a recipe. Three recipes were chosen each week and those cooks were invited to a "Cook Off". The newspaper would publish the three finalist recipes in the paper with a photo of the cook and the dish...taken in your kitchen.  It was such a fun time! The event was held in a local catering hall or restaurant and the contestants would bring the dish already prepared, but there were ovens to keep things warm and refrigerators to keep things chilled.  Each category had a table where you set up your place setting and dish - an early tablescape venue.

While the dishes were being judged by a panel of local people - including the local state home economist - there was a program for the contestants.  It changed each year - one year it was making a holiday ornament, or flower arranging, etc.

The public was invited to attend and sample all the dishes, then stayed for a lovely catered luncheon where the winners of each category were announced.  A grand prize winner was chosen from all the first place winners.

This recipe - Cream Puff Cake - was the winning recipe in the dessert category.  My recipe - Pumpkin Praline Squares came in second.  Deservedly so, because Cream Puff Cake became a standard in my recipe rotation for years.  This was in 1986...and then, for some reason I found other recipes I liked and stopped making it.  

When we were invited to Easter dinner and I was going through my recipe box looking for something to make I found this recipe

and decided it was time to bring it back into rotation.

Cream Puff Cake

1/2 cup margarine

1 cup water

1 cup flour

4 eggs

2 small boxes of vanilla instant pudding ( you can use another flavor)

1 8oz cream cheese

1/2 cup milk

1 and 3/4 cup of milk

1 container of Cool Whip

Hershey syrup

Heat the margarine and water to boiling.  Remove from heat and mix in flour to form a ball.  Add eggs and beat well until smooth.  Spread in a 13x9 pan that has been sprayed with non stick spray and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.  Cool completely.

Mix together cream cheese and the 1/2 cup of milk.  In another bowl, mix together pudding and the 1adn 3/4 cup of milk.  Mix the two together and blend until smooth.  Spread over the cream puff crust.  Top with Cool Whip and drizzle with Hershey syrup. Refrigerate until set.  Serves 12

It is very easy to make.

I use a whisk to mix the flour into the water and melted margarine.

Add the eggs and then I use a wooden spoon to mix the eggs in well.

Spread in a pan and bake...it will pull away from the edges a bit, but the filling will cover that.

Mix the cream cheese...then add it in with the pudding mixture..

Spread it over the cream puff crust...

then spread the Cool Whip over all.

And...for some reason this is where I stopped taking photos! 

I refrigerated it overnight, and then drizzled the syrup on the next day.  I never even got a photo of the entire finished cake!  I kept it in our refrigerator until needed for dinner as our hosts refrigerator was jam packed - when I came to get it, once again, I forgot to take a photo.

You can get an idea of how it looks from the few pieces that were leftover.  It was a big hit!  I have to admit that since I had not made it in years I also made a batch of "back up brownies"...just in case!

You can find my brownie recipe here

Brownies

I really enjoyed all the years I participated in the Recipe Contest...and in 1987 I was chosen as the Grand Prize for a recipe called Chicken Santa Lucia that I found in the cookbook I bought on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. 

This is a photo from that day...with my mom, sister, and niece there for the event.

 I have to look for that recipe and make it again...it was delicious.  Chicken breasts stuffed with banana and coated with coconut.  I know...sounds crazy, but it was good.

My wonderful husband John was so thrilled he had the Grand Champion ribbon framed.  For years it hung in our kitchen and now hangs in my sewing room.

Sadly, the newspaper stopped having the Recipe Contest sometime a few years later.  It was always so much fun!

So, have you recently made a recipe that you have not tried for years?  Have you entered a recipe contest?

I would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below.  Thanks so much for stopping by Our New Vista - have a wonderful month of May!