If you’ve never had St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake, imagine a buttery yellow cake topped with a sweet, cream cheese layer that bakes up soft and gooey in the center. This beloved Midwestern classic is easy to make at home with a cake mix and a few simple ingredients
FYI: this is the cake you won't stop eating.
Jump to:
- How to Make Gooey Butter Cake
- Gooey Butter Cake Ingredients.
- Recipe Tips
- Baking the Cake
- Equipment Needed:
- Best Tip
- What is Gooey Butter Cake?
- Is St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake A Coffee Cake?
- Can I make this dessert without cake mix?
- Can I make Gooey Butter Cake Ahead?
- Is Gooey Butter Cake the same as Philadelphia Butter Cake?
- Can I Freeze Gooey Butter Cake?
- Pin to Save for Later
- Recipe
- A Personal Note About This Cake
- Comments
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.
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 9x13 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.
Because this recipe was so popular, I also share a recipe for Gooey Butter Cake From Scratch, Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake, Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake and Gooey Butter Cookies, made with cake mix. But you must also try Philly Butter Cake, which has a yeast base.
But if you'd like another close relation to this cake in cookie form, make Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies with Cake Mix. Another favorite here is Toffee Bars with Cake Mix.
How to Make Gooey 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 9x13.
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 and toss in the oven.
Gooey Butter Cake Ingredients.
- box of yellow cake mix
- stick of butter, room temperature
- 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups powdered sugar, plus more for sifting over the top
Recipe Tips
Be sure that the butter is at room temperature.
Make sure the cream cheese is soft.
If it's not soft, you're going to have lumps of cream cheese in your cake.
You want the cream cheese to be soft so it turns into a silky filling when you beat it with the eggs and powdered sugar.
Baking the Cake
Don't overbake this cake. That is my best advice for you.
If you overbake it, the cake gets a teensy bit dry.
We don't want that. We want the moist texture of a cream cheese Danish.
The cake shown in the photos in this post has been slightly overbaked.
But you might be wondering, "How will you know when the cake is done baking?"
The cake will be done when there's a slight jiggle in the middle.
If the wobble is on the outside edges of the cake, it isn't done yet.
I would check on the cake after it's been in the oven for 25 minutes, especially if your oven runs hot.
Ideal baking time, depending on how hot your oven runs, is 30 to 35 minutes
Equipment Needed:
A 9x13 cake pan (however, you could substitute two 8x8 square pans, the cakes will just be slightly thicker (affiliate link).
Parchment paper (I have a similar two-pack, but I buy mine for less from Sam's Club)
Best Tip
My best tips for you are to not overbake this cake.
If it looks done and there is no movement at all when you nudge the pan with an oven mittened paw, you've overbaked the cake, and it will be on the dry side.
What is Gooey Butter Cake?
A St. Louis classic with two layers: a soft cake base and a gooey, cream cheese–sugar topping. It’s rich, buttery, and completely addictive.
Is St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake A Coffee Cake?
Gooey Butter Cake definitely overlaps into coffee cake territory. It’s baked in a 9x13 pan and sliced into squares like many classic coffee cakes, and it pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee. The difference is that instead of a crumb topping or a cinnamon streusel layer, gooey butter cake has a rich, sream cheese topping that bakes up soft and slightly custardy in the center.
Can I make this dessert without cake mix?
Yes. The from-scratch version uses flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and cream cheese. Try my homemade gooey butter cake recipe if you’d like the traditional method. A similar dessert, Philadelphia German Butter Cake, is made from scratch.
Can I make Gooey Butter Cake Ahead?
Yes, this is a dessert that improves with a bit of age, in my opinion.
Keep this cake refrigerated for 2–3 days.
The filling has eggs and cream cheese, so it should stay in the fridge until ready to eat.
It also freezes well—wrap slices tightly and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
Is Gooey Butter Cake the same as Philadelphia Butter Cake?
No. St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake has a cake base and gooey topping, while Philadelphia Butter Cake uses a yeast dough. Both are rich and buttery, but they’re not the same dessert.
Can I Freeze Gooey Butter Cake?
Gooey Butter Cake freezes beautifully. Once cooled, cut into squares, wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap, then tuck them inside a freezer bag or airtight container.
Freeze for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature on a countertop or warm gently, five to ten seconds maximum at reduced power in a microwave for that just-baked gooey texture.
Most all desserts freeze really well.
Pin to Save for Later
Learn how to make the ultimate St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake completely from scratch! This recipe features a rich, buttery crust and a sweet, gooey filling that will have everyone begging for more. It's the perfect dessert for any occasion.
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Recipe
Gooey Butter Cake (Original St. Louis Recipe)
Moist, decadent and dangerously easy to make, gooey butter cake is like a giant cream cheese danish. You can't eat just one piece.
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
Instructions
Grease a 9x13 cake pan and dust with powdered sugar.
Or, line a cake pan with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Make a base layer of cake
Beat one egg in a large mixing bowl.
Melt one stick of butter.
Add cake mix and melted butter to the bowl with the beaten egg.
Stir until well-combined. You can do this with a spatula or use an electric mixer. Your choice.
Cake mix will be thick. Dump this mixture (it will be too thick to pour) into the cake pan and spread with your hands until it's an even layer.
Run the flat side of a measuring cup over the cake so the top is smooth and doesn't have fingerprints.
Unless you're going to be serving people who like fingerprints in their cake.
But no one is going to see the fingerprints because you're going to cover them with a cream cheese layer.
Make a cream cheese layer.
In the same bowl you used to make the base cake layer, beat the remaining two eggs.
To the eggs, add softened 8-ounce cream cheese and two cups of powdered sugar until smooth. You won't see any tiny lumps of cream cheese if you've beaten it enough. For this step, I recommend an electric mixer. It took me about five minutes using my stand mixer to beat all the lumps out of the batter.
Pour the cream cheese mixture over the base layer of cake.
Bake at 325°F for at least 30 minutes but no more than 35 minutes. Start checking at 25 minutes to make sure it isn't overbaking. You want to pull the cake out when the middle still has a bit of jiggle.
After removing from the oven, let cool in the pan on a wire rack.
Gild the lily, if you like, by dusting with powdered sugar.
Serve with strong coffee or tea, or whiskey.
Makes 24 servings.
Notes
Don't over bake this cake.
Check it at 25 minutes. It will most likely be done at 30 minutes.
The type of cake mix you use doesn't matter. Just grab a standard yellow box of cake mix from your supermarket grocery aisle. You'll want a box mix ranging from 8 or 9 ounces to 12 ounces. Any box mix that will make a 9x13 sheet cake.
You might also like Butterscotch Cake
Recommended Products
This post and/or recipe may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase, I'll earn a commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See Disclosure policy.
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KitchenAid Classic Series 4.5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer K45SS, White -
Reynolds Kitchens Stay Flat Dispensing Parchment Paper for Baking and Roasting, Parchment Paper Roll, Great for Baking and Rolling Dough, Non-stick, Reusable Up to 3x, 45 Sq. Ft.
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USA Pan Bakeware Square Cake Pan, 8 inch, Nonstick & Quick Release Coating, Made in the USA from Aluminized Steel
Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 193Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 43mgSodium 228mgCarbohydrates 28gFiber 0gSugar 19gProtein 2g
A Personal Note About 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's a fancy word for full of fat) 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?"
But now my son is a young man in his early 20's living across the country from me in Denver.
Tracy says
I'm not trying to be rude & I know there are many different ways to make different meals & desserts. I'm from Missouri. We use to go to the German bakeries to get the St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake.
It isn't made w/ a box cake & it isn't made w/ cream cheese. Just like many people call it different names than it's proper, original name. Even Paula Dean calls it a different name & she uses a box cake mix. I just think it's selling yourself short of the original recipe & taste.
Thank you for your time.
Have a blessed day.
Torrie h. says
Exactly… it’s a yeasted cake base and is covered with buttery cream cheese batter and baked until golden and the flavor profile is that of a sweet roll had a baby with a cheesecake and there’s absolutely no substitute. It’s haas bakery that ruined the whole thing, theirs was like the paula deen version you see now and thanks to becoming a mass produced product, the expectation changed. But if you are from St. Louis and you know, then you know.
Torrie h. says
Let me add to this by saying it’s a cheesecake mouthfeel it doesn’t contain cream cheese. It’s just butter, sugar, and eggs… it’s kinda custardy but it gives off a cheesecake texture on top of a sweet roll that is maybe a little more dense than a traditional sweet roll. Nyt has a good recipe for it. But even so, nothing beats the German bakeries in St. Louis.
Melody says
No one in my family has ever eaten Gooey Butter Cake before, and we all thought this was absolutely delicious. It's especially good still warm from the oven.
Miriam says
I made this. The batter mix was perfect, but since I don’t own any kind of electric mixer for the cream cheese base, I used a blender.
I used strawberry cake mix, the box says moist. I don’t know if I blended it too much.
I put it in the oven for 30 minutes but the bottom feels too soft. I waited for it to cool down. I just put it back in the oven now I’m just waiting. It didn’t taste like it was finished. It was soft.