better, butter, cake, chess, gooey, moist, recipe, squares, st. louis
Ingredients
1 (15.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
additonal powdered sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Categories
Dessert
Cuisine
American
Steps
Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the cake mix, butter, oil, and eggs until combined. The mixture will be thick. Spread it evenly into the bottom of the prepared dish.
Next, place the cream cheese in a large bowl. Use a mixer to stir the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla and mix well. Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition. Pour the mixture over the cake layer and spread evenly.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until the edges are brown but the center is still jiggly. Allow to cool completely before slicing into squares. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 546 kcal
Carbohydrates: 71 g
Protein: 5 g
Fat: 28 g
Saturated Fat: 15 g
Trans Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 122 mg
Sodium: 468 mg
Sugar: 56 g
Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
Reviews
Leann K. on 2026-01-31 (5 stars): This cake is amazing! As a dairy farmer, anything that uses butter goes in my recipe box. Butter cake isn’t fancy when it comes out of the oven, but for birthday cake I added a little whipped cream with berries to make it look special. I can’t stress enough that having a well oiled pan and throughly melted butter make all the difference. Cut each piece with a plastic knife for smooth edges. Thank you Stacey!
Amy on 2025-11-26 (5 stars): Gooey butter cake is from St Louis and was originally a mistake! A baker reversed the amount of flour and butter for a cake, but it turned out amazing! The original bakery recipe used a yeasted crust, but boxed cake mixes were super popular at the time so home bakers quickly swapped out the dough crust for cake mix crust. In St Louis, the cake mix version is considered the 'correct' way to make a gooey butter cake. You can dig up the 'mistake' version with the yeasted crust, but that is not considered to be a gooey butter cake and you won't find it in St Louis :)
Your version is the St Louis version and is 100% correct and delicious!
Julia on 2025-10-07 (5 stars): I am wondering if your boxed cake was less than 15.5 oz. Due to shrinkflation, some companies are making their boxes smaller.
Joanne Burgad on 2025-03-31 (5 stars): My husband rarely tries anything new, he likes chocolate cake with white frosting or white cake with chocolate frosting. I made the gooey butter cake and he LOVED it.
