Gooey Butter Spice Cake
Gooey Butter Spice Cake is made with spice cake mix and a cinnamon cream cheese filling. A deliciously easy fall-inspired dessert!
A FALL-INSPIRED GOOEY BUTTER CAKE
Since Paula Deen first shared her cheater recipe for gooey butter cake years ago, I’ve been hooked. It’s a really fun recipe to play around with and switch up the flavors depending on the season. This Gooey Butter Spice Cake is absolutely scrumptious!
TIPS FOR MAKING GOOEY BUTTER CAKE:
- The trick for gooey butter cakes is to not over-bake them. It’s called gooey for a reason. You don’t want a burnt cheesecake filling. We want it to stay soft-set.
- You can easily make these with any cake mix flavor. It’s incredibly easy to switch up.
- I like to use salted butter to offset a bit of the sweetness. You can certainly use unsalted butter if that’s all you have.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- spice cake mix
- eggs
- salted butter
- cream cheese
- vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon
- powdered sugar
HOW TO MAKE GOOEY BUTTER SPICE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9×13″ baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a bowl mix together the cake mix with one egg and one stick melted butter.
Press this mixture into the bottom and slightly up the sides of prepared baking dish and set aside.
In another bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and remaining melted stick of butter and beat until blended.
Mix in the powdered sugar and continue to mix until incorporated.
Spread on top of the cake mix batter in the baking dish.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until center is set but still gooey. Remove from oven and let cool.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Gooey Butter Spice Cake
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce box spice cake mix
- 3 large eggs, divided use
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, divided use
- 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- extra powdered sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9"x13" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a bowl, mix together the cake mix with one egg and one stick melted butter.
- Press this mixture into the bottom of prepared baking dish and slightly up the sides, then set aside.
- In another bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and remaining melted stick of butter and beat until blended.
- Mix in the powdered sugar and continue to mix until incorporated. Spread on top of the cake mix batter in the baking dish.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until center is set but still gooey. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
- The trick for gooey butter cakes is to not over-bake them. It’s called gooey for a reason. You don’t want a burnt cheesecake filling. We want it to stay soft-set.
- You can easily make these with any cake mix flavor. It’s incredibly easy to switch up.
- I like to use salted butter to offset a bit of the sweetness. You can certainly use unsalted butter if that’s all you have.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Hi Brandie,
I know this is going to sound dumb, but if you bake for about 30 minutes or until the center is set but still gooey how do you tell if it’s done. If a knife inserted comes out clean is it overdone? Thanks,
Bonnie Olson
Hi Bonnie, it’s not an exact scene unfortunately but I would say the answer to your question is yes – if you stick a knife in and it comes out clean, it’s overdone. It will still taste good but it won’t be that gooey texture we’re looking for here. Keep in mind that baked goods will still cooks they come out of the oven because the pan they are in is still hot.
Personally made it and its so darn delicious. Thank you
I love the ooie gooie not made one in long time forgot how many eggs, thanks.
Hope you enjoy it Katie!