French Vanilla Cream Bars
French Vanilla Cream Bars are a convenient recipe that uses boxed cake mix and cream cheese to make a delicious, creamy dessert.
Who knew cake mix was so versatile? I’ve been using up the boxes 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 good. They are made with lemon cake mix, but not French vanilla.
The crust is the French vanilla cake mix, which tastes more like a cookie than a cake. It has a creamy, sweet filling and is 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. Whatever cake mix you have in your pantry would work.
It’s such an easy dessert to make, and I do not doubt that I’ll be making more of this recipe for my family to enjoy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Soft creamy texture
- Easy to make
- Can use any cake mix
- Satisfy your sweet cravings
Ingredients
The full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is found at the bottom of the post.
- 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 it is crumbly. Set aside 1 cup of the crumb mixture for later.
- Step Two: 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.
- Step Three: Add the cream cheese to a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla, and egg to a bowl and beat until smooth.
- Step Four: Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust in the baking pan.
- Step Five: Sprinkle the 1 cup of crumb mixture on 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.
What to Serve with Them
- Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
- Maple Walnut Ice Cream
- Strawberry Ice Cream
- Mocha Latte
- Nutella Coffee Milkshake
Variations and Substitutions
- Any 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
Cover and store any leftover French Vanilla Cream Bars in the fridge for up to 1 week.
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
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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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Oh my word, this is amazingly wonderful looking!!! I can’t wait to try this!!
This looks like my kind of recipe! Will have to try it!
Thanks. I’m really appreciating all your cake mix recipes. We’ve had sales here on them, too, and it’s nice to have different ways to use them. Amazing how versatile these recipes are due to flavor used.
This sounds sooo good! Will have to try when company comes.
These sound wonderful!!!
Adding cream cheese to any dessert has to be one of my favourites! Thanks for the recipe.
This looks so good, I’d like to try making it right now!!
You had me at ‘cream cheese’. This looks wonderful. Perhaps a grating of lemon peel on top.
These French Vanilla Cream Bars look delicious, my mother would love these, she likes vanilla. For myself I would switch things up by adding chocolate. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Tried making cake mix cookies before! This recipe would be great for office potlucks!
These look really good, and I love cream cheese. Now you have me wanting to run to the store and buy cream cheese, and cake mix! 🙂
Looks delicious
I have never tried to make bars from cake mix, but after seeing your recipe, Imreally want tomtry them. Thanks.
This sounds delicious!! I’d absolutely love it.
Looks like a yummy easy recipe to make. I used to make a “dump” cake with a cake mix and cherry pie filling that was good. I must try this one. Thanks 🙂
Those do look tasty and I like the idea of using a mix as base for ease.
I have seen recipes or making bars from a cake mix, but haven’t tried it. This one sounds delicious. I’ll have to try it.
I found your site through Food Bloggers of Canada. I have never thought of using a cake mix to make bars. I may have to try this.
The Old Fat Guy
This is such a pretty cake and easy to make which I really like! I think that I am going to make it for my sister’s birthday because she would really like it!
I am really a rather boring cook, and have just made cakes from cake mixes. I want to try this recipe, substituting a chocolate cake mix. It looks easy and delicious. Thank you for posting.