This doctored cake mix is a delicious easy replica we enjoy along with the original recipe gooey butter cake recipe, both will be provided for my only bake-by-scratch readers.
Both recipes either recipe you choose to try will result in a rich, buttery, and gooey cake.
The cake is a blend of cream cheese, egg, vanilla, and powdered sugar topping poured onto a buttery crust made with a yellow cake mix pressed into a pan they baked magically to form a gooey cake that's totally luscious.
If you would like to skip our tips and suggestions below, just scroll to the bottom and hit print on the recipe card, it will remove the ads for you to get started on this delicious cake!
Easy Steps for Making Gooey Butter Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 13 x 9 baking pan with parchment paper
- Mix the cake mix with butter and press into the pan
- Mix the ingredients for the cream cheese topping together until smooth and pour over the prepared cake mix
- Bake at 350 degrees for around 40 minutes
- Cool, cut into squares
- Garnish with powdered sugar
Shopping List to Make Googey Butter Cake
- yellow cake mix
- eggs
- powdered sugar
- cream cheese
- vanilla
- butter
- more powdered sugar for garnishing
Topping Additions
- serve with fresh or canned fruits sliced strawberries, peaches, or another fruit you prefer
- drizzle with caramel or strawberry ice cream topping
- sprinkle with shaved chocolate with toasted pecans
- drizzle the cake with hot fudge before serving and whipped cream
- dust with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar
- fold in some funfetti
- sprinkle with coconut
- add another flavoring instead of vanilla (lemon, almond, or another flavor you prefer)
- chopped dried fruits
- Pans:
- 1 - 13 x 9 pan bake for 30 minutes
- 2 - 9-inch rectangular pans bake for 20 minutes
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Original Gooey Butter Cake Recipe
If you were looking for the long scratch mistake version of the original cake, we are going to add that to the recipe card below.
This was a shortcut using a cake mix for the copycat of making a version of the original Meet Me in St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake.
Both are rich, with a delicious crust and baked-in topping and whichever recipe you try it's sure to be a winner even though it started out as a mistake in the original recipe back in the 1930s by a St. Louis Baker.
The story goes and how it got its name he reversed the proportions of the butter and flour in the scratch recipe and baked it anyway, the results were this wonderful creation of a gooey butter cake!
The easy cake mix version using a boxed yellow cake mix turns out delicious, you can decide which one you would like to try just hit print down below on the recipe card.
Yield: 15
Cake Mix Gooey Butter Cake
A delicious version of Gooey Butter Cake using a doctored cake mix. A Meet Me in St. Louis style copycat. Also, the original made-from-scratch recipe.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min
Ingredients
- Gooey Butter Doctored Cake Mix Version
- Bottom Crust:
- 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
- 1 15.25-ounce box of lemon or use a yellow cake mix
- 1 egg
- Topping:
- 1 8-ounce bar of cream cheese (room temperature)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups of powdered sugar ( save some for garnish if desired)
- Original Recipe for Gooey Butter Cake
- Bottom Crust:
- 1/2 cup of butter
- 1 1/4 cups of sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
- 2 cups of AP flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- Topping:
- 1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 teaspoon lemon or pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups of powdered sugar
Instructions
- Doctored Cake Mix Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 13 x 9 baking pan with parchment paper then set that aside.
- In a microwave-proof bowl, melt the butter in a low-temperature setting and cool.
- In a large bowl pour in the cooled melted butter with the cake mix and 1 egg. The dough will be sticky.
- Press into the prepared pan using a spatula to spread it out.
- In a clean bowl beat together the cream cheese 2 eggs, vanilla, and powdered sugar for around 3 to 4 minutes or until completely smooth.
- Pour on top of the cake mix batter and tilt the pan to cover evenly.
- Bake at 350 degrees for around 30 to 35 minutes (watch carefully not to overbake.
- Note: the top will look set.
- Cool before serving.
- Garnish with powdered sugar or see suggestions under notes.
- Original Recipe for Gooey Butter Cake Directions:
- Prepare a 13 x 9 baking pan with parchment and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients for the dough and blend evenly.
- Spread that dough into the prepared baking pan using a spatula or press it down with floured hands.
- In a clean bowl beat together all the topping ingredients until smooth.
- Pour that over the crust.
- Bake for around 35 to 40 minutes or until the middle is set. Do not overbake.
- Cool before cutting. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
Topping Additions
- serve with fresh or canned fruits sliced strawberries, peaches, or another fruit you prefer
- drizzle with caramel or strawberry ice cream topping
- sprinkle with shaved chocolate with toasted pecans
- drizzle the cake with hot fudge before serving and whipped cream
- dust with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar
- fold in some funfetti
- sprinkle with coconut
- add another flavoring instead of vanilla
- chopped dried fruits
- 1 - 13 x 9 pan bake for 30 minutes
- 2 - 9-inch rectangular pans bake for 20 minutes
These are all copyright-protected images and content. Do not reprint/reuse this recipe or its images without my written permission.
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