Is this delicious yeasted cake dessert, or breakfast? With a yeasted base topped with vanilla-y, buttery goo, that's up to you.
Dissolve the yeast in the milk and water. If you have trouble dissolving it, you can 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, and 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, 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.
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.
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. Spoon and spread the topping over the cake dough.
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.
The main flavors in this are butter and vanilla. Use freshly purchased butter, and good real vanilla extract.
Corn syrup is necessary in this recipe to keep the gooey topping soft. Honey or agave may be substituted at your own risk, and the flavor may change.
This recipe is adapted from King Arthur Baking. Calorie count is an estimate created in MyNetDiary.
Originally posted in January 2018. Updated in April 2023.