st. louis gooey butter cake

Name: St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
Prep time: 3 h 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Yield: 18
Ingredients: 3 tablespoon(s) milk, room temperature; 1 3/4 teaspoon(s) active dry yeast; 6 tablespoon(s) butter, room temperature; 3 tablespoon(s) sugar; 1 teaspoon(s) kosher salt; 1 large egg, room temperature; 1 3/4 cup(s) all purpose flour; 3 tablespoon(s) plus 1 teaspoon corn syrup, light; 2 1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract; 12 tablespoon(s) butter, room temperature; 1 1/2 cup(s) sugar; 1/2 teaspoon(s) kosher salt; 1 large egg; 1 cup(s) plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour; - confectioners' sugar

(3 RATINGS)

179 Pinches 1 Photo

Carol Matthias

Winfield, IL

Updated on Jan 31, 2011

I grew up outside of St. Louis and a local bakery made this yummy St. Louis traditional cake. I had looked for years for a recipe to make it (since I no longer live near there)...and finally found it in the New York Times (of all places) a year ago. It's an amazing version -- very authentic! It's time consuming, but worth it.

Rate

prep time 3 Hr 30 Min

cook time 45 Min

method ---

yield 18 serving(s)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons milk, room temperature
1 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg, room temperature
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon corn syrup, light
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- confectioners' sugar

How To Make st. louis gooey butter cake

Step 1

Start by making the cake dough. In a small bowl, mix milk with 2 tablespoons warm water. Add yeast and whisk gently until it dissolves. Mixture should foam slightly.

Step 2

Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream 6 T butter, 3 T sugar and 1 t salt. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in one egg. Alternately add flour (1 3/4 cup total) and milk/yeast mixture, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition. Switch to a dough hook on the mixer and beat dough on medium speed until it forms a smooth mass and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 7-10 minutes.
Step 3

Press, stretch and nudge dough into an ungreased 9" x 13" baking dish (I actually use 2 8" square aluminum disposable baking pans, so I keep one cake for us and give the other cake away). Cover the dish with plastic wrap, put in a warm place and allow it to rise until doubled, 2 1/2-3 hours.
Step 4

When you are close to the end of the rising period, make the gooey butter topping. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk corn syrup with 2 tablespoons water and the vanilla. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream 12 T butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/2 t salt until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in one egg. Alternately add flour (1 cup plus 3 T total) and corn syrup mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition.
Step 5

Spoon this topping in large dollops over the risen cake and use an offset spatula to gently spread it in an even layer. The cake will be done in 30-45 minutes -- start checking at the 30 mark -- the cake should rise and fall in waves and have a golden brown top, but will be very soft in the center when down. Allow to cool in pan before sprinkling with confectioners' sugar for serving.
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