Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Made From Scratch Without Any Cake Mix Is 1000x Better Than Your Wildest Dreams Plus Its Quick And Easy To Whip Up
Gooey Butter Cake is a St. Louis prized tradition since the 1930s for a reason its sensational. The chewy butter cake base is topped with a rich, ooey gooey cream cheese layer, baked all together, then covered in a snowy blanket of powdered sugar. The magic that awaits is an irresistible combination of chewy, smooth, rich, creamy, sweet decadence thats lusciously buttery through and through. And the best part? This Gooey Butter Cake recipe is easy to make with pantry friendly ingredients so you can make it any time! Serve the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake as a breakfast/brunch coffee cake or a dessert and prepare for the barrage of compliments.
How To Make Butter Cake
You’ll make a base layer with cake mix, one beaten egg and a stick of melted butter.
The mixture will be somewhat dry and you’ll have to pat it into the pan and spread it a bit with your fingers to cover the whole bottom of the 9×13.
Then you’ll make a second layer to pour over the top of the base layer.
The second layer will have the remaining two eggs, a package of softened cream cheese and two cups of powdered sugar.
Voila!
This yellow cake recipe is almost effortless.
That makes Gooey Butter Cake a perfect treat to serve guests.
You’ll be wowing them and ruining their diets with something that took you just a few minutes to blend together and toss in the oven.
Can You Freeze Gooey Butter Cake
Yes, you can freeze the cake in the pan or as individual bars.
- To freeze the pan: Wrap the cooled pan twice tightly in plastic wrap followed by heavy duty aluminum foil. Freeze for 2-3 months.To thaw, transfer to the refrigerator and thaw overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving with a dusting of powdered sugar.
- To freeze individual bars: Line cut bars on a plate without touching and place the plate in the freezer and freeze until solid, about 1 hour this prevents the bars from freezing together later when stored. Transfer bars to a freezer safe airtight container, with parchment paper in between each row or freeze bars in individual freezer safe bags.Freeze for 2-3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before servings then bring to room temperature. You can also try the defrost setting on the microwave for a quick treat.
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Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Today
Today, Gooey Butter Cake is St. Louiss most celebrated dessert. Paula Deens Ooey Gooey Butter Cake recipe which famously uses a yellow cake mix further popularized the recipe throughout the country. Some folks serve this sinfully delicious cake as a coffeecake, some as dessert. Ill eat it whenever, wherever!
Since its creation, the famous Gooey Butter Cake has undergone an evolution. In the 1930s, the crust layer was originally made with yeasted cake dough, but most modern recipes use a simple cake batter or shortcut yellow cake mix.
The top layer was originally made with corn syrup, sugar, and powdered eggs today it is more commonly made with cream cheese, eggs, and sugar.
While some will argue that yeast is a must and cream cheese has no place in a Gooey Butter Cake, the tide seems to have shifted to these new modern ingredients. In fact, while every St. Louis family will claim to have a secret family recipe for Gooey Butter Cake, it often turns out to be a version made with a box of yellow cake mix and a brick of cream cheese.
My recipe today combines the best of both worlds a from-scratch cake batter without yeast and a cream cheese topping thats more balanced in sweetness and texture AKA the best Gooey Butter Cake in my humble opinion. Lets get to it!
Costco Cake Prices Are Incredibly Cheap
A Costco cake will set you back less than twenty bucks in most cases. Theres a good chance that you wouldnt be able to beat that price anywhere else, even if you chose to make the cake yourself.
The cost of buying all of the ingredients needed would set you back more than the cost of a Costco cake. Costco beats out the competition too on the majority of cake prices.
Its well worth knowing that they are one of the best-priced cake providers.
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Make The Bottom Cake Layer
Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients together.In medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt set aside.
Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar. You can do this step in the bowl of an electric mixer or a mixing bowl with a handheld mixer if you only want to dirty one bowl and set of beaters. Make sure the butter and sugar are nice and fluffy for a chewier crust.
Step 3: Add the rest. Mix in the egg, followed by the milk and vanilla, then add the flour & frac13 at a time. The batter will be quite thick once it is all mixed together.
Step 4: Press into the pan. Press the dough evenly into bottom of a lightly greased 9×13 pan. You want it level, but dont worry about finger indentations.
How Do I Know When Gooey Butter Cake Is Done
The toothpick test wont work for an Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, so how do you know when its done? Bake the cake until its golden brown around the outer edges and starting to pull away from the pan. When you gently shake the pan wearing an oven mitt , the outside 2-3 inches should be set and firm but the very center should jiggle slightly. If its overly jiggly, then bake for a couple more minutes, but be careful because the jiggle can go away quickly! Be careful not to overcook so the center stays gooey.
- If you accidently overbake the cake, it will still be decadent, soft and chewy, just not as creamy.
- If you accidently under bake the cake, the top will likely crack and the pieces will be more difficult to cleanly slice and eat, but they will plenty gooey!
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How To Order Costco Cakes
Unfortunately, you cant order Costco cakes online in the United States. The only places that have Costco cakes online order options are the UK and Australia.
If you live in one of these areas, you can visit their websites for UK and Australia to order. If you live in the United States, you need to complete the Costco cakes order form.
The U.S. order form is the most recent order form available online. If you are unsure of whether it will work in your local Costco, you can contact the bakery before completing the form.
Start with the base of your cake: white or chocolate. You can find out more about the ingredients used in the descriptions under each category. After that, select one design from the list of Costco cake decoration ideas.
If you choose the Costco carriage baby shower cake, make sure to mention if its for a girl or boy. Costco graduation cakes can be decorated in the schools colors, while the Costco rose design cakes have color options too. If youd like a seasonal design, theres also a dedicated category for that.
Make sure you print the writing on the cake and enter your personal information at the bottom of the form .
Then, take the order form to your local Costco. One of the best parts about Costco cakes is that they can be ordered on short notice. The bakery asks to be notified just one day in advance to bake the cake for your event.
Why You Won’t Be Able To Stop Eating This Cake
This cake has no spice. It has no citrus, no liquor and no spices.
But you will still be in love with it.
The combination of a stick of butter, a package of cream cheese, and eggs creates an unctuousness that you won’t be able to resist.
Confession: I wasn’t planning to share this cake recipe with you. I’m all about cookies and mixed drinks and the occasional fish dish or easy dinner recipe.
In fact, I haven’t made this cake in years and years and years.
Not sure why.
Oh wait, I do know why.
I like to fit in my pants.
But, my teenager, who loves cake, especially if it’s more danish than cake, asked me to make it last weekend.
I like to make treats for my son.
Especially since he’s skinny and lanky in that teenage boy way right now. All elbows and limbs.
I should tell you that he delivered a fair amount of cheek with his request.
His exact words were:
“Hey since you’ve already got an apron on, why don’t you make a gooey butter cake?”
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Where Did Gooey Butter Cake Originate
This popular St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake has been a regional favorite since the 1930s. During that time, St. Louis was home to German-style breweries and bakeries dotting nearly every corner.
Local legend has it that this now famous cake was invented by accident by baker John Hoffman at St. Louis Pastries Bakery when he made a ratio- swapping error. Hoffman intended to make one of his bakerys traditional German yeasted coffeecakes, but he accidentally reversed the proportions of butter and flour. He didnt realize his mistake until after the cake was baked and he was rewarded with a rich, sugary cake with a caramelized crust.
Hoffman knew he had a hit on his hands and subsequently tried to recreate the recipe with the help of a friend, Herman Danzer. They worked all Saturday, and finally got it pretty close, but it wasnt until the final batch that Danzer suggested they add glycerin to get it really gooey. It worked. When Danzers wife tried the bars she said, this sure is gooey. And the name stuck. Hoffman named his initial mistake turned genius Gooey Butter Cake. It was a huge hit and in no time, became the must-have dessert in St. Louis and now homes everywhere.
St Louis Gooey Butter Cake
Published: · Updated: Aug 25, 2022 by Jennifer · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake, also known as the cake you won’t stop eating, is decadent, moist and nearly impossible to stop eating.
Like all great things, this cake has a history.
Gooey Butter Cake is the result of a baker from my hometown of St. Louis long ago accidentally leaving the leavening out of a cake.
The baker man served the flat, dense cake anyway and people loved it.
A new food was born.
This post includes affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See Disclosure.
If you’ve never had St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake, I am very sorry.
Imagine if you will, a giant cheese danish that fills a 9×13 cake pan. That’s pretty much what a St. Louis style gooey butter cake is.
You must drop everything and make this cake.
Also, this cake is dangerously easy to make.
But if you’d like a close relation to this cake in cookie form, make Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies with Cake Mix.
I think Kentucky Butter Cookies are closer to the cookie version of Gooey Butter Cake than Gooey Butter Cake Cookies are.
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For Top Cream Cheese Layer:
- Cream cheese: Please use full fat cream cheese for the most divine results. If you want to use less fat, keep in mind less fat = less flavor and creaminess so adjust your expectations. Please do NOT use nonfat cream cheese.
- Butter: Adds the indulgent buttery flavor and is the key to the ooey gooey topping.
- Eggs: Helps the cream cheese filling set so its thick and rich but still ooey gooey.
- Vanilla extract: All desserts need a little oomph of vanilla. The better the quality, the better it tastes, so go as quality as you can.
- Powdered Sugar: Is needed over granulated sugar in the filling so it melts into the filling without tasting grainy. Use the scoop and level method to ensure you add the perfect amount.
Tips For Slicing Gooey Butter Cake
- It is important that you let the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake cool completely before slicing or it will fall apart, about 3 hours, or overnight. To make it even easier to slice, pop it in the refrigerator to chill before slicing.
- Using a hot knife is also crucial for clean cuts as the hot knife glides right through the custard layer.
- To slice, fill a tall glass with hot water. Dip a sharp knife in the hot water, wipe with a damp cloth, then make a clean slice repeat for each cut.
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What Is Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
Ooey Gooey Butter Cake may look unassuming. It may be the plainest dessert on the block. It may not be decorated with any frills, only a simple dusting of powdered sugar. But what it lacks in looks, it makes up in indulgent buttery flavor and rich, creamy chewy texture.
To put it simply, Ooey Gooey Gutter Cake is a surprisingly addictive, layered culinary masterpiece. It is a flat cake, traditionally made in a 9×13 pan consisting of two distinct layers: the chewy cake layer and the velvety, custard-like cream cheese layer.
This butter cake is often referred to as St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake, the Paula Deen Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, or simply Gooey Butter Cake, although the cake originated in St. Louis in the 1930s and was popularized by Paula Deen decades later.
To make this classic Gooey Butter Cake recipe, the cake batter is pressed flat into the bottom of a baking pan then topped with the luscious, sugar-laden cream cheese topping then baked until crispy around the edges and creamy in the center. The texture is somewhat a cross between a chewy blondie and creamy lemon bars or in other words, buttery, sweet, chewy, creamy melt-in-your-mouth velvety perfection.
So Where Does Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Fit Into This
To be specific, the chapters include:1. MINI COOKIE SHEET I specifically use a quarter sheet pan , and I love all the small batches of cookies we bake on it. And the mini hand pies. And tarts. It’s all so good and sweet!
2. STANDARD BREAD LOAF PAN If you have an 8″ bread loaf pan, it will work with some minor baking time adjustments
3. MUFFIN PAN Everyone has one of these, right? We can make cupcakes, mini pies, and even homemade candy in it!
4. RAMEKINS Someone gave you a creme brulee set at your wedding shower. I just know it. My obsession with ramekins is strong . For this book, we’re using the classic 4- ounce creme brulee ramekins. Nothing else.
5. 6″ ROUND CAKE PAN This is one of the first pans people typically buy once they’ve joined my cult—I mean, my mini baking brigade. We don’t call ourselves a cult anymore, we swear. We’ve found that scares people away.
Moving on, the 6″ cake pan has become much easier to find over the years, and I’d like to take all the credit for that–hah! I find mine at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s in the cake decorating section. It’s typically the top layer of a wedding cake, so it’s easy to find.
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Costco Baby Shower Cakes
Baby on the way? Celebrate the upcoming event with a mouth-watering and affordable Costco custom cake. The best design for baby showers is the carriage one, which is available for a boy or a girl.
Balloons, rainbows, and smiling suns are also great designs to choose from for a baby shower cake from Costco. Dont forget the Costco half sheet cake serves 48 people, so you dont have to worry about there not being enough cake to go around.
A Gooey Butter Cake Recipe That Taste Like A Glazed Donut
And that’s why we’re here today, friends. This donut gooey butter cake is made in a 8×8″ square brownie pan. It’s smaller than your typical gooey butter cake recipes , but larger than my mini pumpkin gooey butter cake made in a bread loaf pan.
This cake, you guys. It made me shut my mouth. . It made me silent. It made me weak in the knees. I had to sit down and catch my breath after taking a bite. I may have moaned, too.
It took me all of 6 seconds to realize the flavor of this cake. GLAZED DONUTS. I don’t know how I did it, but this cake tastes like glaze donuts for real!
This recipe is in the Sweet & Simple Cookbook, and I’m so happy to share this little preview of the book with you today.
Grab your copy by pre-ordering it now, and I’ll get the heart-shaped box of chocolates ready. We’re going to have a great Valentine’s Day, friends!
Thank you for letting me share some preview photos from the book here. Almost all of the recipes in the book are new and never-seen-before on this site. I did include a few fan favorites that you guys can’t get enough of, just in case, though.
Last but not least: I present to you the best recipe to ever come out of my kitchen: homemade gooey butter cake from scratch not using a cake mix that totally tastes like donuts .
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