Coming at you with a recipe I grew up having thanks to my St. Louis family roots… Gooey Butter Cake. Funny enough, it doesn’t have a cake-like texture at all. It’s really a bar rather than a cake. But hey, I didn’t invent these beauties. There’s actually some history to this one so I’ll share what I know.
Gooey Butter Cake came to be in 1930’s when a St. Louis baker messed up a recipe. He switched the sugar and flour amounts and from the oven, came this. The most gooey, buttery, most delicious dessert bar. It really is a St. Louis original recipe and is sold all over the city.
There are a few different ways to make this. One way is using a yellow cake box mix as your base. I know, a recipe that everyone raves about that comes from a boxed mix? Well, don’t knock it too hard. I’ve tried it this way and it definitely doesn’t disappoint. It’s incredible actually. There’s another way that uses yeast which, if you know me, you know that I try to avoid. So that method is out for me. Then there’s a no yeast, no boxed mix version and that’s what I’m sharing with you today.
I grew up having gooey butter cake when I’d visit my grandparents in Southern Illinois during my childhood summers. We’d go into St. Louis a handful of times over the summer and would always get several things, one of which was gooey butter cake. I always thought of it as a treat and I still do today. It’s the perfect dessert to have for holidays as well as any time throughout the year!
This recipe is perfection and really is what I remember having as a kid all those years ago. A rich and gooey center, a chewy butter crust and a crackly, slightly crunchy top. It’s unique to St. Louis and really, really good. I got this gooey butter cake recipe from the January 2019 issue of Cooks County, the holy grail of comfort food. I usually make classic recipes my own by adding my own twists/ingredients or switching out the technique in some way. This however, really is perfect. Why mess with perfection? *chefs kiss*
Gooey Butter Cake
Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup powdered confectioners sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered confectioners sugar plus more for dusting
- 2 large eggs but 2 large yolks
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. In a 9x13 dish, make a foil sling. Lay down one longer piece first, then a slightly shorter piece on top of that making sure the foil goes up the sides all the way around. Press into the dish. Spray with nonstick spray.
- For the crust: Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add melted butter and stir with a rubber spatula until evenly moistened. Crumble dough over bottom of prepared pan. Using bottom of a dry measuring cup, press down to make an even layer. Poke the crust with a fork several times all over, about 20 times. Bake for 20 minutes until edges are browning. Remove from oven and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- For the filling: combine cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. On low speed, slowly add the sugar and mix until combined, about a minute. Scraping down sides as needed. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low, add the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated. Add vanilla and salt and mix, scraping down sides as needed. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until light and fluffy. Mixture should have consistency of frosting. Spread filling on top of cooled crust. Tap pan gently to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until top is golden brown, edges have cracked and center is slightly jiggly when pan is shaken.
- Let cool completely, at least 3 hours. Using foil overhang, lift bars out of the dish, dust with powdered sugar and cut into bars. Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container at room temp for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5.
If you make these, tag me @tessa_port!
