Homemade Gooey Butter Cake
Homemade Gooey Butter Cake is a from scratch version of the gooey butter cake you know and love! No cake mix needed! Soft, sweet and most importantly, gooey!
A Gooey Homemade Butter Cake Recipe
This cake is slightly less sweet than the boxed version so it’s great if you find that version is too sweet for your tastebuds. I can’t get over how easy it was to make this cake from scratch- nothing too crazy! I have a Gooey Butter Cake recipe on the site here that uses the boxed cake mix but I had so many people ask for a from scratch version that I had to give it a try! Perfect if you don’t have a boxed cake mix sitting around but you are getting a hankering!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure, in fact, I already have a recipe using a boxed cake mix. So, I would suggest using my Gooey Butter Cake recipe instead.
It’s really good eaten warm, room temperature, or cold, you can’t go wrong with this dessert.
I truly enjoy this cake with a simple sprinkling of powdered sugar, but it can also be enjoyed plain, with a scoop of fresh fruit salad, or with some whipped cream and fruit.
Keep your leftovers at room temperature for up to 5 days. Freeze the leftovers for up to 3 months.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- all-purpose flour – you could use self-rising flour. Just leave out the baking powder. I personally do not sift the flour but you certainly can if you prefer.
- baking powder
- granulated sugar
- large eggs – I find that eggs blend better into the batter if they are at room temperature.
- salted butter – it needs to be real butter for this recipe, not margarine. If all you have is unsalted butter, just use that and add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
- milk – I prefer whole milk when possible for baked goods. That additional fat really helps with the overall texture.
- vanilla extract – I think almond extract would be a good alternative here if you want to change up the flavor a bit.
- cream cheese– softened to room temperature. Use my Tips for Softening Cream Cheese Quickly if you need to do so in a hurry.
- powdered sugar
How To Make Homemade Gooey Butter Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, 1 egg, ½ cup of the melted butter, milk, and half of the vanilla until smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined with no dry patches. Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and set aside.
In a large bowl, whip together the cream cheese, remaining 2 eggs, remaining ¼ cup melted butter, and remaining ½ tablespoon of vanilla with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Add the powdered sugar to the mixture 1 cup at a time until fully mixed in.
Pour the mixture over the top of the crust. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown with a crinkly top.
Allow to cool to room temperature and dust more powdered sugar on top if desired, cut, and serve.
Craving More Recipes?
Homemade Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs (divided use)
- ¾ cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, melted (divided use)
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (divided use)
- 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 5 cups powdered sugar (plus more for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, 1 egg, ½ cup of the melted butter, milk, and half of the vanilla until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined with no dry patches.
- Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whip together the cream cheese, remaining 2 eggs, remaining ¼ cup melted butter, and remaining ½ tablespoon of vanilla with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar to the mixture 1 cup at a time until fully mixed in.
- Pour the mixture over the top of the crust.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown with a crinkly top.
- Allow to cool to room temperature and dust more powdered sugar on top if desired, cut, and serve.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
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 and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
This recipe is absolutely fabulous! I love it because I don’t keep cake mixes on hand. Another great reason it is so good is because if it’s versatility. I have substituted sour cream for the cream cheese because it was what I had, and it tastes just as good. I put heavy cream in place of the milk because it was what I had. I also love lemon and added a teaspoon of lemon extract in the topping, and it adds sweet lemon flavor. Love this recipe! (I love it so much I just realized I had already left a review for it!)
I love this recipe and have made it several times. The only change that I’ve made is I have reduced the powdered sugar from 5 cups to 3 cups since I have to watch the sugar 🙂
My daughter made this – very good and was enjoyed by all!
The first time I made this, I forgot the two tablespoons of milk, but it still turned out great! I thought it would be very tasty with a lemon variation. It was good enough I made it again, this time with the milk, but I forgot about the lemon. When I got ready to make it a third time, I thought about how to add the lemon. I intended to replace the milk with lemon juice. When I got to the grocery store, I saw the lemon extract and decided to keep the milk and replace the vanilla extract with lemon extract. It is in the oven now! The gooey part with the lemon extract was fabulous when I licked the spoon! But… as to whether or not the lemon worked well for the cake as a whole, we shall see!
Made this recipe. Turned out amazing, my husband and my toddler sons can’t get enough of it. Definitely will make again.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Made this today and it was so decadent! Huge hit with my family! Thank you for the recipe!
I’m glad I found this recipe, because I wanted to bake a gooey butter cake, and didn’t have a cake mix like most recipes use. I really like the flavor and texture of the cake. I’m planning to top it with strawberries and fresh whipped cream when I serve it.
This is very dellicious