Gooey butter cake is a simple and amazingly delicious dessert with a cake batter crust and soft, gooey cream cheese top that makes it addicting!
This really is a simple cake with not many ingredients, and just two gooey layers. If you like this recipe, be sure to try the strawberry version!
Go-To Cake Recipe
Do you have “go to” recipes you use all the time? This next one is one of those. I almost always have Cream Cheese and Cake Mix on hand, and I know this next dessert is good and easy, so it’s one I turn to often in time of need.
It’s called Gooey Butter Cake. It is so easy to make and always gets devoured, so I make it quite often. I will admit that everyone thinks that are lemon bars at first, but these are more cake batter flavored and so irresistible.
What’s great about them is they can be made with any cake mix, which totally changes up the flavor!
how to make Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
PREP. Grease a 9×13 pan and turn oven to 350.
CRUST. Blend cake mix, 1 egg and butter until smooth. Press into your greased 9×13 pan.
TOPPING. Blend cream cheese, 2 eggs, vanilla and powdered sugar until creamy and smooth. Spread over your the first mixture in your pan.
BAKE. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until edges are golden brown (middle may sink in a bit).
TOP. Top with powdered sugar and ENJOY!
To neatly cut the cake: Make sure your butter cake has cooled completely before cutting it into squares. To prevent your cake from sticking to your knife, spray it with a little cooking spray and then wipe it clean with a towel. Cut slowly and carefully.
How to Store
STORE at room temperature in an airtight container. It should last for 2-3 days.
FREEZE your gooey butter cake to eat at a later time by first wrapping it tightly with plastic wrap. Then keep it in a freeze safe container or bag. It should last for 4-5 months in the freezer.
This is also a good make-ahead option. Just thaw completely when you’re ready to serve and eat it.
More cake mix goodies
It’s so hard NOT to love goodies with cake mix (they’re always yummy and so easy!) Here are some of our other favorites:
- Gooey Butter Cookies
- Gooey Rolo Cookies
- Gooey Monster Cookies
- Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
- Strawberry Gooey Butter Cake
For more yummy cake recipes, check out:
Gooey Butter Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- powdered sugar to sprinkle
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13 pan and turn oven to 350.
- Blend cake mix, 1 egg and butter until smooth. Press into your greased 9×13 pan.
- Blend cream cheese, 2 eggs, vanilla and powdered sugar until creamy and smooth. Spread over your the first mixture in your pan.
- Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until edges are golden brown (middle may sink in a bit).
- Top with powdered sugar and ENJOY!
Wow, those butter bars look divine. Thanks a lot for giving me something else to do today! (Maybe after the kids are in bed I’ll treat myself). Your photos are fantastic as well. Thanks for the inspiration. Heidi
Mmmm…they look delicious! Can’t wait to try the recipe out! I love Philadelphia cream cheese!
These look sooooo delicious! I love a good recipe that’s also simple! Can’t wait to try them out!
These are “Gooey Butter Cake” – a St. Louis tradition!
Love these butter bars. Thank you and have a supere day!
Thank you. Nice recipes. Have a good week.
These are AMAZING!!! Just made them tonight! So glad I found this recipe!
Butter Bars look excellent. Thank you and have a great week!
I enjoyed your site and especially your presentation pics…. but i noticed the gooey butter bars topping. only calling for 2 cps powdered sugar instead of the traditional 1 lb. Is this correct or did you mean a 1lb box which equals = 3 3/4 cps. ? Thank you soo very kindly. 🙂
It’s just two cups and then I put a little more into the sifter and sprinkled some on. 🙂
Is it 2 cups of powdered sugar or 3.5? You’re saying here 2 cups, but the recipe says 3.5 cups.
I’d suggest to follow the recipe. We have updated it through the years.
This was so simple and fast to prepare! Everyone enjoyed them, thanks so much! I can’t wait to try making the Ooey Gooey Chocolate Rolo Cookies next!
Thanks, Monica! So glad you liked them. You definitely need to try the cookies next – they are DELISH!
Made them yesterday and shared them with my colleagues. Damn these are a piece of heaven in your mouth. Soooo good. Definitely going to make these again.
Thx
LOL!! So glad they were a hit. They are so delicious and gooey, huh?? Thank you for stopping by!
Hi, Kristyn, I love the recipe and have made the bars several times but I can’t seem to cut them as beautifully as you do. Would you mind sharing your secret for cutting the bars? AND even if i cut them well, I can’t seem to get them cut into equal sizes. Ive tried rulers, it makes it worse, for me… Any help would be super appreciated.
Might try a plastic knife, it works great on warm brownies.
YUM ????
It is 🙂 Thank you & I hope you try it!!
I have made this cake so many times!! It’s a hit every time!! My family and friends love it!! A wonderful simple recipe !!! Thanks so much!!
You are so welcome!! Thank you so much for sharing that!
This cake just melts in your mouth!! It is incredibly soft & one of my favorite, non-chocolate cakes!
This cake is insanely delicious! I wanted to save some but my kids ate it all!
I’m so happy you and your kids loved it so much! Thanks for sharing!
This is one of our favorite cake recipes now! It only needs a few ingredients but so good and tasty!
It’s one of our favorites too! So glad you enjoyed it!
The most delicious and simple dessert! The texture and flavor are both incredible! So yummy!
Awe, thanks so much for sharing that! I appreciate it! So glad you liked it!
Sometimes Less is more. It is not the most fancy cake, but it is absolutely delicious and tastes great with a cold glass of milk or a cup of hot chocolate.
Such a great tasting dessert that’s simple but so good.
I’ve made these many times, and they’re often called “blonde brownies.” Excellent recipe adaptable to other variations like red velvet or devils food cake mixes. Like a cake that frosts itself during baking.
Yes, that’s such a fun idea to switch up the recipe using different flavor cake mixes!
I add 1/4 cup of lemon juice to the cream cheese mixture. My family loves it this way. We call them lemon bars😊
Mmm sounds delicious!
I don’t care for strawberry cake mix, but I think this one would be awesome made as is and have sliced strawberries on top with whipped cream. Oh goodness, my diet!!! lol
Ooh that does sound amazing with the toppings! I might just have to try that variation! 😉
My husband and mother-law-loved it. It reminded them of a bakery in Levittown,Pa.
Very easy recipe but I only baked it for 35 minutes. I shared it with friends and they loved the recipe too.
Oh that makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for sharing!! I’m glad that everyone enjoyed the recipe.
Hi Cathy! I’m from Levittown, PA, too! Are you talking about Fritz’s Bakery??
These are delicious, and so are the coconut version with the crumb style topping. I can’t seem to find that recipe on the site anymore. My family LOVES it!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the butter cake! You are correct – we do not have the coconut version with the crumb style topping on the site anymore. But we do have a coconut cake if you’d like to give that a try – Coconut Cake.
Every time I bake this cake its ate in one days
Yay!! I’m so glad to hear that it’s a hit!
This recipe is easy and delicious. I will definitely make these again.
Thank you so much ! My friend called me and asked me to bake this cake for her. she is in her 80’s and I will be 80 in July. So I didn’t want to put this off another time.( Real Friends don’t at least I don’t.) Again and again. Thank you so much.
We call these Chess Bars.
They are a family favorite.
I love that!!
I made this with lemon cake mix. It was amazing.
Mmm yum! I bet it was great with the lemon! Thanks for sharing.
The most decadent, Indulgent, buttery, soft desert I’ve ever made! So easy to make I encourage you to make two at a time because you will want to keep one for yourself!
Thanks for the sweet words. So glad you enjoyed the cake!!
What a waste of ingredients. It tastes like a warmed over brownie. Too sweet, too nothing.
We tried it and threw out the rest. I’m not getting it.
Thanks for your feedback and for giving the recipe a try!
My friend made this gooey butter cake. I thought she bought it at the store. When I asked her where she bought it, she laughed. It was this recipe. Best gooey butter cake I ever had. YUMMY!!
I love it!! So glad to hear you enjoyed the cake!
Do you use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe? The only modification I make is to use 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 almond extract. Yum! Thanks for posting!
I typically use unsalted butter because then I can control the amount of salt in my baked goods. But either probably could work. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Are you supposed to add the cake mix plain or make the cake mix and then add it
Just the plain cake mix (dry mix). You won’t need to follow any of the instructions on the cake mix box… just the recipe here.
No idea what I did wrong but couldn’t get top batter creamy at all any suggestions what I did wrong
Hmmm… I haven’t had that problem before. Maybe your cream cheese needs to be softened a bit more? Or you could try mixing it longer until it becomes creamy. I use a hand mixer to help cream it all together. Not sure if you used a mixer or not? That will definitely make a difference. Hope some of these tips help!
How creamy should the middle be after it’s baked? Mine seems a little runny.?.?. Lol
The cake will definitely set a bit as it cools down. Hope it turned out well and that you enjoyed it!
Looks good and it’s in the oven now. But prep time 7 minutes!! It took me 7 minutes to find the vanilla flavoring!!! I chose this recipe because I thought it would be quick to throw together. I sure hope it’s good.
Hope the cake turned out well and that you enjoyed it! Thanks for giving it a try!
Hope you enjoyed the cake, even if the prep time was a little longer than anticipated. 🙂
I always use gooey cake for my strawberry shortcake …So yummy, and I always get asked for recipe!
Mmmm that sounds delicious!! So glad you the cake is a hit (as strawberry shortcake too!)
I make this for all of our family functions and they absolutely love it!
I made this last weekend and we’re still talking about how good it was! This will be my go-to recipe now for Gooey Butter cake. I live in St. Louis where Gooey Butter cake originated – this tastes just like it should. I made the recipe as-is! Thank you for a delicious recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!!
I’ve never had gooey butter cake before so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but we loved this! Making it again tonight! Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake. It’s a favorite over here for sure!
I love this the best I ever had