Published On: 07.11.20 | 

By: Stacey Little

Recipe: Better Gooey Butter Cake

Room temperature ingredients allow everything to combine easily and more completely. (Stacey Little/Southern Bite)

My primary goal with Southern Bite is to get folks back to the table. I do that by providing my readers with recipes that are quick, easy and that I can improve upon and make even more delicious. This recipe for Better Gooey Butter Cake is both of those. It’s a cinch to make and I’ve worked to update the classic recipe to make it gooier and more buttery.

My mom has been making gooey butter cake for as long as I can remember. It was one of my favorite desserts as a kid.

While there are conflicting stories about how the confection came into existence, it seems that St. Louis was the birthplace. My grandparents lived just outside St. Louis and I’m guessing that’s where Mom got her recipe. The stories almost all involve a bakery claiming fame to the dessert, so I would imagine it didn’t call for a cake mix. But if the dish was as popular as it seems, I’m sure home cooks were eager to recreate it in their own kitchens. Cake mixes are affordable, readily available and have all the ingredients already mixed together, so it makes sense that they reached for that as a shortcut.

I am a huge fan of the flavor of a yellow cake mix, like in my Pineapple Juice Cake, so I think it contributes perfectly to the flavor of gooey butter cake.

My primary problem with this recipe in the past is that often the bottom cake layer seems dry. While admittedly my baking knowledge is limited, one thing that I do know from making countless cakes is that a combination of butter and vegetable oil in cake produces a more moist, flavorful, pleasantly textured cake. Butter adds tons of amazing flavor and vegetable oil keeps the cake moist. So I like using both.

With this, I opted to use some vegetable oil in the bottom layer and chose a great butter – I mean it is called Gooey Butter Cake, right? So it stands to reason you’d use some seriously delicious butter.

The Minerva Dairy butter I used in this recipe has a higher fat content than traditional butter, is made from pasture-raised cow’s milk from family farms and is made in America’s oldest family-owned dairy. It’s better butter all around. I also chose to use salted butter, which is something I rarely do. But in this case, the salted butter helps to offset the sweetness of the dessert.

Can you use unsalted butter? Of course. A few things to keep in mind: A great butter makes a difference. Choose real butter, not margarine, for the best flavor. Using room temperature ingredients allows everything to combine easily and more completely. Starting by creaming the cream cheese ensures it’s going to mix more completely and won’t clump up.

Ooey-gooey goodness in every delicious bite. (Stacey Little/Southern Bite)

Better Gooey Butter Cake

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves: 12

Ingredients

For the cake layer:

  • 1 (15.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
  • 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature

For the gooey layer:

  • 1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • Additional powdered sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9-by-12-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the cake mix, butter, oil and eggs until combined. The mixture will be thick. Spread it evenly into the bottom of the prepared dish.

3. Place the cream cheese in a large bowl. Use a mixer to stir the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter, eggs and vanilla and mix well. Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition. Pour the mixture over the cake layer and spread evenly.

4. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the edges are brown but the center is still jiggly. Allow to cool completely before slicing into squares. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired.

This recipe originally appeared on SouthernBite.com. For more great recipes, visit the website or check out ”The Southern Bite Cookbook.”