Dreamy Watergate Cake Recipe
Take a trip back to the 1970s with this retro Watergate Cake recipe! This creamy and delicious pistachio dessert, made with pudding mix, lemon-lime soda, and Dream Whip, has been a cherished family favorite for decades. Perfect as a festive pistachio layer cake for Christmas, a vibrant green dessert for St. Patrick’s Day, or a sweet treat for any special occasion, it’s as simple to make as it is to enjoy.
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If you’re a fan of nostalgic dessert recipes, you’re going to love this Watergate Cake! Topped with a dreamy whipped frosting made with pistachio pudding mix and Dream Whip, this cake is refreshingly cool and perfect for warm days.
Perfect for potlucks, holidays, or just because, this Watergate Cake is sure to be the star of any gathering. The subtle nutty flavor of pistachios pairs beautifully with the sweet, creamy frosting, creating a dessert that’s light, fluffy, and irresistibly delicious.
Ingredients
For this pistachio pudding cake recipe, you need the following ingredients:
- 2 boxes (3.4 ounces each) instant pudding mix, pistachio flavored
- 1 box of white cake mix
- 1 cup 7-Up (or other lemon lime soda)
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups cold milk
- 2 envelopes of Dream Whip
How To Make Watergate Cake
If you have never worked with Dream Whip, don’t let it intimidate you. Dream Whip is a commercial powdered mix to make whipped cream. If you have an electric or hand mixer, you won’t have any problems.
- Prep the pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F. While it’s warming up, grease and flour a 9×13-inch cake pan. Alternatively, you can use Baker’s Joy: just spray a light layer over the bottom and sides.
- Make the batter. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, blend one box of instant pistachio pudding mix, the white cake mix, 7-Up, egg whites, and vegetable oil for 5 minutes at medium speed.
- Bake and cool. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before frosting it. I like to set the pan on a wire rack so air can circulate and speed up the cooling.
- Make the frosting. For the pistachio whipped topping, aka the “cover-up icing,” beat the second box of pudding mix with the cold milk and Dream Whip at high speed until thick and soft peaks form.
- Frost and chill. Spread the topping over the cake, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Because the frosting contains dairy, the cake must be kept cold at all times.
If you love retro-inspired Southern desserts, you’ll also enjoy my Ambrosia Salad for a fruity classic, Pea Salad for a creamy and colorful side, and Orange Fluff – a light, citrusy treat that’s perfect for holidays and potlucks alike.
Watergate Dream Cake
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.
- Blend 1 box of pistachio pudding, cake mix, 7-Up, egg whites and oil in mixer for 5 minutes.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 – 35 minutes. Cool completely.
- Beat 1 box of pistachio pudding mix, milk, and whipped topping. Beat until thick and peaks form.
- Spread the topping on the cake, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Nutrition
Video
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Serving Tips
- Taking it to a potluck? Pack it in a covered container with ice packs. The frosting contains dairy, so it needs to stay cold.
- Want a pop of color? Top each slice with a maraschino cherry.
- Prefer a more traditional version? Many old-fashioned Watergate Cake recipes include nuts. Sprinkle chopped pecans or pistachios over the frosting for a little crunch.
Why is it called Watergate Cake? Is it because of the political scandal?
The cake is similar to Watergate Salad which is made with pistachio pudding, canned pineapple, whipped topping, crushed pecans, and marshmallows.
There are two possible explanations for how “Watergate” ended up in the name that unites both dishes, though no one knows for sure.
One popular theory is that Watergate Salad was created by a chef at the Watergate Hotel – yes, the one that made the news thanks to President Richard Nixon.
According to Southern Living, the other explanation is that “the cake version has icing to ‘cover up’ any mistakes and, like politics, is chock full of nuts.”
Watergate Cake FAQs
Any lemon-lime soda works, or even ginger ale. In a pinch, you can use club soda.
Yes. Whisk the second box of pistachio pudding mix with about 1 cup of cold milk until it starts to thicken, then gently fold in an 8-ounce tub of thawed Cool Whip. The frosting will be a little softer than the Dream Whip version, but it’s just as tasty.
Covered tightly in the refrigerator, it will keep for 3 to 4 days.
Yes, it’s a great make-ahead dessert. Bake the cake the day before, then frost it once it has cooled completely. Keep it covered in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Absolutely. Chopped pecans or pistachios make a nice topping and are common in older versions of the recipe.
Last Bite
Did this Watergate Dream Cake bring back sweet memories? If you make it, leave a star rating (it helps other bakers find the recipe) and tell me in the comments when you first tried it! Don’t forget to pin or share this recipe so others can enjoy this classic, dreamy dessert too.
I have this recipe from back in the day when my mom was a school librarian and it made the rounds of school teacher “pot luck” lunches. Hers uses whole eggs and club soda to lighten the cake with no added flavor, and is decorated with chopped walnuts, coconut and sliced maraschino cherries. I have updated that changing out the walnuts for pistachio. I can only assume that pistachios were not readily available back in the 70’s and also were expensive. It is always well received.
Thanks for sharing your story with the cake. It’s nice to know that using whole eggs and club soda are options.
Love it
My grandmother and mother-in-law have made this for years. And I guess so have I now😂 We have tweaked the recipe over the years. So we add a regular size can of drained Mandarin Oranges to the cake batter, instead of pistachio pudding we use yellow pudding, and for the frosting we use cool whip, yellow pudding, drained crushed pineapple and top it with coconut flakes and chopped pecans!
That sounds delicious!
Amelia,
That sounds good but have to say, that is just a different cake.
Hi, I have all the ingredients and can’t wait to make this cake! I imagine it would be delicious using butterscotch pudding or even chocolate pudding as well. One question: do the egg whites make a difference in the recipe? I’ve read simiar recipes that called for the use of whole eggs and I’m wondering if anyone has tried it both ways?
In the Watergate Cake version, if yolks were used, it would create a richer color whereas using just the whites keeps it nice and light allowing the batter to blend with the pistachio better.
Can you use a bundt pan instead of 13×9?
I don’t know. The cake might turn out alright, but the creamy topping probably would not work out right.
How many servings does the 13×9 yield for 245 calories?
Hi Karen,
Great question – thanks for asking!
I imagine you must have been thinking that the caloric value was awfully low. And it was. I don’t know how many servings was originally input to the app that calculated the nutrition, so I thought I would check into the values and plug-in 12 servings.
The program that I am using now did not have the information for the pistachio pudding mix, cake mix, or Dream Whip. I plugged-in the values and updated the nutrition information.
If you cut the cake into 12 even pieces, each slice should have 436 calories.
I am so sorry that the previous information was not accurate.
Lynda
Should it be 2 boxes of instant pudding mix pistachio flavored? I can’t wait to make this on my next day off.
It does take 2 boxes of instant pudding mix. Though I had 2 boxes listed, they weren’t together and it was easy to overlook. I updated the post – I hope that it is clearer now. Thanks for your input.
@Lynda, But you really need to indicate what size the instant pudding is, small box or large box. Because some people who have never made this before could be confused. This is one of my family’s favorite and I make it a lot, we love it. Also one box is for the cake and one box is for the icing.
Thank you so much for your feedback. I updated the post to reflect that small boxes (3.4 ounces) are what needed. It really is a delicious cake, isn’t it?!
I love watergate cake. It was the first cake I baked as a child. EXCELLENT
My mom made this all all the time when I was growing up. One of my all time favorite desserts.
Mine as well!
Everyone is out of the dream whip. Is there a substitute for dream whip?
I am not sure. I googled it and this is some info that I found:
“Dream whip is a mix to make your own whipped cream – yes you can use it in place of Cool Whip. … whip cream is natural, dream whip is synthetic, and cool whip is pre-whipped synthetic. If it calls for dream whip, read the recipe to see if it mixes anything other that milk and vanilla into the powder.” From Askinlot.com.
I imagine that you could probably blend the pudding mix with Cool Whip or make whipped cream by beating heavy cream and then add the pudding mixture to the cream.
Lynda, Thank you for sharing a nice and easy recipe. I opted for lemon pudding, rather than pistachio, in the cake as well as the frosting for a nice summertime dessert. Yummy!
That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing.
I’ve made this for years,. It’s even better if you add drained crushed pineapple, You can even use the juice in the cake. And since I am diabetic it works just as well with the no sugar pudding.
Tried it!! My family and my neighbors loved it!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Think I remember a similar recipe fro years past. i would make it tonight, if I only had the dream whip! I should buy some to have on hand
I haven’t used Dreamwhip in years! Oh, the great memories that are flooding my mind. Your watergate cake looks like a dream. I think I’ll make it for St. Patrick’s day. Wish I had a piece right now.
Thank you. It would make a great dessert for St. Patrick’s Day. Hope you enjoy it.
Yum! That looks so good. I’ve never had it before. I have a piece of that bakeware and it is AMAZING.
What can you use if you don’t have 7up.
Sprite or any clear-colored soda should be fine.