cream puff cake

this is really like a cross-section between cream puffs, cake, and pie. it's super easy and very rewarding.

ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
4 cups milk
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
3 packages (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding
1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 t powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 cup chocolate syrup

instructions:
-preheat oven to 400 degrees. -bring butter and water to full boil in medium sauce pan.
-reduce heat to low and stir in flour until mixture pulls away from the side of the pan.
-transfer dough to medium-sized bowl and add one egg at a time and mix well. the dough will end up looking like it did before the eggs were added.
-spread the dough in a 9"x13" pan, preferrably glass, all across the bottom and up the sides, as evenly as you can manage.
-put pastry in the oven and set timer for 35 minutes. it is done when the pastry starts to pull away from the side of the pan. this may take a little longer than 35 minutes.
-meanwhile, beat the milk and cream cheese together until smooth, with electric mixer.
-then beat in the instant pudding. beat until the mixture peaks.
-in another bowl, beat the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla, on high, until the whipped cream peaks.
-when the shell is done in the oven, let it cool.
-when cooled, assemble the cake: put the pudding mixture in the shell and spread evenly; spread the whipped cream across the top, allowing some pudding mixture to peak through; and drizzle chocolate over the top, lightly.
-keep chilled and serve.

serves 12

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