Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake Recipe
Quirky, cute, sometimes controversial, always delicious recipes from Jessie Oleson.
[Photographs and original illustrations: Cakespy]
Gooey Butter Cake: there is no part of these three beautiful words that is wrong. This cake, which is actually more like a two-part bar cookie, is the pride of St. Louis, MO, a cake steeped in legend and even a little controversy.
It is also unique in that recipes almost always call for a cake mix, and many will argue that this is the "traditional" method of preparation—and yields the best end result.
This version twists the tradition slightly, using a chocolate cake mix instead of the usual yellow, and employs cocoa in the filling. The result is an addictively sweet variation on this rich regional treasure.
- Yield:20 bars
- Active time: 30 minutes
- Total time:1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 box (18.25 ounces) chocolate cake mix
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla, divided
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup nuts or chocolate chips (optional)
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Directions
-
1.
Grease a 9x13-inch pan and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
-
2.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the cake mix, melted butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and 2 of the eggs on medium speed until it forms a soft, cohesive dough. If you'd like, you can add 1/4 cup of nuts or chocolate chips to add a little flavor and texture contrast.
-
3.
Remove the dough from the mixer; you don't need to clean the bowl or the beater, you can just re-use for the filling. Pat the dough into the prepared pan, with a slight "lip" on the sides of about half an inch to accommodate the cream cheese batter, which will be poured on top of this crust.
-
4.
Sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder; set to the side for the moment.
-
5.
Back at the mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium speed. Add the remaining 2 eggs and the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and continue mixing on medium speed until incorporated, about a minute more.
-
6.
Add the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder bit by bit, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until it has all been added and the mixture is smooth and creamy.
-
7.
Pour this batter into the waiting crust. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top has a dull finish (if a few cracks have formed on top, it's OK. Just top it with some whipped cream or confectioners' sugar. It will still taste fine).
-
8.
Transfer the entire pan to a wire rack to cool (do not remove the cake from the baking pan). Let cool completely, then cut into squares to serve.
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