Easy Gooey Butter Cake
You just need 5 ingredients for this classic cake from the 1960’s! Easy Gooey Butter Cake is a decadent treat with a whole bunch of nostalgia.
Do you love classic cakes as much as I do? I’m a sucker for cake recipes that pop up again and again in old cookbooks. This recipe for Gooey Butter Cake is from a 1960’s church cookbook, and it lives up to the hype that Paula Deen gave it twenty-some years ago (remember that?!).
The “cake” (really, more of a bar cookie) features a gooey, buttery custard on top of a cake mix crust. And it’s seriously easy: just 5 ingredients! It’s delicious cold from the fridge with a glass of milk. Here are my top tips for making the cake:
- Remember to soften the cream cheese before you start.
- The middle should jiggle slightly when you remove them from the oven. This will firm up as the cake cools.
- Speaking of cooling, wait until the cake is completely cool to cut it. Otherwise, it’ll make a mess (speaking from experience here). Since they really tasty straight from the fridge, just pop ’em in there to speed the process!
Jump to:
What You’ll need
Just five ingredients! Easy peasy.
A note on choosing cake mix: I almost exclusively use Duncan Hines cake mix. Cake mixes used to be 18 ounces, and now some brands have reduced the quantity to 13.25 ounces now! Duncan Hines will get you the closest among the popular brands, with 15.25 ounces. You can also use two boxes of Jiffy yellow cake mix, which will get you exactly 18 ounces.
Either of these options will set you up for success for any older recipe, especially all those treasured cake recipes in church cookbooks. 7Up Cake, Pistachio Cake, Poke Cake, and Chocolate Mayo Cake are some of my favorites that also call for a box of cake mix.
How to Make An Easy Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
- Mix the egg, cake mix, and melted butter with a fork.
- Pat it into a greased baking dish.
- Mix the softened cream cheese, remaining eggs, and powdered sugar with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the unbaked crust. Then, bake for about 40 minutes at 350°F. The center should jiggle just slightly when you remove it from the oven.
Dust with powdered sugar once the cake is cool, and then serve!
Variation ideas
- You can use any flavor of cake mix that you like. Chocolate, funfetti, and strawberry would all be delicious!
- Per the church cookbook where I found this, sprinkle chopped nuts on top before baking, if you like.
- Low-fat cream cheese works just fine in this recipe.
📖 Recipe
Easy Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients
- 3 eggs, divided
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 box (15.25 oz) yellow cake mix (I use Duncan Hines; see notes for why!)
- 1 block (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 3½ cups powdered sugar (plus more for sprinkling over the top)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13×9-inch baking dish.
- Whisk 1 egg in a large bowl. Stir ½ cup melted butter and 1 box yellow cake mix in with a fork.
- Press the mixture into the greased baking dish.
- In the same bowl, beat 8 oz softened cream cheese, remaining 2 eggs, and 3½ cups powdered sugar with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Pour over the batter in the pan.
- Bake for 38–42 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown. The middle should jiggle just a little when you gently shake the pan.
- Allow to cool completely, then sprinkle with additional powdered sugar and cut into squares.
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