Gooey Butter Cake
intro
A beloved St. Louis Midwestern classic with a tender buttery crust, rich gooey cream cheese center, and crisp golden top—sweet, indulgent, and endlessly shareable.
Ingredients
Steps
Preheat oven and prep pan
Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F) with a rack positioned in the middle. Lightly coat a 23cm (9x9 inch) square metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line the bottom and two long sides with parchment paper leaving a 5cm (2 inch) overhang to make lifting the finished cake easy.
Mix and press crust
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 240g (2 cups) all-purpose flour, 100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar, 4g (1 tsp) baking powder, and 3g (1/2 tsp) fine salt. Add 113g (1 stick) melted, cooled unsalted butter and 1 lightly beaten large egg, stirring with a rubber spatula until a thick, crumbly, uniform dough forms. Press the dough firmly and evenly across the entire bottom of the prepared pan to create a flat, compact base.
Beat cream cheese smooth
In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment), beat 452g (2 blocks, room-temperature) full-fat cream cheese on medium-low speed for 2 minutes until completely smooth with no visible lumps. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through mixing to eliminate trapped lumps, and avoid using high speed to prevent incorporating excess air.
Make gooey topping
Add 113g (1 stick) melted, cooled unsalted butter, 2 room-temperature large eggs, and 10ml (2 tsp) pure vanilla extract to the smooth cream cheese, beating on low speed for 30 seconds until just combined. Gradually add 480g (4 cups) sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing on low speed until fully incorporated, then increase to medium speed for 10 seconds to make a thick, pourable, glossy batter. Do not overmix, as this can cause the top to crack while baking.
Bake assembled cake
Pour the entire gooey cream cheese batter over the pressed crust layer, spreading it gently with an offset spatula to create a perfectly even top. Bake for 38-42 minutes at 175°C (350°F), until the edges are deep golden brown and puffed, and the central 5cm (2 inch) circle jiggles slightly when the pan is gently nudged. Do not bake until the center is fully set, as this will remove the signature gooey texture.
Cool, dust, and serve
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely in the pan on a wire rack for 2 full hours at room temperature to let the gooey layer set properly. Use the parchment overhang to lift the cake from the pan, dust the top with 15g (2 tbsp) optional powdered sugar, and slice into 8 even squares to serve at room temperature.
Tips
2.Never overbake the cake: the slightly jiggly center will set fully as it cools, and overbaking will result in a dry, dense texture instead of the signature ooey-gooey consistency.
3.For clean, neat slices, chill the fully cooled cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before cutting, and wipe your knife blade clean with a paper towel between each slice.
OMG I grew up eating this from the corner bakery in St. Louis and I swear this recipe is dead on! I was so nervous no home recipe could nail that perfect gooey center without being too runny, but this hit every single note. Brought it to my neighborhood block party last weekend and people were begging me for the recipe before they even finished their first slice. SO good, 10/10 will make again for Thanksgiving this year!
Super easy for a first-time baker like me! I’ve never made a cake from scratch that didn’t come out lopsided or burnt, but this was so straightforward. The only reason I’m knocking off a star is I think I baked it 5 minutes too long so the edges were a little crispier than I wanted, but the middle was still perfect. My roommate ate half the pan in one sitting lmao.
Just pulled this out of the oven and it smells INSANE. I’m supposed to wait 2 whole hours for it to cool?? That’s actual torture. Will update once I taste it but so far this looks exactly like the gooey butter cake I got at the St. Louis fair last summer. Edit: just snuck a tiny bite from the corner, worth every second of waiting so far.
Game changer! I bring a dessert to every monthly church potluck and this is the new #1 most requested item. I added a tiny extra dusting of powdered sugar on top like my grandma used to do and it was chef’s kiss. Even the ladies who turn down every sweet because they “don’t eat sugar” came back for a second slice. 100% adding this to my permanent recipe rotation.
My kids loved it! I was looking for a quick weekend dessert that didn’t require a million fancy ingredients, and this only used stuff I already had in the pantry. 15 minutes of prep was perfect because I was also grilling burgers for dinner and didn’t have time to babysit a complicated recipe. Even my picky 7 year old asked for seconds, which is basically a Michelin star in my book.
Made this with a 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour swap for the crust layer and it turned out amazing! I was worried the texture would be off, but you honestly couldn’t tell the difference. Only note is I needed to add 2 extra minutes of bake time because the GF flour made the center a little extra jiggly at the 40 minute mark. Will absolutely make this again for my GF bestie’s birthday next month.
Taste was great, but I messed up the cooling step! I cut into it after 45 minutes because I had guests coming over and it was oozing everywhere. Tasted incredible but looked like a hot mess. My guests still ate every last bite, but I wish I’d planned ahead better to give it the full cooling time. Don’t be like me, folks—block off that full 2 hours!
SO good. I’ve tried like 4 different gooey butter cake recipes online and this is by far the easiest and most accurate one. I love that it doesn’t call for cake mix like a lot of the shortcut versions—this tastes homemade, not like something from a box. The crust is buttery, the top is perfectly sweet, not cloying at all. 10/10.
Made this for my weekly watch party with the guys and it was gone in 10 minutes flat. I added a little vanilla bean paste to the gooey layer instead of regular vanilla extract and it gave it such a deep, rich flavor. Definitely a keeper, I’ll be making this for every game day from now on.
Great recipe! I cut it into individual squares and froze half of them for quick weeknight treats, they thaw perfectly in 30 seconds in the microwave. Only tiny complaint is I wish the recipe noted how big of a pan to use more clearly? I used a 9x13 and it came out a little thinner than I expected, but still tasted amazing. Next time I’ll use my 9x9 for thicker slices.
I moved from St. Louis to LA 6 years ago and I’ve been chasing a good gooey butter cake ever since. Every bakery out here charges $12 a slice for some sad, dry imposter version. This recipe made me cry a little when I took the first bite—it tastes exactly like home. I made it for my California friends and they all thought I was a professional baker, little do they know how easy it is!