Gooey Butter Cake is a deliciously sweet dessert. It has a simple cake at the bottom and a gooey, sugary cream cheese layer on top. It’s a treat that melts in your mouth.
Pin this delicious recipe on Pinterest to save and share with your foodie friends! Just hover over the end page and click ‘Pin’ to spread the yum.
This Gooey Butter Cake recipe is a simple and tasty treat that’s great for sharing. You’ll bake it in a 9×13″ pan, so there’s enough to go around at a potluck, party, or family gathering. Its size and ease make it a perfect last-minute dessert.
After baking, let the Gooey Cake cool and then cut it into squares. Since it’s rich, smaller pieces are perfect. For an extra indulgence, serve it with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. You can also try it with toppings like Hot Fudge Sauce or Homemade Strawberry Topping. But it’s delicious on its own too! The straightforward butter cake and gooey topping taste fantastic with or without extras.
Ingredients Note
- Flour: To achieve the best results, I suggest using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. While either option will work, cake flour is finely milled, resulting in a soft and tender cake crumb—ideal for this recipe.
- Butter: Before you begin, melt 1 cup of unsalted butter. The high fat content in butter contributes to the cake’s moist texture and imparts a rich flavor to the simple cake ingredients.
- Powdered Milk: Opt for non-fat powdered milk in this recipe. This concentrated milk powder serves as an excellent alternative to regular milk, providing the necessary flavor without adding extra liquid to the batter.
- Eggs: Eggs add protein and create a creamier cake batter. They play a crucial role in binding the wet and dry ingredients together. You’ll also use eggs in the topping to help achieve a thick, gooey consistency.
- Cream Cheese: Cream cheese is a key ingredient in the gooey topping. It is rich and thick yet soft enough to blend with other ingredients, creating a pudding-like mixture. Its distinct tangy flavor balances out the sweetness of the other ingredients.
- Powdered Sugar: Combine powdered sugar with the cream cheese to create a light, smooth mixture with the perfect level of sweetness. Sprinkle additional powdered sugar over the top for an easy yet elegant finish.
Variations
- Cake Mix: Instead of making the cake base from scratch, you can use a cake mix. For this version, grab a box of yellow cake mix, a cup of melted butter, and 2 large eggs. Combine the butter and eggs into the powdered cake mix. Once it forms a smooth batter, pour it into your cake pan. The gooey cream cheese topping is prepared the same way as usual.
- Gooey Caramel Cake: To add a rich caramel flavor to the gooey topping, keep most of the ingredients the same but introduce dulce de leche or caramelized milk. Mix the caramel with the cream cheese until smooth. Then, layer the caramel cream cheese over the cake batter. For an extra touch, sprinkle brown sugar or drizzle Salted Caramel Sauce on top before serving.
- Gooey Lemon Cake: For a fresh, citrusy twist, add a tbsp of lemon juice and a sprinkle of lemon zest to the cake batter. You can also enhance the lemony flavor by adding extra zest to the powdered sugar topping.
- Gooey Almond Cake: Another delicious variation involves adding chopped nuts to the cake mixture. Add chopped almonds by sprinkling them between the cake batter and the gooey topping. For an extra almond kick, whisk almond extract into the batter in this variation.
How to Store
- Serve: Ensure that you allow this cake to cool completely before slicing it. While the cake is meant to be gooey, cutting into it while it’s still hot will make it too gooey to serve.
- Store: Avoid leaving the cake uncovered at room temperature for more than a few hours. To store the butter cake, tightly cover it in tin foil. You can keep the Gooey Cake in the fridge for up to 1 week or at room temperature for 1-2 days. If refrigerated, let it sit on the counter for a few hours before serving to bring it back to room temperature.
- Freeze: For freezing the cake, cut it into squares and place them in a gallon freezer bag with parchment paper between the layers. This prevents the squares from freezing together. The cake will remain frozen for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve, place the freezer bag on the counter and let the cake bars thaw. Once they’ve reached room temperature, you can serve them as the perfect dessert.
Love cakes? Be sure to check out these other great cake recipes!
Strawberry Crumble Cake
Lemon Blueberry Cake
Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Open the Next Page for the Full Recipe