If I catch you calling it “Ooey Gooey Butter Cake” then you are DEAD to me. Paula Deen is trash for so many reasons other than trying to re-brand this dessert.

Gooey Butter Cake was born in St. Louis by happy accident, much like my own origin story.

Picture it, St. Louis, 1930 something… A german baker, bleary-eyed in the kitchen in the early morning hours. He was getting his cakes ready to bake and accidentally reversed the amount of butter and flour.

BOOM! Gooey Butter Cake was born.

It is, essentially, a two layer cake, except that the top layer is mostly butter and sugar, making it gooey and sweet.

Here is where I struggled with this recipe. I WAS SO EXHAUSTED. I’d been trying to get to this bake all week, but the week has not gone well. Working long hours, a bout of depression, and a pretty good flare up with the weather change had me not getting to it until VERY late at night. I made some mistakes with measurements and with the process. Still, my cake was edible.

This isn’t a short bake. You need to set aside about FOUR HOURS for it. There is a significant 2 hour wait during the 2.5 hour rise time.

Is it worth it? If you don’t live in St. Louis and can’t get a gooey butter cake in the store then ABSOLUTELY!

I know I made some mistakes, so I may try this recipe again sometime and see if the results do end up beating out store bought. It’s one of those things where I’d have to make a pro/con list. Cost of ingredients + time in kitchen = like 3 store bought cakes, maybe 4.

I’m still glad I gave this one a shot! You can watch the video HERE. Honestly, I fell asleep during the baking process AND while editing the video, so I have no clue what you may see/hear and I don’t plan to watch. I’m turning the page on this week and closing it out, never to look back again.

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Ingredients

• CAKE

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast or instant yeast

• 3 tablespoons (43g) milk, at room temperature

• 2 tablespoons (28g) water, lukewarm

• 6 tablespoons (85g) butter, at room temperature, at least 65°F

• 3 tablespoons (35g) granulated sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon table salt

• 1 large egg, at room temperature

• 1 3/4 cups (210g) all purpose flour

• TOPPING

• 1/4 cup (78g) light corn syrup

• 2 tablespoons (28g) water

• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

• 12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 1/2 cups (298g) granulated sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon table salt

• 1 large egg

• 1 1/4 cups (150g)  all purpose flour

• confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

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Directions

• Grease a 9″ x 13″ pan.
• To make the cake: In a small bowl, combine the yeast, milk, and warm water. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and salt. Scrape the bowl, then beat in the egg.
• Add the flour and the yeast mixture, alternating between each, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix well, then scrape the bowl once more. Mix at medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes.
• Place the dough in the prepared pan and press it out to cover the bottom. Cover and set aside to rise until almost doubled, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
• To make the topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the corn syrup, water, and vanilla.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl, then mix in the egg.
• Add the flour alternately with the corn syrup mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape the bowl, mix for 30 seconds more, then spoon the topping over the risen dough.
• Use an offset spatula to gently even out the top. Bake for 30 (if baking in metal) to 45 (if baking in ceramic or glass) minutes. The cake will rise and fall in waves and have a golden brown top, but still be liquid in the center when done.
• Remove the cake from the oven and cool completely in the pan. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
• Store any leftovers, well wrapped, in the refrigerator for several days. Freeze for longer storage.

My list of mistakes:

1. I mis-measured my butter for both the cake and the topping. I was short possibly 2 tbsp for each.
2. My yeast didn’t really activate. My house was FREEZING. So my cake layer didn’t really double. The baked consistency was that is a dense, stale, french bread. But sweeter.
3. I did not alternate the flour/yeast when mixing the cake layer. My bad.
4. I didn’t give my cake layer the full 2.5 hours of rise time. I figured it wasn’t going to rise since my yeast didn’t activate the way it normally does. Exhaustion won out and I gave up the rise time after just an hour. Be more patient than I was!
5. I over-baked mine. I was paranoid about the eggs and not looking to make myself sick. I should have followed the recipe.

My cake was edible. It even tasted good. The cake layer didn’t have the best texture, but the flavor was nice. Hopefully yours turns out better!