I have a bone to pick with those of you in the St. Louis, Missouri area . . .

[Kathy813]

Have you been keeping Gooey Butter cakes a secret? OMG . . . I have become addicted to them.

A little bakery opened up a couple years ago close to difficult child's hair school and she called me one day and said, "Mom, you have got to try something. You are going to love it."

So the next time we met for lunch, we went there and had their ooey gooey cake (which is what they called it) for dessert. How could I have spent over 50 years of my life without knowing the wonders of gooey butter cakes??

I looked up the recipe and found that they are common around the St. Louis area. So were y'all holding out on the rest of us? LOL

I have a pumpkin gooey butter cake in the oven right now. I plan to top it with fresh whipped cream for dessert tomorrow. Yum!! I only have 47 more flavors to try although I am not sure anything can top the basic vanilla version.

~Kathy

 

[AnnieO]

I want one! Sounds scrumptious!

 

[slsh]

OMG... I grew up in St. L, and have yet to run into anything that even approaches gooey butter cake. It's been years since I've had one, but... drooling at the thought. I think I found one once outside of St. L, maybe in WA, but the bottom of it was too cakey (and dry). A good one has to be gooey to within mm of the bottom of the cake.

The problem with the durned things is that I can eat an 8x8 cake without batting an eye. They are so sweet and melt in your mouth. Sheer heaven.

Well, guess I'm off to google recipes, LOL. I think the grocery store is open until 2 tomorrow.

Glad you've been introduced. Let us know how the pumpkin turns out - I've only ever had the regular kind, though I'm thinking an espresso version might just hit the spot.

 

[Kathy813]

Sue, I am having trouble gauging when to take the cake out of the oven. The ones at the bakery are really gooey but mine are only slightly gooey in the middle after they are cooked. One recipe said to take it out when the center was slightly jiggly which I did but if firms up as it cools. I am tempted to take the next one out when the middle looks like it is isn't even cooked.

Unfortunately, the bakery has closed down so now I really have to figure out how to cook the darn things. They are still delicious when the middle is only slightly gooey but I want one that tastes like the bakery ones did.

I may have to go to Savannah to get one of Paula Deen's ooey gooey butter cakes at her restaurant. It would be worth the trip. Of course, I have always wanted to see the St. Louis arch.


~Kathy

 

[susiestar]

Check your Walmart for them first. They carry her line of baked goods and they are great.

WHere is your recipe for this cake? NO FAIR telling us about it and leaving us hanging with-o the means to make it ourselves. Though I may have a recipe. Eons ago, while preg with Jess, I worked with a lady who helped create recipes for a restaurant chain. She made this for us one day and it was incredible. I know she lived near St. Louis because she knew a friend of my mom's.

I don't usually use cake mix, but this was good and was even better with homemade cake mix.

1 18oz box yellow cake mix
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c chopped almonds (optional, I leave them out)
1 egg
1 16 oz box powdered sugar
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
2 eggs beaten to blend

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9 by 13 pan. Blend cake mi, butter, almonds and 1 egg for 1 minute wiht electric mixer. Pat onto bottom of prepared dish. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, cream cheese, and 2 eggs for 1 minute. Pour over cake. Bake about 50 min, until lightly brown.

Is that similar?

 

[Kathy813]

Yes, Susie, that sounds like the Paula Deen version of the recipe. Here is the one that I used:

Cake
1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.

Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well.

Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful little cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way-even for piggies like me!

Pumpkin Gooey: This variation has to be at the top of my list, especially around Thanksgiving. For the cake part, I sometimes use a spice cake mix. I have even used a chocolate cake mix, but I think my favorite is the basic yellow cake mix. Follow the original recipe, adding a 15-ounce can of pumpkin pie filling and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Bake as usual, remove from oven, and allow to cool. Cut into squares and top each square with a pecan half. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. I promise you'll never want pumpkin pie again!

There is also a bakery version that I found that doesn't use a cake mix or cream cheese. I wonder if that would taste more like the ones we had in our bakery. It involves yeast and corn syrup and needs a mixer with a dough hook which I don't have so I guess I'll just stick with the Paula Deen version.

I also found a lower calorie/lower fat version that one of Paula Deen's sons created. But seriously, if you are going to eat a ooey, gooey butter cake, why not go for the real thing?

 

[susiestar]

Sounds super close. That pumpkin thing sounds amazing!

Lots of bakeries use yeast for coffee cakes, danish, etc.... So that may be part of the difference. But this sounds wonderful!

 

[KTMom91]

That cake sounds wonderful!