Gooey Butter Cake

Gooey Butter Cake is the morning breakfast cake made famous by a baker in St. Louis, MO when they made a recipe the wrong way!

Course Breads, Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword bread, breakfast, gooey butter, pastry, st louis

Prep Time 2 40

Cook Time 25

Total Time 3 5

Servings Servings

Calories 362kcal

Author Barb

Ingredients

For the sweet dough

¼ cup whole milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for pan
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

For the Gooey Topping

1 cup butter softened
2 cups granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs at room temperature
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon milk at room temperature
1 ¼ cup cake flour
Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

To Make the dough

Heat the milk until barely lukewarm, about 100 degrees. Put milk in a small bowl; sprinkle yeast evenly over milk. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir to dissolve. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the egg and beat until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
Add all-purpose flour in three additions and the milk/yeast mixture in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Be sure to scrape the bowl of the milk mixture so that all yeast transfers to the dough. After each addition, beat on the slowest speed to combine, scraping the bowl occasionally.
After the final portion of flour has been incorporated, increase the speed to medium-low and beat for 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and slightly elastic.
Butter two 8-inch-square pans (or try 9-inch cake pans) and press and stretch the dough into the pans. (If the dough resists stretching, covering the pan and allowing the dough to rest for 15 minutes or so should help.) Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours.

Make the Gooey Topping

Shortly before the dough is done rising, combine the butter, sugar, salt and corn syrup in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light, about 3 minutes.
Scrape down the bowl; add the vanilla extract and 1 egg. Beat until combined, then beat in the remaining egg.
Add the milk and cake flour and mix to combine on low speed. Scrape down the bowl and give the mixture a final stir.
When the dough is done rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover the dough with dollops of the topping, dividing evenly between cakes.
Spread topping almost to the edges (leave about a half inch uncovered with topping). Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until topping is crisp and golden brown; do not overbake. (Topping will melt and spread as it bakes.)
Let cake cool in the pans on a rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before cutting and serving.

Notes

So important to not over-bake; the center will be gooey so a toothpick test won't help; just take it out as soon as the top starts to get a light golden brown and more importantly if you see the edges start to brown. That yeast layer is thin and over-baking 5 minutes can make it too dry.

I suggest running a knife around the edge after letting it sit for only a minute or two; that sticky gooey best part is also inclined to stick to a pan, even non-stick.

Old St. Louis Bakery Style Gooey Butter Cake Recipe from Chris Leuther's Collection

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