Gooey Butter Cake

I have been hearing about Paula Deen’s infamous Gooey Butter Cake for a long, long time. It’s a mystery as to why it’s taken me this long to make it, because it’s basically heaven in it’s purest form. Cake + cream cheese + butter + gooey-ness. Yes, please. In my very humble opinion, Paula Deen can do no wrong. She is the Baroness of Butter and every one of her recipes are golden. This one is no exception. Trust me.

Gooey Butter Cake
Recipe source: Paula Deen
Print Recipe

Cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 Tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
8oz cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 lb powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter; mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9×13 baking pan.
3. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter; beat together.
4. Add the powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake batter and bake for 40-50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake — the center should be a little gooey.

Another awesome thing about this cake? You can make many, many variations of it!

Pumpkin Gooey: Use a spice cake mix in place of the yellow cake. Follow the original recipe, adding a 15-ounce can of pumpkin pie filling and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Bake as usual, remove from oven, and allow to cool. Cut into squares and top each square with a pecan half. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

Pineapple Gooey: Add a 20-ounce can of drained crushed pineapple and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

Lemon Gooey: Use a lemon cake mix in place of the yellow cake. Add the juice (approximately 1/4 cup) and zest of 2 lemons to the cream cheese filling. Proceed: as directed above.

Carrot Cake Gooey: Use a spice cake mix, and add 1 cup chopped nuts and 1 1/2 cup finely grated carrots to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

Peanut Butter Gooey: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter and an extra egg to cream cheese filling. You can sprinkle the top of batter with 1 cup chopped peanuts if you like. Proceed as directed above.

Chocolate Chip Gooey: Use either yellow or chocolate cake mix. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup chopped nuts on top of filling. Proceed as directed above.

Banana Gooey: Use a yellow cake mix. Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas and an extra egg. Proceed as directed above.

Nutty Gooey: Use a yellow cake mix, and add 1 cup chopped nuts to the cake mixture. Proceed as directed above.

Chippy Gooey: Stir 1 cup white chocolate chips, peanut butter chocolate chips, butterscotch morsels, Heath Almond Toffee Bits or Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits into filling. Proceed as directed above.