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Decadent, flavorful and incredibly easy! This layered 5-Ingredient Gooey Butter Cake is the perfect dessert for any occasion. Top it with ice cream, whipped cream, or fresh berries for a sweet treat that wins rave reviews!
You just can’t beat the ease of a crowd-pleasing dessert recipe that takes advantage of cake mix, butter and cream cheese. What’s not to love?!
What is Gooey Butter Cake?
Sometimes called “Ooey Gooey Butter Cake” or “Chess Cake,” this popular dessert originated in St. Louis, Missouri. The flat, dense cake can be sliced into squares or bars (kind of like brownies), and is often served as a coffee cake or breakfast cake, rather than a sweet treat at the end of a meal.
This easy gooey butter cake recipe includes a buttery yellow cake crust, topped with a soft cream cheese layer and a dusting of powdered sugar. It’s an updated, simplified version of the original Gooey Butter Cake that was supposedly invented by John Hoffman in his St. Louis bakery in the 1930’s!
How to Make Gooey Butter Cake:
As the title suggests, this recipe requires just 5 simple ingredients:
- A box of yellow cake mix
- Butter
- Eggs
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
For the base layer, combine dry cake mix, melted butter and 1 egg to create a dough. Press the dough into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan to form a crust.
In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and two eggs.
Pour the cream cheese mixture over the dough in the pan.
That’s literally it! Just bake the cake for 28-40 minutes, until golden brown and set. You still want the center to be a little bit soft and “gooey”!
Allow the cake to cool in the pan and then dust with powdered sugar before slicing and serving.
How to know when Gooey Butter Cake is done:
The baking time will vary, largely depending on the type of pan that you use. Here I showed a metal cake pan, but a glass or ceramic dish may work even better. The metal, dark, or nonstick pans require a shorter baking time because the crust browns sooner. A glass or ceramic dish, on the other hand, will do well with about 35-40 minutes in the oven.
You want the top, center layer to still be soft while the crust on the bottom is firm. Just be sure that you don’t over-bake the cake, or it won’t have that great “gooey” texture!
How to serve the cake:
This dessert can be sliced into firm squares, similar to brownies, and enjoyed with fingers or forks. The butter cake bars are delicious, rich and decadent on their own, but they’re also delicious when topped with:
- whipped cream
- vanilla ice cream
- fresh berries
Try using a combination of red and blue berries, such as strawberries and blueberries, with a dollop of whipped cream for a festive red, white and blue Fourth of July or Memorial Day dessert!
Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:
- Wrapped properly, the cake will stay fresh at room temperature for about 2 days. It does not need to be refrigerated. To freeze and leftovers, wrap the cake tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place in a Ziploc freezer bag. The cake will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- This recipe lends itself well to many different variations! Try making an Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cake by using a chocolate cake mix and adding some unsweetened cocoa powder to the cream cheese mixture. Create a Lemon Gooey Butter Cake by using a lemon cake mix and by adding some lemon juice and lemon zest to the cream cheese mixture. Make a Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake by using a spice cake mix and by adding canned pumpkin puree and some pumpkin pie seasoning to the cream cheese mixture. Paula Deen also has a great pumpkin version here. Finally, try a Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake with a red velvet cake mix crust!
- Don’t forget to soften the cream cheese before trying to mix it together with the powdered sugar and eggs!
- The baking time will vary, largely depending on the type of pan that you use. Here I showed a metal cake pan, but a glass or ceramic dish may work even better. The metal, dark, or nonstick pans require a shorter baking time because the crust browns sooner. A glass or ceramic dish, on the other hand, will do well with about 35-40 minutes in the oven.
- You want the top, center layer to still be soft while the crust on the bottom is firm. Just be sure that you don’t over-bake the cake, or it won’t have that great “gooey” texture!
More easy cake recipes that you might enjoy:
Chess Squares
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
- 3 large eggs, divided
- 1 stick (½ cup) butter, melted
- 1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 1 (16 ounce) package confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
- Optional, for serving: additional powdered sugar; fresh berries; whipped cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the dry cake mix, 1 egg, and melted butter until a soft dough comes together.
- Press the mixture in an even layer in the prepared pan.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat together the cream cheese, the remaining 2 eggs, and the confectioners’ sugar until smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust and spread in an even layer. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown and set, but still a little bit “gooey” in the center.
- Cool in the pan, and then dust with additional powdered sugar before slicing and serving.
- Top with berries or whipped cream, if desired.
Notes
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- Use a block of full-fat cream cheese for the best flavor and texture. Do not substitute with a tub of spreadable cream cheese.
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- Don’t forget to soften the cream cheese before mixing it together with the other ingredients. The softened cream cheese blends more smoothly and easily into the filling mixture.
- Use room temperature eggs so that they incorporate more easily into the batter.
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- Add about 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the filling for even more flavor.
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- Line the baking dish with parchment paper overhang if you’d like to be able to easily lift the bars out of the pan before slicing.
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- The baking time will vary, largely depending on the type of pan that you use. Here I showed a gold metal cake pan, but a glass or ceramic dish will also work well. Metal, dark, or nonstick pans require a shorter baking time. You want the top, center layer to still be soft while the crust on the bottom is firm. They will continue to firm up and set as they cool. Just be sure that you don’t over-bake the bars or they won’t have that great “gooey” texture.
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- Allow the bars to cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar and slicing. The cool bars are easier to cut into clean squares.
- Recipe adapted from Best of the Best from the Mid-South cookbook.
Amazing! Delicious and so incredibly easy! Discovered this during the lockdown and my family loves it (as do I)! Made a few tweaks:
*Added 1/2 tsp salt to the crust. I’ve been using Duncan Hines Butter
Golden cake mix.
*Added 1 tsp vanilla to the filling.
*When preparing the filling, added the powdered sugar after the other ingredients had been combined and mixed. Continued mixing for @ 3 minutes.
Thank you for sharing!
-shelly
Thanks, Shelly! I’m so glad that you love it. Thank you for the tips, too. Your tweaks sound great!
This is the exact recipe my late grandmother used. She called it sticky cake and it was a favorite of mine growing up. I love making this for holidays!
I’m so happy to hear that, Kelly. Grandmother’s recipes are always best! 🙂