Gooey Butter Cake

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 40-45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

½ cup melted butter

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 box (16-ounce) powdered sugar

Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Additional powdered sugar to sprinkle in top (optional)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mix the cake mix, melted butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 2 eggs. Spray 9x13in baking pan and pat cake mix into baking pan. Mix the cream cheese, the remaining 2 eggs, and the remaining teaspoon (1) of vanilla extract with an electric mixer. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Pour over the cake layer. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool. After cooling, vanilla ice cream can be put on top if wanted. Tips & Tricks: Get a yellow cake mix that has the word “moist” on the box. Spray the baking pan with some cooking spray so the cake doesn’t stick too much. Best to eat when warm. The cake is a bit firm so cut it into brownie like pieces. Best to use room temperature products for easier mixing. If you don’t have an electric mixer, you can use a hand whisk. When using a hand whisk, if the cream cheese is still chunky it can be put into the microwave for a short time, about 10 seconds. History: Gooey Butter Cake, also called Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, originated in St. Louis, Missouri. There are two stories on how the cake came to be. The first story is that a German American baker in the 1930s mixed up the proportions for butter and flour. The second story is that this same baker mixed up butter “smears,” gooey butter (Danish rolls) and deep butter (coffee cakes), and Gooey Butter Cake was the result. This happened during the Great Depression so they sold the cake as it is so as not to waste food. Both stories follow the idea that Gooey Butter Cake was made on accident and this accident became so popular in St. Louis that it can be found in every grocery store and is even served in restaurants. It even comes in other flavors such as pumpkin and chocolate but the original is the simple buttery flavor.

Source: https://www.thecharlesknightcenter.co…

Interesting Facts: There are two variations of Gooey Butter Cake, the bakers’ variation and the cream cheese with yellow cake mix variation. The cream cheese variation, while close to the original, is designed for at home baking since it’s easier. Almost all bakeries in St. Louis use slightly different recipes, but there is no cream cheese are cake mix used. Bakers tried to take them outside of St. Louis to show them to other bakers, while they were liked, customers wouldn’t buy them because it looked like a “flat gooey mess.” Gooey Butter Cake is often called Ooey Gooey Butter Cake because of celebrity chef Paula Deen. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gooey_b…