French Vanilla Cream Bars
French Vanilla Cream Bars are a convenient recipe that uses a boxed cake mix along with cream cheese to make delicious creamy dessert.
Who knew cake mix was so versatile? I’ve been using up the boxes of cake mix in my pantry and have another easy cake mix hack to share today.
I wanted to make something with cream cheese and thought a cream bar might be a good one to try. I’ve seen them made with lemon cake mix, but not French vanilla.
The crust is the French vanilla cake mix that tastes more like a cookie than a cake. It has a creamy, sweet filling and then topped with more French vanilla cookie bits.
Next time, I may double the cream cheese mixture to make it thicker and more like a cheesecake bar.
These bars are melt in your mouth yummy! The whole family enjoyed them. I ran out of French vanilla cake mix so I’ll have to use another flavor. I think it would work with whatever cake mix you have in your pantry.
It’s such an easy dessert to make and I have no doubt that I’ll be making more of this recipe for my family to enjoy.
Why You’ll Love Easy French Vanilla Cake Bars
- Soft creamy texture
- Easy to make
- Can use any type of cake mix
- Satisfy your sweet cravings
Ingredients
You’ll need these ingredients to make this recipe.
- Box of French Vanilla Cake Mix
- Cream cheese
- Granulated sugar
- Large eggs
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
How to Make French Vanilla Cream Bars
- Step One: In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, one egg and the oil until a crumbly consistency. Set aside 1 cup of the crumb mixture for later.
- Step Two: Grease a 9×13 baking pan and pat the crumb mixture into the pan. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Step Three: Add the cream cheese to a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla and egg to a bowl and beat until smooth.
- Step Four: Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over crust in baking pan.
- Step Five: Sprinkle the 1 cup of crumb mixture on top of the cream cheese.
- Step Six: Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until topping is golden. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Step Seven: Before cutting into bars, sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
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What to Serve with French Vanilla Cream Bars
- Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
- Maple Walnut Ice Cream
- Strawberry Ice Cream
- Mocha Latte
- Nutella Coffee Milkshake
Variations
- Any type of cake mix could be substituted. Chocolate or lemon would also be yummy.
- Add in more cream cheese to make it more of a cheesecake.
- Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or cool whip.
If you like using cake mix in recipes, try my Caramel Apple Dump Cake and White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.
Storage Instructions
Best Way to Store Leftovers
Cover and store any leftover French Vanilla Cream Bars in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Can You Freeze Creamy French Vanilla Bars?
Yes, you can freeze these bars for up to three months. Wrap them individually and let them thaw out at room temperature when you are ready to eat.
Dessert Bar Recipes
- Lemon Bars
- Butterscotch Cheesecake Bars
- Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies
- Cheesecake Squares with Chocolate Nut Crust
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French Vanilla Cream Bars
Ingredients
- 1 box French vanilla cake mix 15.25oz/432g box
- 1 package cream cheese 8oz/250g package, softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- powdered sugar for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, one egg and the oil until a crumbly consistency. Set aside 1 cup of the crumb mixture for later.
- Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan and pat the crumb mixture into the pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Add the cream cheese to a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla and egg to a bowl and beat until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over crust in baking pan.
- Sprinkle the 1 cup of crumb mixture on top of the cream cheese.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until topping is golden. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Before cutting into bars, sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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I made this for Valentine’s Day. It was a hit. Came out perfect. I did use a smaller pan, so it came out thicker which we loved. I will be making this again!!
These were delicious and quite versitile! I needed to use up a box of cake mix and wanted a alternative to a cake or cup cakes. I’m so glad I found your recipe. Thank you!
This was a hit! Simple, easy to make and delicious! Thanks for sharing!
This did not turn out at all for me. The crust was doughy, not crumbly. There wasn’t enough to completely cover a 9×13 pan after reserving 1 cup of the mixture. The cream cheese mixture was runny. Needed a lot more cream cheese and I only had one package. I made it but threw it out.
Tasted delicious and I did use extra cream cheese but only used 1 and a half 8oz bar. I was going to double it but wasn’t sure if I had to double the other ingredients in cheese mixture.
Next time I’ll try that. I also need to check size of pan I used, as crust didn’t seem as thick as your picture.
Huge success according to husband.
Hows about I drizzle some blueberry sauce over it before adding the powdered sugar.. Or adding some of the sauce to the cream cheese, keeping it thick of course 😉
Yes, that would be yummy!
My grandson and I made these and we recommend tweaking them a bit. I’d use an 11×7 pan to make them thicker. They taste much yummier that way according to my 10 year old grandson. He loves to bake. He thought they were awesome!!
On the first step, it’s not getting crumbly. It’s more like a doughy mixture ♀️