Gooey Butter Cake is a St. Louis tradition, also known as the cake you won’t stop eating; it is decadent, moist, and nearly impossible to stop eating! A yeast bread topped with a gooey butter layer that will have you going back for more; I promise that much. Top with some powdered sugar and some raspberries or strawberries.
Sweet, dense, and firm, it is similar in texture to a brownie. Initially, it was invented by a baker in the 1930s who made a yellow cake but put in too much sugar, butter, or shortening. Since those were the times of the Depression, he couldn’t throw away the gooey, sticky mess, so he sold it, and the consumers wanted more and more. Many variations call for a box of yellow cake mix and cream cheese, but if you want the real deal, you’ll want to make this from scratch using the St. Louis way. Serve this as a snack with some coffee, for dessert, then enjoy the rest for breakfast the next day!
How to make St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
Yes, this recipe takes longer than most other recipes out there, but this recipe is the real deal. It’s the closest to traditional as you’ll get. This recipe is worth every minute of your time. You won’t stop eating it! (Full ingredient amounts and complete instructions are available in the recipe card down below). Old St. Louis Bakery Style Recipe from Chris Leuther’s Collection, adapted from Creative Culinary
- Whole Milk: Room temperature!
- Active Dry Yeast: This ingredient is key for the bread part. It’ll cause the dough to rise, and it’ll also rise while baking.
- Butter: You’re going to need A LOT of butter for this. Some for the dough, then some for the gooey topping. Make sure it’s unsalted butter! You don’t want a salty cake.
- Granulated Sugar: To make the cake a tad sweet, but not too sweet.
- All-Purpose Flour: For the dough
- Salt: Just a little bit!
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Light Corn Syrup: This is used for gooey butter topping. It also gives the topping more moisture and prevents sugar crystallization, which gives food a grainy texture.
- Powdered Sugar and Raspberries or Strawberries: For topping the cake with. Completely optional, but recommended!
For the Dough: Heat the milk to 100F. Sprinkle the yeast into the milk evenly. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then stir to dissolve. Set it aside. In a bowl of an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together some of the butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in an egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the flour alternately with the milk/yeast mixture, ending with the flour. Be sure to scrape the bowl of the milk mixture so that all yeast transfers to the dough. After each addition, beat on the lowest speed to combine, scraping the bowl occasionally. After the last bit of flour is added, increase the speed to medium-low and beat until the dough is smooth and slightly elastic. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish, or two 8×8 square pans, then press and stretch the dough into the pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 2-3 hours.
For the Gooey Butter Topping: About 15 minutes before the dough is done rising, combine the butter, sugar, salt, and corn syrup in an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium speed until light. Scrape down the bowl; add the vanilla and an egg. Beat until combined, then beat the remaining eggs. Add in some milk and flour, then mix on low speed. Scrape down the bowl and give the mixture a final stir. When the dough is done rising, preheat the oven to 350F. Cover the dough with dollops of the topping, then spread evenly across the top; leave about a half inch uncovered with the topping. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the topping is crisp and golden brown, do not overbake. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with berries just before cutting and serving.
Tips & FAQs
- Storage: This can be stored on the counter, covered with plastic wrap, for 3 days. Refrigeration is optional.
- Allow the cake to cool COMPLETELY. This is very important, as the cake will not cut easily until it is completely cool. You will notice that the cake has sunken and set. This is normal. The cake will also rise and sink during baking.
- Do NOT overbake this! This is extremely important. The center will be gooey so the toothpick test won’t help; just take it out as soon as the top starts to get a light golden brown and, most importantly, if you see the edges start to brown. The yeast layer is then and over-baking the cake by 5 minutes can make it too dry. I suggest running a knife around the edge after letting the cake sit for only a minute or two. The gooey part will stick to the pan, even if it’s nonstick.
- The cake will be done if it has a slight jiggle in the middle of it. If the wobble is on the outside edges of the cake, it isn’t done yet. I would check on the cake after it’s been in the oven for 20 minutes, especially if your oven runs hot.
Want the recipe? Click print below! Let me know how it came out for you by tagging me on Instagram (@missravenskitchen) and using #missravenskitchen! Follow my Facebook page for updates as well! Let me know if I need to tweak anything.
St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for the pan (1 3/4 sticks)
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp light corn syrup
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp whole milk, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Heat the milk to about 100 degrees. Pour the milk into a small bowl; sprinkle yeast evenly over the milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then stir to dissolve. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg and beat until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
- Alternately add all-purpose flour and the milk/yeast mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Be sure to scrape the bowl of the milk mixture so that all yeast transfers to the dough. After each addition, beat at the slowest speed to combine, scraping the bowl occasionally.
- After the final portion of flour has been incorporated, increase the speed to medium-low and beat for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and slightly elastic.
- Butter a 9×13 baking pan, or two 8-inch-square pans, then press and stretch the dough into the pans. (If the dough resists stretching, covering the pan and allowing the dough to rest for 15 minutes or so should help.) Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours.
- About 15 minutes before the dough is done rising, combine the butter, sugar, salt, and corn syrup in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light, about 3 minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl; add the vanilla extract and 1 egg. Beat until combined, then beat in the remaining egg.
- Add the milk and all-purpose flour and mix to combine on low speed. Scrape down the bowl and give the mixture a final stir.
- When the dough is done rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover the dough with dollops of the topping, dividing evenly between cakes.
- Spread topping almost to the edges (leave about a half inch uncovered with topping). Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the topping is crisp and golden brown; do not overbake. (Topping will melt and spread as it bakes.)
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before cutting and serving.
Notes
Storage: This can be stored on the counter, covered with plastic wrap, for 3 days. Refrigeration is optional.
Allow the cake to cool COMPLETELY. This is very important, as the cake will not cut easily until it is completely cool. You will notice that the cake has sunken and set. This is normal. The cake will also rise and sink during baking.
Do NOT overbake this! This is extremely important. The center will be gooey so the toothpick test won’t help; just take it out as soon as the top starts to get a light golden brown and, most importantly, if you see the edges start to brown. The yeast layer is then and over-baking the cake by 5 minutes can make it too dry. I suggest running a knife around the edge after letting the cake sit for only a minute or two. The gooey part will stick to the pan, even if it’s nonstick.
The cake will be done if it has a slight jiggle in the middle of it. If the wobble is on the outside edges of the cake, it isn’t done yet. I would check on the cake after it’s been in the oven for 20 minutes, especially if your oven runs hot.
Old St. Louis Bakery Style Recipe from Chris Leuther’s Collection, adapted from Creative Culinary
Nutrition Facts
Calories
289.35Fat (grams)
13.39Sat. Fat (grams)
8.25Carbs (grams)
40.72Fiber (grams)
0.62Net carbs
40.11Sugar (grams)
26.35Protein (grams)
2.74Sodium (milligrams)
257.76Cholesterol (grams)
42.57The nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and the brands of ingredients used. Nutrition Information is based on 20 servings.
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