St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake {VIDEO}
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Gooey Butter Cake is a St. Louis tradition, where the cake becomes the crust and holds a gooey cream cheese filling. This coffee cake is generally served for breakfast but can easily make an appearance on any dessert table.
We love gooey butter cake recipes so much we love to give them a little twist like Nutella Gooey Butter Cake, Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake, Strawberry Gooey Butter Cake, Carrot Cake Gooey Butter Cake, or even Peanut Butter Gooey Butter Cookies!
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Table of Contents
St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
You do know Gooey Butter Cake is a St. Louis thing, right? And people who are not born and raised in St. Louis shouldn’t really post about it! {I kid)
Me?….yep, born and raised, so I’m pretty sure that makes ME qualified. Don’t go looking at places like The New York Times, for a St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake recipe, because, it’s not the kind of Gooey Butter Cake any St. Louisan’s (that I know) make……I’m just sayin’ {wink}.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure that cake is scrumptious as all get out too, it’s just not exactly the way St. Louisan’s make it.
Gooey Butter Cake is a dessert like no other. I’m not even really sure why it’s called a “cake”. The magic of cream cheese, sugar and egg create a dessert that is irresistible. While a simple boxed cake mix makes it incredibly easy.
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How To Make St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
Ok, so grab your apron and let’s get started. I’m going to show you the REAL recipe. It’s really really easy, so don’t be all nervous.
**DISCLAIMER: I will not be held accountable for any weight that may be gained from this recipe. Bake and eat at your own risk. ?
(full recipe below)
In this recipe, a box cake mix becomes the “crust”. You do NOT mix the cake mix according to the box directions. You are going to simply combine a yellow cake mix with one egg and melted butter. It will be thick lick a cookie dough.
- Using your clean fingers, press the dough into a greased 9x13x2 cake pan.
- Next, using an electric mixer combined softened cream cheese, 2 beaten eggs, and powdered sugar until smooth.
- Spread cream cheese batter over crust batter. Then bake for 40-45 minutes, or until edges are brown.
- Cool the cake on a baking rack. Then, dust with powdered sugar on top after the cake has cooled completely.
Then enjoy a nice cup of coffee and get the kids to clean the kitchen while it bakes.
Can’t get any easier than that!!
Gooey Butter Cake will keep for several days covered and on the counter. We actually enjoy this coffee cake on day two or three. So it’s a great make-ahead breakfast cake or dessert for entertaining.
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Make this, and you can call yourself a St. Louisan for the day!
ENJOY!!
Gooey Butter Cake
This coffee cake is a St. Louis tradition, where the cake becomes the crust and holds a gooey cream cheese filling. It's generally served for breakfast, but can easily make an appearance on any dessert table.
Ingredients
For Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups powdered sugar (+ extra for dusting)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F and grease a 9x13x2 cake pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg and melted butter until well combined (it should be a thick dough).
- Using clean hands press the dough into the prepared pan with your fingers.
- Using an electric mixer, blend, cream cheese, 2 beaten eggs, and powdered sugar until smooth.
- Spread filling over first dough layer.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until edges are brown.
- Cool cake on cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar after cake has cooled completely.
Notes
I like to make this a day or so ahead of time, because I actually like it better when it’s a day or two old the gooey center firms up more.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 319Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 395mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 1gSugar: 38gProtein: 4g
Nutrition information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin, and freshness of ingredients used.
Hi there, I'm Cheryl!
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Oh My Goodness. That is about all you need to say. 🙂 I have never heard of these before and I’m thinking they might be a problem if I made them. I’m not known for my self control around baked goods.
So glad I stopped by from the Thirty Handmade Days Link Party!
gooey and butter in the same sentence – you have my attention!
I just love gooey treats and my little son is also a great fan of this kind of treats! Thank you for sharing the recipe with us!
I made this cake once before and it was definitely not as pretty, but it was delicious!! Great recipe!
Here inthe south we call it a Chess Cake 🙂 sooo easy and so delicious! I also use a lemon cake mix
Sometimes for delish and easy lemon bar flavor!
I agree these are close to what we call a Chess Pie.. I love the idea of using a lemon cake mix.. I love anything with lemon…
Ive heard of chess pie , but not cake ! Im gonna try this cake . Thanks
Thank you so very much for posting this recipe. I lost my recipe several years ago, and have been looking for this reipe again ever since. You are so very correct that this is definitely a St. Louis tradition. I grew up looking forward to Sundays, this was the day that we visited my grandparents after church and this was our breakfast.
Just re-pinned this. Holy. Moly.
Yes please!
St. Louis is known for this wonderful confection. Tradition has it that is originated on “The Hill” the Italian enclave in St. Louis, known for its wonderful Italian bakries. Everyone in this town loves this cake. When you buy it in the bakeries around here it is usually 8×8 and served for breakfast. If you haven’t ever heard of it or tasted it, this recipe is wonderful. Ooey gooey sweet dessert or breakfast treat. TRY IT–you’ll fall in love!
I never heard the St. Louis part before, but the base recipe I have is almost the same.
(It called for a whole pound of powdered sugar, but I cut it to 2.5 cups and it is still plenty sweet.)
My family loves the pumpkin and pineapple variations. The pumpkin tastes extra good with some real whipped cream on top.
I haven’t heard of the pumpkin or pineapple versions.. could you post the recipes?
St. Louis has so many yummy things the rest of the country just doesn’t. Pork steaks, toasted ravioli, & Gooey Butter cake to name a few.
Love Gooey Butter Cake – get it every time we’re in the LOU – I will be trying this recipe this weekend! Thank you!
I have been looking for a recipe for REAL gooey butter cake (I live in Arizona now and I’m going through withdrawals). This looks like something I’d get at Schnucks or Dierbergs! Can’t wait to try it.
My mom’s from St. Louis, I’m from the area and worked in St. Louis for almost 17 years before movng to California. I miss all the good things we had back there. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I’m going to make it for my husband. I make goey butter cookies and my co-workers drool over them. Wait til the cake hits them.
I’ve made this cake for yrs only its always been called a SUGAR CREAM CAKE! We love it. I make it every yr fir my business partners BDay. Her fav. I love to substitute the yellow cake mix for dif flavors. Lemon, Chocolate, and Cherry Chip are great examples. They taste great! Even Fingertips adds a little kick. It was neat finding smone else that knows this cake. I know of it being over 20 yrs old and I got it from my sister. I know Paula Dean has a Chocolate one she does. Its so yummy and rich and goes a long ways. Might have to make another one soon!! LOL
Paula dean makes this cake and it’s to die for!! In the filling add another
Stick of melted butter and add some flavoring in it! One one my favorites that I make is
A butter pecan cake with pecan flavoring in the filling. Or a strawberry cake with the vaNella extract. You cam play around with it and make it your own!!!!
I hate you. 😉
I’ve been resisting looking up this recipe. I will make it now.
Growing up (St.Louis of course) we made these at every get together we had and then some. Now I live in Colorado and still make them and think of back home in Missouri. I agree it is even better after it sits. Now I want one in my face. LOL
Tried this recipe today after having just found it yesterday. Great turnaround, if you ask me. We all loved it! Thanks so much for sharing!
I have been looking for this for years!!! I wasn’t born and raised in St. Louis, but I did spend 4 years in Floressent MO. My sister and I had some great friends that were native to St. Louis and they made this just about every week. I’m thinking they made them in 2 8X8 pans. Nevertheless, I’m making it tomorrow…Yippie Skippie!!!!
Made this today. Love it! Love it! Love it! and so with my 8-yr-old son and my hubby. Thanks.
I’ve had these wonderful deliciousness before, but always felts so cheated because I could only have a forkful because I eat sugar free. So, when I saw this recipe, and how simple it was, I knew I could make some substitutions to make it sugar free. I used Pillsbury Sugar Free Yellow Cake and made my own powdered sugar using 1 1/4 cup of granulated splenda and 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch which I blitzed for 1 minute in my vitamix (Splenda is sweeter than sugar so you don’t need as much. This didn’t affect the texture or consistency of my cake). I followed the rest of the recipe as you suggested. I am so happy I found this and am extremely pleased with my sugar free version of this amazing treat!
Loooove the recipe! However, I wanted to know if I can substitute the cake batter for bisquick. Will that work as well?
I’m a St. Louis native and I love the NY Times recipe. This one is too sweet and too processed. The NY Times one is exactly how it should taste. Sorry guys, the extra time and effort is sooo worth it.
Hi, just wanted to say that your recipe is very good. Very close to original but not the same. Don’t get me wrong, Yours was much easier to make & tasted great, but the original St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake does not start with a box cake & I just don’t think it does it justice. The original has a yeast cake base and yes, it does take a bit longer but worth the time & effort. I had my mind set that this was not going to compare to the original, but was pleasantly surprised! I miss all the breakfast goods & coffee cakes we use to get in Missouri and every German Bakery we went to. You just don’t find that anywhere else in the country. I’ve been to a lot of places in the States and I’ve tried seeking them out and they just are not there. Only alternative is looking up the recipe’s and making them yourself! Going to be trying to find & make the coffee cake my grandmother, great-aunt & mother use to buy & absolutely loved, is the coffee cake that had peanuts on top of it. Loved your recipe, turned out great! Thanks ~Tracy~
luv to see. luv to try. thanks..
🙂
from Malaysia
I too grew up in St. Louis. We used to get our gooey butter cakes at the bakery. There was a commerical bakery that also made these wonderful cakes. I live in Indiana now and for the life of me can’t remember the name of this business. Do you know the one I am referring to?
Thank you.
Linda Shimek I think you are inquiring about our HAAS Bakery. They were well known for their Gooey Butter Cake, cream cheese cake, rolls and so many goodies that I cannot remember all of them. Sadly HAAS Bakery is no longer. The company went out of business sometime 2012. I really miss buying their bakery products especially gooey butter cake. I hope this is the one you are asking about. Thank you.
I thought that was the bakery she was talking about too!! Katie have you tried any of the Gooey Louie gooey butter cakes? I have not, but was wondering if they are similar to Haas at all?
I am from St. Louis and I grew up eating gooey butter cake and this recipe hit the mark. I no longer live in St. Louis and cannot find it anywhere but now I just make it myself, thank you very much
Hi, I’m in the UK and I’m a little puzzled about the mentions of ‘Coffee cake’ but without a recipe using coffee in the ingredients. Are people referring to cakes that are eaten with a cup of coffee? In the UK we call coffee-flavoured cakes ‘Coffee cake’ and they’re delicious!!
yes, a coffee cake is a breakfast cake you would normally serve with coffee. 😉
My boyfriend talks about a butter kuchen from a bakery in Louisville Ky called Heitzman that has a runny butter top. Is this similar to that? I can’t find a recipe for something like that.
I grew up in Collinsville and miss Kruta’a GBC so much. Live in CT now, so I am using your recipe for a Thanksgiving treat for our family and friends up in New England. Thank you so much!
This is the traditional homemade version that most St. Louisans are the most familiar. Bakery versions use a yeast crust and corn syrup in the gooey part….I prefer the “homemade” versions for sure. I just think they taste much better.
Thanks for posting this recipe — we moved recently and I can’t find my recipes and haven’t made this in a little while so couldn’t remember all the ingredient amounts.
This has been one of our family favorites for years. I use lemon cake mix for a lemon twist — my husband just requested it for tonight. Ridiculously amazing. I’ve wanted to try a chocolate version…that’s on my to-do list soon! 🙂
ooh, lemon sounds interesting!! I might have to try that!!
If you like nutella, you’ll have to try the Nutella Gooey Butter Cake I made, it’s been our “go to” for a while now, and it uses a chocolate cake mix. I’ve also made a Chocolate Chip Gooey Butter Cake, which also uses chocolate cake.
enjoy!!
You are a life saver! I moved away from St. Louis 8 years ago and crave gooey butter cake all the time! When we go back home I always stock up at Federhoffer Bakery!
At 63 you would think I would outgrow my childhood sweet tooth….but NO!…..Oh yeah, Southwest High…LOL! If you are truly a St. Louis native…you understand!
Parkway Central! ;)…….yes, I’m a native! lol
you’re never to old to forget gooey butter cake!! enjoy!!
I’ve been using this recipe for years and it’s definitely a family favorite. I tell them I slaved in the kitchen all day lol (if they only knew how easy it was, shhhhh). BTW I’m a St. Louisan born and raised…go Cards 2015 is our year! Thanks for the back story!
Sorry, but this is not gooey butter cake. This is some Paula Deen style fake gooey butter cake. I was born and raised in St. Louis and the real deal has a plain coffee cake base with the gooey butter bit on top. There is no cream cheese involved. The topping is made with sugar, butter (hence gooey butter cake), corn syrup, flour and egg. I’m sure this is tasty-but it is not gooey butter cake.
I mention in the post that I’m born and raised in St. Louis as well (50 years old) – and this is how we have always made gooey butter cake – way before Paula Deen tried to claim it. – yes, it’s a little different than what you get from the bakeries, but it’s how it’s made at home, by our extended family, and everyone I know who makes it at home.
I am from St. Louis (Lutheran South). This is the exact recipe my grandma always made! I have to eat GF now but am going to try this with a GF cake mix for Thanksgiving!
If you make one for the next morning, do you need. To refrigerate it. Want to make it Christmas Eve but have it Christmas morning. Thanksp
no need to refrigerate – enjoy!!
I have made this recipe and I have to say very very good. I am a born and raised south city St. Louis resident. Gooey butter cake is a staple here. Make it just like she tells you and let it rest two days and man you’ll eat the whole thing and head back to the store for more ingredients.
Its a good cake but you could of made it more about what kind of cream cheese and etc this only tell how much to use
This might be a nice homemade treat but it is so not the iconic Gooey Butter Cake of legend. I’m also St. Louis born and bred and I’m shocked you consider this the real deal. The original treat was developed by a baker in a South St. Louis bakery in the 1930’s so while I agree that the recipe is probably not best represented by the NYT, to disparage that original for this quick version is incorrect; especially as someone who claims St. Louis as their city of origin. You should have done your homework; you would have discovered these facts!
I did do my homework, and I too am born, bred and raised in St. Louis this is the recipe my family and friends have been making and enjoying for 50 years.
If you know the real history, you would also know there are several people who claim to have invented the gooey butter cake
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Cakes/GooeyButterCake.htm
This sounds wonderful and I will try it. I love the taste of butter, but was worried about the amount of fat, so I started making a combination of butter and coconut oil at half and half with a quarter teaspoon of salt. It tastes great and is more nutritious.
I am so glad I found your site! I spent two months at my daughter’s in St. Louis and I am now hooked on this cake. They laugh at me because I have a sweet tooth anyway but now it’s partial to this cake. I live in Va Beach,Va and I have found 1 store that carries a small version. ( 2×4″) but I can eat it in one sitting! They bring some when they come home for holidays but I want more! Found you on Pinterest.
I found myself looking for the “correct” Gooey Butter Cake recipe. My wife and her family moved up to norther Minnesota from St. Louis and all attempts by others had failed until this one. It made their day when I made it for the first time.
When making the cake box portion I don’t follow cake box instructions? Just mix dry mix with egg and butter??
the cake mix is an ingredient
the directions state:
Combine, Cake mix, 1 egg and melted margarine or butter.
You really didn’t need to be snarky. A simple “no, don’t make the cake mix as described on the box. Just mix the dry cake mix right out of the box with the egg and melted butter and pat into the pan” would have sufficed.
Wouldn’t you rather people ask a question and clarify rather than wasting their ingredients possibly making it wrong? What if it were your sister or mother asking for clarification? Wouldn’t you prefer someone answer them kindly and clearly? (Just FYI, in case it needs to be said, I don’t know the OP from Adam). It’s amazing how people don’t think to be kind to others. Shame on YOU!
no one was being snarky! I simply answered the question that the box cake mix was an ingredient.
Shame on you for jumping to conclusions
This is definitely snarky, even if you were not trying, lol! The whole reprint of the instruction line from the recipe as if she can’t read to comprehension is very condescending.
I haven’t made this in a long time. I forgot that it has to firm up while cooling! Oops! I’m like you, I like it more firm than runny. I hope that mine turns out right…otherwise I’ve wasted ingredients.
Do any of your recipes have nutritional content listed?
Where is the full recipe? How much Marjorie is used? How much chips? How much vanilla? What oven temp?
the full recipe is right above here in the post.
Marjorie? chips? vanilla? those are not in this recipe.
is the cake mix a Jiffy size (1 layer) or a full cake size? I think I may make it for some friends in TN over Thanksgiving.
15-16ounce cake mix
Would I double this recipe to make it in a half sheet cake baking pan – 12.25 in x 17.25 in?
I grew up in STL and grew up with this cake. I have made it before but this recipe is the best and will always make this from now on. I don’t get to STL anymore because my parents are now gone. I remember all the good bakerys that are no longer there. Loved the STL stolen made by the National Food Store they are no longer there . I have tried to find a recipe for it but no luck. I would come up to visit my parents from Texas and they always made sure they had 2 to 3 on hand. I would buy more before I headed home. If you ever find a recipe for it let me know. Thanks again for sharing.
Susan,
I’m not native to The Lou, but since I live close by I did some research for you. I didn’t find any recipes from the National Supermarkets as they were called, but I’ll keep looking for you. I did come across a c(ream) Cheese Stollen recipe from Party Pastry in the area; maybe it will tide you over. Here’s the recipe link: stltoday.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/recipes/party-pastry-shop-s-cheese-stollen/article_4174861a-2ebd-5623-a742-79c6e71a42c9.html – Lori