St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake is a tender, yeasted cake topped with vanilla-y, buttery goo - an unexpected alternative to a traditional coffee cake. No cake mixes here - this is a bakery-style, from-scratch cake that's perfect for breakfast, dessert, and any time in between.
I've made St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake on this site more than once, but this is the best recipe I've made yet.
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What is Gooey Butter Cake?
Gooey Butter Cake is a delicious dessert that originated in St. Louis, Missouri. It's a layer of soft, sweet, buttery goo on top of a thin, tender yeasted cake.
It's a bit similar to Lemon Bars with a Shortbread Crust - which are also soft goo on top of a buttery crust. But where lemon bars are topped with smooth lemon curd (and have a shortbread crust), gooey butter cake has a more batter/cake-like goo. If you love gooey desserts, you'll also enjoy Earthquake Cake from Scratch.
Thinking about it more, Gooey Butter Cake is a bit more like a coffee cake. Definitely sweet but not so sweet you couldn't eat it with your morning coffee.
I didn't actually discover this dessert when I lived in St. Louis the first time - I was introduced to it at work by a coworker in Illinois who would make the Paula Deen, cake mix version for any potluck we had. I made those a few times too, 10 years ago.
Unfortunately, I also didn't eat much of it when I lived in St. Louis for a second time, either. Although, most restaurants we had cater lunch would give us gooey butter cookies for dessert. I lived for those leftovers. The cookie version is amazing.
It originated in the 1930s in STL, likely from a happy mix-up (as many delicious things are) of ingredient proportions; someone switched the amounts of butter and flour in a cake recipe. Waste not, want not, as the axiom says, so they sold the cakes, and they became popular.
I've seen butter cakes locally here in New Jersey and also in Philadelphia. Let me tell you, though, they're not as good as what you get in St. Louis, and definitely not as good as what I make here.
I've made several gooey butter cakes, but this is the best one. Others I've tried included a gooey butter cake recipe from the NY Times, which the instructions severely overbaked, and the original recipe from Old St. Louis Bakery via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The recipe below is adapted from King Arthur Baking, and is very similar to the original recipe.
Key Ingredients
Butter: Clearly the star. Use unsalted butter; salted varieties would be overwhelming. Be sure yours is fresh; old butter in the fridge can pick up off flavors, which you'll notice in this cake.
Yeast: Makes the cake rise a little, ensuring the base isn't dense. Yeast is what's used in traditional-style St. Louis Gooey Butter Cakes. Active dry and instant yeast are both fine; you'll use slightly less than one packet.
Corn syrup: This invert sugar keeps the gooey layer gooey - don't skip it. It improves the texture of the goo and keeps the cake tastier and softer for longer. Its neutral flavor doesn't interfere with the butter or vanilla. Remember, light corn syrup IS NOT the same as high-fructose corn syrup. Honey or agave can be substituted, but I have not tested them; they will impact both the flavor and how the cake sets.
Vanilla: The major flavor aside from butter and sugar, the cake would taste flat without it. Use good, real vanilla extract for best results.
How to Make St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake from Scratch
Make the Cake Base
One: In a small glass or measuring cup, combine the yeast with milk and lukewarm water. Stir well to dissolve the yeast; if it doesn't dissolve, let it soak for a few minutes, then stir again. In many recipes I add yeast directly to the flour, but there's so much butter in this cake that the yeast won't dissolve properly that way. Your milk will smell fragrant and yeasty when it's dissolved.
Two: Cream the softened butter, sugar, and salt until it's creamy. Scrape down the bowl, then add the egg and mix until combined. If your egg is cold, the mixture may curdle, and that's okay.
Three: Still using the paddle attachment, stir in half the flour.
Four: Add all the liquid mixture.
Five: Mix in the remaining flour.
Six: Scrape down the bowl, then beat the mixture using the paddle attachment until the dough is smooth and stretchy. You won't be able to tell unless you pinch a bit of the dough.
Seven: Pat the dough into a greased (preferably aluminum) 9x13-inch pan.
Eight: If the dough doesn't stretch all the way into the corners, let the dough rest for about 5 minutes, then try again. It won't expand into it during the rise.
Nine: Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it rise for 2 ½ hours. The cake may be puffy, doubled in height, or not at all. As long as the dough smelled like yeast when you made it, all is fine.
Make the Gooey Butter Topping
Ten: After 2 hours and 10 minutes of rising time (20 minutes before bake time), preheat your oven to 350F.
Eleven: In a measuring glass or bowl, add corn syrup, water, and vanilla. Stir to combine, then set aside.
Twelve: In a clean bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and salt until it's light and fluffy.
Thirteen: Scrape down the bowl, then add the egg and mix until combined.
Fourteen: Scrape down the bowl again. Stir in half the flour...
Fifteen: Add the corn syrup mixture...
Sixteen: Then stir in the rest of the flour.
Seventeen: Scrape down the bowl, then mix at medium speed for another 30 seconds.
Eighteen: Gently spoon the gooey batter onto the cake base.
Nineteen: Spread the topping out all the way to the edges. It doesn't move much as it bakes.
Twenty: Bake for 30 minutes in a metal pan, but it may take up to 45 minutes of baking time in a glass pan. The cake will be golden at the edges, but still liquidy in the center. You will think it isn't done, but it is.
If you bake it for a few minutes longer, it'll still be delicious, but it won't be quite as good and gooey.
Twenty-One: Let your cake cool completely, at least 2 hours if not longer. Your puffy cake will deflate a bit, which is fine!
Twenty-Two: Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Serving and Storage
All pieces of gooey butter cake are wonderful; I love the caramelization and chewiness on the edge pieces, but the center pieces have the most goo. Whichever piece you eat, you can't go wrong.
There's also no wrong way to serve this cake. Serve it as dessert, for breakfast, bring it to a potluck - there's no wrong occasion for this. Make it for a Mother's Day brunch alongside some pink Strawberry Bellinis. Definitely share with your friends - it's what we do in the Midwest.
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator, but bring them back to room temperature before serving. They're best (and gooeiest) that way.
Other Favorite Butter and Vanilla Desserts
I hope this becomes a recipe you'll return to. If you try it, a star rating below helps others find it - and I'd love to hear how yours turns out in the comments! 💕 Questions or trouble? Drop a note, and I'll do my best to help.
📖 Recipe
St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake from Scratch
Equipment
- electric mixer
- 9x13 inch pan
Ingredients
Yeasted Cake Base
- 3 tablespoons milk 45 grams
- 2 tablespoons lukewarm water 30 grams
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 84 grams; at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 40 grams
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- 1 large egg ~50 grams; at room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups flour 210 grams
Gooey Butter Topping
- ¼ cup light corn syrup 78 grams
- 2 tablespoons water 30 grams
- 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract 13 grams
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter 156 grams; at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 300 grams
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 large egg 50 grams; at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups flour 155 grams
- powdered sugar for topping
Instructions
Yeasted Cake Base (25 Minutes)
- Dissolve the yeast in the milk and water. If you have trouble dissolving it, set it aside for a few minutes to soften the yeast. The mixture will smelly fragrant and yeasty.
- With an electric mixer or the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and salt at medium speed for a few minutes, until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl, add the egg, and mix until combined.
- On low speed, mix in half of the flour. Follow it with all of the yeast mixture, then add the remaining flour.
- Scrape down the bowl, then mix with the paddle attachment at medium speed for 4-5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and stretchy.
- If you're using a hand mixer (affiliate link), don't overheat your mixer. If you can't mix the dough with the mixer, knead it by hand (still in the bowl) for a few minutes. The dough is very easy to handle. However, do not turn it out or incorporate any additional flour into it.
- Pat dough into a greased 9x13 inch pan, stretching it out to the edges. If the dough doesn't stretch out to the edges, let the dough rest for a few minutes before patting it out the rest of the way.
Rise (2 hours 30 minutes)
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 2 ½ hours. Dough may just be puffy; it may be doubled; or it may seem no different. Those are all okay.
Gooey Butter Topping (20 minutes)
- About 20 minutes from the end of rising time, preheat the oven to 350F and make the gooey topping.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the corn syrup, water, and vanilla.
- Using a stand or electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl, then add the egg and mix until combined.
- Add half the flour to the butter mixture, then scrape down the bowl. Add the corn syrup mixture, then the rest of the flour.
- Scrape down the bowl again, then mix at medium speed for 30 seconds more. Gently spoon and spread the topping over the cake dough.
Bake (30-45 minutes)
- Bake cake for 30 (in a metal pan) to 45 (in a ceramic or glass pan) minutes. The cake will still be liquidy in the center when it is done, but it will be golden around the edges. You will think it's not done, but it is.
- Remove the cake from the oven and cool completely in the pan, at least 2 hours. The filling will initially be puffy but will deflate as it cools.
- Dust with powdered sugar before serving. Store in the refrigerator, but bring leftovers back to room temperature before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
[Originally published January 25, 2018. Rewritten text, instructions, and new photos in April 2023.]
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