Every so often I get nostalgic and throw childhood grocery items into the shopping cart. The latest thing was a box of Dream Whip, a shelf-stable whipped topping I used to buy to make pudding based Dream Pies for my dad. I don't know much about Dream Whip but it was popular in the 1950s, then became less so over the next couple of decades. I'm guessing the invention of Cool Whip had something to do with that! What I can say for certain about Dream Whip is that it was and still is the key ingredient in my Dream Pie. And it works well in cake, too! This was my experience trying Dream Cake aka Dream Whip Cake.
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Dream Whip Cake Texture and Flavor
To be honest, I thought this cake was going to be a one-time thing. Now I'm not so sure. I made one layer, cut and stacked it (which is why the slice is a little awkward) and was pleased to find the cake was just as fluffy as it appeared in the old ads. It's similar to the Portillo's cake, but a yellow cake rather than chocolate. Unfortunately the Dream Whip doesn't do anything to make the cake more scratch-like in flavor. But it's not a bad flavor if you already like the buttery flavors of cake mix. I'm sure that whatever brand cake mix you use will also be a factor. The cake in the photo was made with Wal*Mart's Great Value brand which I bought because it won some on-line taste test.
Dream Cake and Frosting With Pudding Mix
This Dream Whip Cake recipe is different from the one on the Dream Whip envelope. It calls for fewer eggs and includes a box of instant pudding mix which means you can play with various flavor combinations. For the second Dream Cake I used the Duncan Hines Dolly Parton cake mix, Dream Whip, vanilla pudding mix, oil, water, eggs plus a dash of coconut extract. I would have used coconut flavored instant pudding, but I happened to have vanilla. For the frosting, I made the tried and true pudding mix frosting and used pistachio flavored pudding. Again, I made it as one layer.
More Flavors
I should be practicing my scratch cake and decorating skills, but I have been having so much fun making different Dream Cakes that I honestly want to keep going and try some more flavors. Here's the recipe in case you want to try it too.
Recipe
Dream Cake aka Dream Whip Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix (15.25 oz)
- 1 envelope Dream Whip
- 1 4-serving size box instant pudding, vanilla or French vanilla
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- 1 cup water
Fluffy Pudding Frosting
- 1 cup milk
- 1 package instant pudding mix (4 serving size or about 3.4 oz)
- 3 ½ cups whipped topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 9x2 inch round cake pans. It's important that the cake pans are at least 1 ½ inches deep. Alternatively, you may bake the cake as one layer in a 9x13 inch pan.
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
- Using an electric mixer, beat for 4 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl often.
- Divide batter between the two pans and bake for about 28 minutes. It could take a few minutes longer or a few minutes less depending on your oven.
- Let cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then carefully loosen cakes and invert.
- Let cool completely, then frost with your favorite flavor frosting or try the pudding mix frosting recipe below.
Pudding Mix Frosting
- Put cold milk in a mixing bowl. Add pudding mix and whisk until smooth. It should start to thicken as you whisk. Let stand for about 3 to 5 minutes to thicken slightly more, then fold in whipped topping.
Sue K says
My Mom loved all things Dream Whip when I was a kid and when Cool Whip came out she embraced that as well.
If I wasn’t so fixated on other things I’d try this in memory of my Mom. No doubt she would have loved it.
For some reason this is reminding me of strawberry pretzel salad. I don’t remember what it’s made from but I’m thinking Dream Whip or Cool Whip must have been a part of it?
Now I’m going to have look it up.
Anna says
I can relate to everything you've said here, Sue. We didn't eat Dream Whip (just bought it for pie), but we always used margarine because it was considered healthier and was less expensive. Please report back if you try the Dream Whip cake. I'm going to try it again with some other brands of cake mix just for fun.
Sue says
What a blast from the past! Dream Whip was part of my childhood, too. It was the only way we ever had "whipped cream". Which is pretty weird, considering I grew up in America's Dairyland (Wisconsin).
We mixed it up with an old fashioned hand-crank mixer.
We also never had real butter, only margarine. My mother detested both. Many (many!) years later it ocurred to me that since Mom thought that both tasted terrible, why not save some $$ and just get the margarine. I'm...not sure I can forgive you for that one, Mom! LOL.
And don't even get me started on sour cream, which never once graced our table. Only gravy was considered suitable for potatoes.
I have since dedicated my life to making up for the early childhood dairy deprivation.
Sorry for the digression. I think I need to buy some Dream Whip and make that second cake, which looks pretty tasty! It might help exorcise some dairy demons, too. Endless LOLs!!!!