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This vanilla cake filling is the easiest and fastest cake filling you will ever make. It tastes like a cross between vanilla mousse cake filling and a cheesecake filling.
The creamy filling is very similar in flavor to the filling in the middle of Costo cakes.
You know that creamy vanilla mousse texture that everyone scoops out of the center of the cake before they even eat the cake? This is it.
Similar to Costco cake filling:
That Costco cake filling is addictive and everyone that has ever had a Costco cake wants to know how they make the filling.
This recipe is going to satisfy your cravings and you’re going to be amazed at how easy it is to make.
Not entirely from scratch:
I almost thought about apologizing for this recipe. This vanilla cake filling is so far from my typical style of cooking that I won’t be surprised if I get a few snarky emails about how far I have fallen from the ‘from-scratch’ bandwagon.
It has happened in the past when we have used store-bought cookies for things like this Mocha chocolate icebox cake and this Girl Scout Samoas Chocolate Lasagna.
Then there is this meatloaf recipe that calls for a package of onion soup mix. We get emails from readers that get pretty upset when we use pre-packaged store-bought ingredients in our recipes.
But I just can not apologize for this recipe. It tastes great and holds up very well on a long, hot summer day.
If you can’t stand the idea of using a package of instant pudding in your cake filling then we have plenty of cakes with creamy, dreamy, luscious, fillings that are made entirely from scratch.
This coconut cake roll has a creamy filling with coconut essence. Then there is this lemon meringue cake that is filled with luscious lemon curd. So good! Or this Chocolate Guinness cake that I filled and frosted with Bailey’s cream cheese frosting.
You won’t be disappointed with our from-scratch recipes but this recipe serves some useful purposes.
A great filling for cake carving:
It is great for layering in a cake that you plan to carve.
Normally if you are going to carve a cake, a thick, stiff buttercream is the best thing to put between the layers. But I like putting yummy, creamy, luscious fillings between my cake layers.
The problem with putting creamy fillings between the layers of a cake you plan to carve is that it creates ‘slippage’.
When you start carving a cake, the layers have a tendency to slide if the filling is smooth and creamy.
This filling will hold the layers together as you carve the cake (as long as you don’t slather it on super thick).
I recently made a Barbie Cake where the cake was the gown for a Barbie doll. There were 8 layers of cake filled with this vanilla cake filling.
The filling did not slip and slide when I used a serrated knife to shape the cake layers to form the gown.
This filling holds cake layers together very well, so carve away.
A great cake filling for hot weather.
This cake filling will hold up in long, hot, humid weather. That isn’t always a problem where I live in the Pacific Northwest. But we do have a few days of pretty intense heat in our summer months.
Nothing will destroy a cake more surreptitiously than a hot, humid day. One moment the cake looks perfect, then an hour later, you’re thinking “is that cake leaning?” And an hour after that, the cake is almost on the ground.
But not with this filling. This vanilla cake filling will keep your cake layers intact on those hot days.
And, if you are wondering.. does cream cheese frosting go with chocolate cake? Well, it does. It also goes with coconut cake, or whatever your heart desires.
Storing Cake Filling
You can make the filling ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months.
Just make sure you keep it in freezer proof containers if you plan to store it in the freezer.
Some Other Recipes You Will Love:
Try this all-butter yellow cake with this vanilla cake filling. It goes well with the chocolate frosting or with this fluffy vanilla buttercream.
Vanilla and chocolate go together perfectly. Fill this gluten-free chocolate cake with this vanilla mousse cake filling.
Squirt some vanilla cake filling into the center of red velvet cupcakes before you add the frosting. It will be a delightful surprise.
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Easy Vanilla Cake Filling
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Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese (room temperature)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 to 2-½ cups heavy cream
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding (dry powder)
Instructions
- Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat on low until incorporated then turn the speed up and beat until smooth.
- Slowly add 2 cups cream and whip on slow until it is well incorporated and smooth.
- Slowly pour in the powdered instant pudding mix. Increase the speed and whip for 2 to 3 minutes until it is thick. If the filling gets too thick, slowly beat in ¼ to ½ cup more cream until you get the consistency you like.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Hello! Would I be able to double on the cream cheese keeping everything else the same? I want it to be very cream cheesy taste 🤣
I don’t want to try it and I mess up the texture or the cream doesn’t peak. I will also sub the vanilla pudding with cheesecake instant pudding. Thank you
You can definitely swap the vanilla pudding for instant cheesecake pudding without changing the consistency of the cake filling. You can double the cream cheese but the filling will not be quite as thick.
Hi there, Needing to fill a decorate a cake about 5 days before an event. They want a stabalized lemon whipped cream filling. I’ve used this recipe before, but never froze the filled cake. How will this filliing hold up to being frozen and then defrosted 5 days later? (cake will be 2 layers with a filling layer of about 1/2 inch of this cream.)
This is the perfect filling for that! You can definitely freeze this filling and thaw it out later without changing the texture or creaminess. It won’t deflate or get grainy when you thaw it either. Thanks for the question. For a lemony flavor, swap the vanilla pudding for instant lemon pudding then add a few drops of culinary lemon oil or lemon bakery emulsion.
Can I use coconut cream instead of heavy cream?
I haven’t tried it with coconut cream so I’m not sure how it would turn out.
Thank you for this recipe. Can I use this vanilla cake filling to cover the cake as well?
Sure. You may want to add a wee bit more cream to make it more spreadable. Sometimes it gets pretty thick and can pull at the crumbs when you cover the cake.
@Dahn Boquist, thank you for you reply. I am making a birthday cake for my grandson. Will I be able to add a little colouring to it as well?o
Yes, you can add coloring. Since the filling already has a yellow hue then some colors don’t show as well. For instance, a few drops of blue will give the filling a slight greenish hue and you will need to adjust the amount of coloring to get the hue you want. I find that that gel food coloring works better because they are more concentrated and you won’t have to add as much.
Do you think crushed Oreos would be okay in this?
Yes, that sounds delicious. The crunchy cookie will get soft but it will taste great.
Hello, I made two batches. The first batch turned out perfect but the second didn’t thicken. It’s quite runny. I used the same ingredients and same measurements. What could I have done wrong?
One time I accidentally purchased a package of regular pudding mix instead of instant pudding. That will definitely happen if you don’t use instant pudding. You may want to double-check the pudding package to make sure regular pudding didn’t get used. You can fix it by adding a package of instant pudding mix to the batch.
Can you add fresh fruit with this between layers? Has anyone tried it?
Yes, you can add fresh fruit. The cake won’t last as long with the fresh fruit. The sugar will start to macerate the fruit after a while and the fruit will get soft and start to weep juices. I try to serve cake with fresh fruit within the first 8 hours after assembling it.
Could you use a lemon pudding mix with this?
Sure, it needs to be an instant pudding mix.
what kind of heavy cream do you use?
I use 36% to 38% heavy cream. With this recipe, you can get away with 30% cream.
Would it be ok to add one or two drops of lemon extract to this ?
Sure, that would work fine.