Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year for anything pumpkin: pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, my mom’s traditional pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread from my mother-in-law, and of course Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake!
I know it’s a St. Louis favorite, but some of you might not know what gooey butter cake is. Hmm… how can I put it? Uh, it’s the most delicious thing on the face of the earth!
The ol’ St. Louis story goes that was created in the 1930s by a baker who was trying to make cake batter and accidentally reversed the proportions of sugar and flour.
Through the years I’ve tried many gooey butter cakes, but this is by far the best!
INGREDIENTS:
Cake:
- 1 package yellow cake mix
- 1 egg
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
- 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 16-ounce box powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon sugar
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To make the cake, combine all of the cake ingredients and mix well. Pat the mixture into a lightly greased 13×9-inch baking pan or two round pans.
Prepare filling:
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together.
Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and mix well.
Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.
Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey. Serve with fresh whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar.
Absolutely delicious! Along with the traditional pumpkin pie, my family likes to serve this delicious dessert after Thanksgiving dinner.
And when Ellie saw me making this last weekend she offered to be my model for the photos. That NEVER happens. Hmm… I think she just wanted in on the gooey butter cake.
Catie says
September 24, 2011 at 8:41 pmReally, I’m the first comment? This looks crazy good Erin!! I have everything to make this except the cake mix. I’ll be pinning the recipe and definitely making it in the near future. Thanks soo much for sharing! I LOVE anything pumpkin. If you do too, you should come by and check out my super easy pumpkin spice cake. Hope you’re having a great weekend. = )
~ Catie
debbie says
September 26, 2011 at 6:49 amYUMMY! I love anything pumpkin and this looks delish. Thanks for sharing with the newbie party.
Jen says
September 26, 2011 at 9:44 pmI think it might have been a mistake to stop by your blog today…oh dear, this is just too tempting! Your cake looks positively delicious! I’d love for you to pop by my blog sometime, http://www.icantstopcrafting.blogspot.com! p.s. your blog design is so sweet! ~Jen
Sandy says
September 27, 2011 at 5:30 amI simply adore pumpkin in any form and wanted to thank you for posting
this recipe!! Looks yummy!
Happy Fall
Sandy
Geneva says
September 27, 2011 at 6:01 amHow can I not try this recipe … It’s pumpkin, it’s easy and it’s from Paula Deen… Thank you for sharing the recipe your pictures and tutorial. This was a very nice post!
NikkiO says
September 27, 2011 at 7:59 amOMG! I grew up in the STL area and while I loved ooey gooey butter cake, I took them for granted. Then I moved to Champaign where they couldn’t be found and then to Chicago where people look at me like I’m nuts when I ask for one! I haven’t had one in YEARS! Thanks for the recipe, I will definitely be testing this one!
Sheryl says
September 27, 2011 at 9:06 pmI love your recipe! Would you come over to CAST PARTY WEDNESDAY tomorrow and share it with us?
Thanks,
I hope to see you there!
http://ladybehindthecurtain.com
Hollie says
September 28, 2011 at 9:42 amYum… I will definitely have to try!
angela says
September 28, 2011 at 10:57 amWhat a great looking cake, I will have to give this one a try!
Kelly says
September 28, 2011 at 11:42 amWOW this looks awesome! I love that it makes it easy with the cake mix.
[email protected] Crafty says
September 28, 2011 at 2:38 pmMmmmm….. I’ve had her regular gooey butter cake, but with pumpkin? I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
September 29, 2011 at 9:14 amYUM! I love anything pumpkin and have been wanting to try pumpkin gooey cake for awhile. Gotta love Paula Deen! I love your blog!
I host a linky party (Crazy Sweet Tuesday) sometime! The linky is open through Friday.
A Lived in Home says
September 29, 2011 at 9:36 amOh my gosh! This looks divine! I’m so trying this out! I’m your newest follower too. Come follow me back at http://www.alivedinhome.blogspot.com
I’ve seen several great posts from you on linky parties! Can’t wait for more!
Deborah says
September 29, 2011 at 11:22 amDEFINITELY trying this one…TODAY!! Have a friend recently discharged from hospital, and it’s my turn to do dessert for her…she’ll LOVE this!! Thanks loads!
Maggie @ Midwestern {Sewing} Girl says
September 29, 2011 at 1:39 pmOh my heck…just the recipe itself is making my mouth water! I always make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but I think I’m definitely going to try this this year…looks amazing!
I would love for you to link this up to my Everything Halloween party starting this Sunday!
http://midwesternsewinggirl.blogspot.com/2011/09/everything-halloween-preview.html
Thanks so much!
Have a great Thursday!
[email protected] Artsy Mama says
September 30, 2011 at 6:45 pmOh, yummmm! My mouth is totally watering. I’d be thrilled if you would link this to my pumpkin craft challenge party!
http://oneartmama.blogspot.com/2011/09/fall-craft-challenge-4-pumpkins.html
Patti says
October 2, 2011 at 12:39 pmLove that this makes two…I’m gonna try and freeze one for a last minute dessert surprise! Thanks for sharing!!
Maysem says
October 4, 2011 at 8:00 pmOMG!!!!!! That looks sooooooooooooooooo goooooooooooood!!! Gotta try that!! Pinning it!!
Andrea says
October 5, 2011 at 10:24 amUmmmmm….this looks and sounds incredibly good. Maybe instead of the traditional pie this year??? I think so. Thank-you so much!
Jen says
November 19, 2014 at 9:54 pmOk so I just made everything according to your directions…did the filling really need 3 eggs, a stick of melted butter, and everything else? I have made this before, but the filling was just the 4 cups of powdered sugar and the cream cheese. This called for that, plus butter, plus pumpkin, plus an extra egg, and the filling turned out really runny (not the consistency you have in the picture above). I have it in the oven right now with the crust, but I’m afraid it’ll turn out interesting. Can you just verify that the filling ingredient list is right? Thanks!
howtonestforless says
November 20, 2014 at 10:25 amYes, the ingredient list is correct. I will usually refrigerate for a bit to let it harden. The same is with my Reese’s peanut butter gooey butter cake. It just takes time to set!
Eden Passante says
November 5, 2015 at 12:05 pmThis looks amazing! Gotta love pumpkin this time of year!
Valerie Hixon says
November 9, 2015 at 7:44 pmHelp! I really want to make this cake, but I cannot find any cake mixes that are 18 1/4 ounces. How can I use a 15 1/4 ounce cake mix in this recipe? Will it work? Any adjustments I should make?
howtonestforless says
November 9, 2015 at 8:08 pmYes, that is fine!!
Valerie Hixon says
November 12, 2015 at 5:42 amThank you for your quick reply. I made the cake (with the smaller boxed mix) for a monthly dinner group with friends, and it was a HUGE hit! Everyone loved it and declared it better than pumpkin pie – it is! I will be making it again soon for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks for this wonderful, easy-to-make recipe!
Nicole says
October 6, 2016 at 9:24 amThanks for sharing, this looks amazing! I am born and raised in STL, and love that we have our own foods here. I was wondering if you bake them in the two round pans, is it still for the 40-50 minutes? Thanks.
howtonestforless says
October 10, 2016 at 6:49 pmHello fello St. Louisan! I would take 5-7 minutes off the cook time. The edges should cook a little faster but you need to make sure the middle cooks fully through!
M says
October 29, 2016 at 11:14 pmHi! Just wanted to clarify something..your ingredient list says canned pumpkin but your photo shows a pic of pumpkin pie mix filling (lots more sugar and added spices I think?). Would love to make this asap but wanted to clarify first so I don’t mess it up! Thanks!!!
howtonestforless says
October 30, 2016 at 6:48 pmPumpkin pie mix filling, just like the photo! Sorry for any confusion.