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An authentic gooey butter cake recipe with the St. Louis classic yeasted cake bottom and vanilla gooey topping. Get ready to dig into that iconic gooey layer!
I am from St. Louis and I consider myself a connoisseur of the best gooey butter cakes! It is easy to find a recipe for the home cook variation that uses yellow cake mix and cream cheese, but the recipes using a yeasted cake and a traditional gooey butter topping are more difficult to find! Especially the ones like this one, where the yeasted cake base and the topping are mixed in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment like a cake batter or cookie dough.
Think of gooey butter cake as a fun alternative to a sweet breakfast cake, like pumpkin coffee cake, cinnamon flop, or sugared jelly donuts! It has a soft, tender cake base topped with a thick, gooey sweet topping. The combination is a perfect balance of sweetness and textures!
Why You Will Love this Recipe
- Easy to make. Though not as easy as using cake mix as a shortcut like pumpkin dump cake, the base and topping are mixed like a cookie dough and are super easy to make in a stand mixer or with an electric mixer.
- Light texture, perfectly sweet flavor. The yeast makes the cake light and airy and making both the cake base and topping from scratch allow you to control the sweetness. I find those made with cake mix to be rather cloying in comparison.
- An excellent breakfast cake, coffee cake or dessert!
Table of Contents
- Why You Will Love this Recipe
- What is ooey gooey butter cake?
- What is the story behind gooey butter cake?
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- Pro Tips for Traditional Gooey Butter Cake
- How to Make St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
- Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Recommended Gooey Dessert Recipes
- St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake [yeasted] Recipe
- Before You Go
What is ooey gooey butter cake?
There are two types of gooey butter cakes: one is made using a simple cake mix crust topped with a cream cheese spread, and the other has a yeasted cake bottom and is considered to be closest to the original. Both variations are delicious in their own right, but the one with cake mix tends to be sweeter and flatter, while the yeasted ones are taller and closer to a yeasted coffee cake.
Some reserve the term “ooey gooey butter cake” for the kind made with cake mix, while simply “gooey butter cake” is yeasted and contains no cream cheese.
What is the story behind gooey butter cake?
The oft-repeated local folklore is that in the 1930’s a German American baker, who was new on the job, mixed up the two toppings at a small bakery owned by John Hoffman in St. Louis, Missouri. The baker used the gooey butter “smear” that contained more butter on top of a coffee cake rather than the deep butter smear. Hoffman decided to bake and sell the cake rather than throw it out, and it became a local sensation.
The variation using commercial yellow cake mix and cream cheese was developed later, to allow it to be made more easily by home cooks.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Milk: I do use whole milk in the cake because it adds a bit of fat for added moisture and flavor.
- Active Dry Yeast: You can also use instant yeast to prepare this recipe in half the time.
- Light Corn Syrup: The light corn syrup in the topping helps keep the texture gooey, while still being fully baked. It also keeps the topping from crystalizing.
- Vanilla Extract: The topping is flavored heavily with vanilla extract, so choose a quality pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: No matter the style of cake, gooey butter cake is always served with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar! This is part of what makes the yeasted variety perfectly sweet, while the ones with cake mix tend to be a bit cloying, in my opinion.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Pro Tips for Traditional Gooey Butter Cake
- Don’t stress about the mixing process. The yeasted cake layer is more like a batter than a kugelhopf dough and is mixed with the paddle attachment like sally lunn bread. Just mix it for 2-3 minutes and call it a day.
- Over proofing is worse than under proofing. Unlike other yeasted bread recipes, I would err on the side of proofing less time rather than more. Over proofing will make the bottom layer unpleasantly thick and it will dry out in the oven by the time the topping cooks.
- Bake it like a cheesecake – puffed but still jiggly. Overbaking is another easy misstep because you might be stressed that it won’t be done. As the name implies, the topping is supposed to be gooey. I will say the caramelized sugary situation around the edges is divine and worth fighting over.
- The bake time will depend on the baking dish you choose. This will bake faster in a metal or glass pan than in a ceramic baking dish. It is always best to keep an eye on it to avoid over baking.
How to Make St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
To make the cake:
Step 1: Bloom the yeast. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water and milk. You can add some of the sugar if you want. I just sprinkled some in while I was measuring! Allow it to bloom for 5-10 minutes or until foamy (photo 1). Prepare a 9×13 inch baking dish by buttering or spraying with non-stick cooking spray. I used about 1 tablespoon of additional softened butter to grease the pan. Set aside.
Step 2: Cream butter and sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and salt until lightened (photo 2). There isn’t enough sugar to make it “light and fluffy.”
Step 3: Add the egg and beat it in (photo 3). Softened butter will make this step much easier.
My “room temperature” was on the cold side so my butter was soft but still cold. Amazing for chewy sugar cookies but less than ideal here. I ended up needing to add the flour when there were still little lumps of butter. It’s fine, don’t stress about it.
Step 4: Slowly add the flour with the mixer running on low (photo 4) then add the yeast mixture (photo 5). Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the bowl (photo 6).
It isn’t going to make a “dough”, but you’ll see strands pulling away from the sides and then mixing back in, which takes about 2-3 minutes. Don’t stress about this either.
Step 5: Press or spread dough into prepared baking dish. I sprayed both sides of a small offset spatula with cooking spray to spread out the dough in the pan being sure to get enough by the edges and corners (photo 7).
Step 6: Cover and proof in a warm place until almost doubled. It is difficult to tell when it has doubled but it will take about 1 ½ – 2 hours with active dry yeast and about 1 hour with instant yeast. During the last 20 minutes of proofing, preheat oven to 375°F.
Prepare the topping:
Step 7: Whisk syrup mixture. In a small bowl, whisk corn syrup, water and vanilla. Set aside (photo 8).
I used warm water to facilitate the integration of the corn syrup.
Step 8: Cream butter and sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until a thick paste forms (photo 9). Add the egg (photo 10) and continue to beat until lightened and incorporated (photo 11).
Step 9: Add flour and salt. Reduce the mixer to low and slowly add the flour and salt. This will look (and taste) like sugar cookie dough (photo 12)!
Step 10: Add syrup mixture. Once those have completely incorporated, add the corn syrup mixture (photo 13). Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until incorporated (photo 14).
Assemble & bake:
Step 11: Dollop the sugar batter over the surface of the risen dough (photos 15 & 16). There is enough batter to almost completely cover it even before spreading. Then use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the sugar mixture over the top (photo 17).
Step 12: Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until light golden brown. Rotate after 20 minutes. It was a golden brown but darker brown around the edges and a little in the bubbled center. It puffed and set (photo 18). It still moved in a cohesive mass like cheesecake.
Step 13: Cool almost completely then dust the top of the cake generously with confectioners’ sugar (photos 19 & 20.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
If you want to simplify the preparation, you can make the topping batter in advance and store it in the refrigerator up to a week in advance. I recommend taking it out hours before you plan to use it, to allow it to soften or it will be impossible to spread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store gooey butter cake covered tightly with plastic wrap, a lid, or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. It will not spoil after 3 days, but it will be considerably drier. Much like glazed chocolate donuts, it is best the day it is made.
You can do anything you want, it’s your kitchen; however, I do not recommend it. If you want to simplify the preparation, you can make the topping batter in advance and store it in the refrigerator up to a week in advance. I recommend taking it out hours before you plan to use it, to allow it to soften or it will be impossible to spread.
Reheat it wrapped in foil in the oven or in an airtight container in the microwave. The microwave will keep it more moist than warming it in the oven just because it is faster!
Gooey butter cake is best served slightly warm or at room temperature. It is always dusted with powdered sugar! Much like it’s cousin, Danish coffee cake, it is most delicious when freshly baked and still slightly warm. It is traditionally served like coffee cake, but you can also serve it as a dessert, warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or crème anglaise and my easy blueberry sauce! It is also delightful with strawberry sauce or lemon curd made with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest.
Recommended Gooey Dessert Recipes
Brownies & Bars Recipes
Ooey, Gooey Smores Bars
Cookie Recipes
Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies
Breakfast Pastry Recipes
Pecan Sticky Buns Recipe
Cookie Recipes
Pizookie
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake [yeasted]
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 tablespoons milk warm
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 ¾ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
For the topping:
- 3 ½ tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 3 tablespoons
- confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
To make the cake:
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water and milk. You can add some of the sugar if you want. I just sprinkled some in while I was measuring!
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and salt until lightened. There isn’t enough sugar to make it “light and fluffy.”
- Add the egg and beat it in. Softened butter will make this step much easier. My “room temperature” was on the cold side so my butter was soft but still cold. Amazing for cookies but less than ideal here. I ended up needing to add the flour with little lumps of butter. It’s fine, don’t stress about it.
- Slowly add the flour with the mixer running on low then add the yeast mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the bowl. It isn’t going to make a “dough”, but you’ll see strands pulling away from the sides and then mixing back in, which takes about 2-3 minutes. Don’t stress about this either.
- Press or spread dough into greased 9×13 inch baking pan. I used about 1 tablespoon of additional softened butter to grease the pan and then sprayed both sides of a small offset spatula with cooking spray to spread out the dough in the pan being sure to get enough by the edges and corners.
- Cover and proof until doubled. It is difficult to tell when it has doubled but it will take about 1 ½ – 2 hours with active dry yeast and about 1 hour with instant yeast.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
Prepare the topping:
- In a small bowl, mix corn syrup, water and vanilla. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until a thick paste forms.
- Add the egg and continue to beat until lightened and incorporated.
- Reduce the mixer to low and slowly add the flour and salt. This will look (and taste) like sugar cookie dough!
- Once those have completely incorporated, add the corn syrup mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until incorporated.
- Dollop the sugar batter over the surface of the risen dough. There is enough batter to almost completely cover it even before spreading. Then use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the sugar mixture over the top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until light golden brown. Rotate after 20 minutes. It was a golden brown but darker brown around the edges and a little in the bubbled center. It puffed and set. It still moved in a cohesive mass like cheesecake.
- Cool completely then dust generously with confectioners’ sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this yeasted coffee cake recipe from my hometown! Check out our other delicious breakfast recipes!
I’ve made the cake version before but this was my first time trying it with a yeasted base—and it was totally worth the extra time. The topping puffed and bubbled just like you said, and once it cooled, we couldn’t stop going back for more. I thought we’d have leftovers, but the pan was empty by the end of game night!