St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake Recipe
You will absolutely love this delicious St. Louis, Missouri native gooey butter cake that will become your new favorite treat.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- ½ cup warm milk, 112° to 115°F
- 1 packet active yeast
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 stick softened unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
For the Filling:
- 1 ½ sticks softened unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- The Cake: Add the milk to a bowl and sprinkle the yeast overtop and pour in 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Whisk until combined and let stand until a raft is formed, which takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Next, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt until it becomes light and fluffy in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment on medium speed, which takes about 5 minutes.
- Add in 1 egg at a time and then stop to scrap the bowl and switch to the hook attachment.
- On low-speed alternate adding in the flour and the milk-yeast mixture beginning with the flour and ending with it.
- Once mixed in, knead on low to medium speed for about 5 minutes.
- Cover and let sit in a warm place until it has doubled in size, which takes about 90 minutes to two hours.
- The Filling: Preheat the oven to 350°.
- With about 10 minutes left in the rising process, cream together butter with sugar, salt, and corn syrup in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to make the filling.
- Scrape the bowl and add the vanilla then 1 egg at a time until mixed in.
- Pour in the milk and mix to combine and then add in the flour just until combined.
- Transfer the risen dough to a buttered deep 13x9 dish, or divide it between two 9" spring form pans, and press the cake dough to stretch it across the dish keeping it as flat as possible.
- Next, add dollops of the filling to the top of the dough in the dish and then spread out using an offset spatula to completely cover.
- Bake in the oven at 350° for about 35-40 minutes or until browned on top but still soft with some brown spots with a little wobble in the middle.
- Cool to room temperature and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Notes
Make-Ahead: You can make this cake up to 1 day ahead of time.
How to Store: Cover and keep this at room temperature for up to 3 days. Alternatively, cover the gooey butter cake and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
You can alternate using a deep 13x9 casserole dish with two 9” spring form cake pans.
If using instant yeast, there is no need to wait for a raft to form.
Nutrition
Calories: 220kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 4gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 244mgPotassium: 71mgFiber: 1gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 82IUCalcium: 31mgIron: 1mg