Warning: this Gooey Butter Cake Recipe is addictive. It has the perfect balance of sweet and salty, creamy and chewy, all enveloped in buttery deliciousness. If you have never tasted Gooey Butter Cake, you are in for a treat!
Perfectly cooked gooey butter cake will have a cracked surface and a gooey interior.
I must admit that have a weakness for Gooey Butter Cake. The obsession began at my 4th grade bake sale when I purchased (and ate) way too many pieces of the ooey, gooey, deliciousness that the student next to me was selling. I could not get enough. No regrets. And surprisingly, no cavities.
What is this mysterious Gooey Butter Cake?
Like the Arch and Toasted Ravioli, it’s a St. Louis thing, so you may not have had the privilege of tasting this treat. Essentially it’s a modified vanilla cake on the bottom with a delectable sweet cream cheese mixture on top.
Baked together, bottom layer gets deliciously caramelized and chewy, while the top layer remains creamy and dreamy. There’s a place in town that sells only gooey butter cakes, so they have quite a local following!
Perfect for brunch, dessert, or birthday celebrations, this Gooey Butter Cake Recipe uses simple, everyday ingredients to make something irressistible.
Ingredients Needed
Nothing fancy needed. You just need basic baking ingredients like butter, sugar, powdered sugar, salt, baking powder, GF flour, vanilla, eggs, and cream cheese.
Why not buy a cake mix?
Most Gooey Butter Cake Recipes start with a packaged yellow cake mix, but in this recipe, we make our own cake base. Yes, you can certainly use a packaged box of GF yellow cake mix, but why spend $7 when you can toss together your own for much less without any added dishes?
Are all Gooey Butter Cake Recipes Gluten Free?
No, most gooey butter cakes are made with wheat, so they are not gluten free. I’ve adapted his recipe by substituting gluten free flour, and modifying the amounts of other ingredients.
Recipe Variations
You can adapt this basic recipe for all kinds of flavors, but here are some classics:
Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake Recipe: If you want to make this a chocolatey gooey butter cake, you can with 2-3 easy additions. Add 1/4 cup cocoa to the cake mix ingredients (or use a GF chocolate cake mix). Then add 3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder to the cream cheese mixture. I recommend stirring the cocoa powder into the powdered sugar before adding it to make sure it’s evenly mixed. If you like, you can also add 3/4 cup chocolate chips to the cream cheese filling before pouring over the cake mix. Triple chocolate!
Lemon Bars: This recipe can also be used to make lemon bars. Substitute a lemon cake mix and use lemon zest and juice instead of vanilla extract. I think a raspberry cake with the lemon topping would be amazing. When I make it, I’ll be sure to post the full recipe!
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake– I’m going to post this one around Thanksgiving. Stay tuned.
This Gooey Butter Cake Recipe is addictive. It has the perfect balance of sweet and salty, creamy and chewy, all enveloped in buttery deliciousness. If you have never tasted Gooey Butter Cake, you are in for a treat!
Preheat oven to 350°F.
To Make the Cake Layer
Use the large bowl of a stand mixer or electric mixer.
Combine the flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking powder and stir to make the cake mixture.
Melt the butter in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish for 30-40 seconds. Trick: Use the butter wrapper to lightly grease the pan.
Add the vanilla extract to the melted butter then pour into the flour mixture.
Stir 30 seconds on low to combine.
Scrape the sides of the bowl before adding the egg, and beat 30 seconds to combine. It will look like this:
Pour into a greased 9 x 13 glass baking pan and press the mixture into the baking dish.
To Make the Cream Cheese Filling
In the same mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese and beat on medium speed until smooth and lump free.
Then add the butter and mix on medium speed until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again.
Add the eggs, salt, and vanilla extract and stir to beat on medium speed 30 seconds to combine.
Then slowly stir in the powdered sugar.
Pour the cream cheese mixture over the unbaked cake batter and spread evenly.
Bake in preheated oven for 35- 40 minutes. The surface of the cake will begin to crack and the bottom will turn a nice golden brown. Check the cake after 35 minutes to make sure it will still be slightly soft for the gooey center.
Serving and Slicing
Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing for clean slices.
Slice the gooey butter cake into squares to serve. If you like, you can dust the top with powdered sugar.
Notes
Note: Most Gooey Butter Cake Recipes start with a packaged yellow cake mix, but I’ve adapted our family recipe to make it Gluten Free, so we make our own cake base. You can certainly use a packaged box of GF yellow cake mix, but why spend $7 when you can toss together your own for much less without any added dishes?
Prep Time:20
Cook Time:35
What inspired this recipe?
I’ve been a gooey butter fan since I was little, and since our family became gluten-free, I’ve been adapting all of our family favorites to be Gluten Free.
