St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
This rich, delicious dessert is a St. Louis classic , but is it as good as a Kentucky butter cake? With the texture of a lemon bar and the base of a cinnamon roll, this gooey butter cake is made with pantry staples like flour, sugar, baking powder, and butter. Finish it off with a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar and you’re all set to enjoy this signature St. Louis delight!
Servings 12
Calories 358kcal
Ingredients
- CAKE
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 1 packet rapid rise yeast 2 1/4 teaspoon
- 3 tbsp milk room temperature
- 6 tbsp butter room temperature
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 3/4 to 2 cups flour
- TOPPING
- 3 tbsp light corn syrup
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp water
- 12 tbsp butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup plus 3 tbsp flour
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add warm water and yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Add room temperature milk to the mixture and set aside.
- Cream the butter, sugar and salt together with an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and mix to combine.
- On low speed, alternately add 1 ¾ cups of flour and yeast mixture until combined. Turn the mixer to medium and beat until it forms a ball of dough, about 6-8 minutes. If it is too sticky to form a ball, add additional flour. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Press the dough into the bottom of a deep dish 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. It should be at least 2 inches deep. (A regular pyrex dish may spill over a bit, but will still work, just place a baking sheet under it when baking to catch any drips.)
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Use a small bowl and combine the corn syrup, 2 tablespoons of water and vanilla. Stir until the corn syrup has dissolved. Set aside.
- Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add an egg and beat to combine. Alternately add flour and corn syrup mixture. Spoon it on top of the cake after it has risen. Use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until the center is just a little jiggly but the outside is firm. It should be golden brown and the top will be uneven. Allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting. Once cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
- No matter what size pan you use, lay aluminum foil or a baking sheet underneath to catch any potential drips, you can never tell what yeast dough will do.
- For the cake dough, try putting it in a warm microwave to rise. Just boil 2 cups of water in the microwave and add the pan of dough to the warm microwave. Close the door of the microwave and the warm moist heat will help it rise.
- If using regular yeast, your rise time will be little longer.
