Pumpkin gooey butter cake, made in a bread loaf pan for a smaller serving size. This gooey butter cake doesn’t use cake mix, instead we’re making it entirely from scratch for a super gooey, perfect cake you’ll crave this Fall!
Have you seen my pumpkin ebook for 25 pumpkin recipe that aren’t pie and 1 that is? I think you would love it.
Do you know the origin of gooey butter cake? If you do, you know where Dessert for Two is relocating to…
Mr. Dessert for Two and I are moving to St. Louis! We are beyond excited for this dynamic city. After years of living in the country (in California) and living in the suburbs (in Kansas), we’re leaning towards a house in the heart of the city. Is that a bad idea? Please, St. Louis people, let me know. We’re currently in love with a house in a happenin’ downtown area that was built in the late 1800s.
So, tell me: what do you know about the city in which Gooey Butter Cake was invented? Will we love living there? And most importantly: is St. Louis considered the South? When I looked at the garden zones in Southern Living magazine, St. Louis is included in the Upper South. Can we still brand ourselves as Southerners? (Please say yes, y’all).
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake recipe:
We’ve been celebrating our decision all week, and I wanted to make an especially rich dessert to pair with the champagne. A small batch of classic St. Louis gooey butter cake fit the bill. I stirred in pumpkin and a few spices because, well, ’tis the season.
Gooey butter cake recipes typically call for cake mix. I don’t have a problem with cake mix per se, but I have a problem with using only half of a box of cake mix. So, I made a quick recipe for cake mix to use in the crust. I have not tried using it for a mini cake recipe, so I can’t recommend it for that, but I can say it’s fabulous in this pumpkin gooey butter cake recipe. So buttery, so vanilla-y.
We’re using a standard bread loaf pan to make roughly 1/4 of a regular cake. This will serve two nicely when cut down the middle. This is the exact pan I use when making pumpkin gooey butter cake.
Thanks for all the good wishes, and for following us around as we relocate again. This move should be more permanent for us. If I could bake each of you a gooey butter cake and serve it on a pretty blue plate with as much powdered sugar as you like, I would. Y’all are the best. Thanks for being you.
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Yields 2 pieces of cake.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg yolk, egg white reserved for the filling
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the gooey part:
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 large egg white
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Have ready a metal bread loaf pan that measures 9 x 5".
- First, make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, salt and baking powder. Add the egg yolk, milk and melted butter. Stir until a wet dough forms, and then press this mixture evenly into the bottom of the bread loaf pan.
- Next, make the gooey butter filling: In the same bowl you used to make the crust, add all of the filling ingredients. Beat together on low speed until well-blended, about 1 minute. Pour the filling over the crust.
- Bake the gooey butter cake for 35-40 minutes. It will be browned on the edges, but slightly jiggly and sunken in the middle. Let it cool COMPLETELY. I store it overnight in the fridge for perfect cuts.
- Serve with extra powdered sugar dusted on top.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 306Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 128mgSodium: 165mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 1gSugar: 36gProtein: 5g
Love your blog! I live in St. Peters (about 30 min west of St. Louis) but my husband is from “South St. Louis” – I’d say St. Louis is “Mid-West”, and has a TON of cultural activities, great restaurants and lots to see and do! Congratulations and good luck!
Congrats and good luck with your move!! This cake looks delicious :)
I think I am in love with this cake. Gooey butter cake has been in my family for years and this is a gorgeous twist.
The recipe looks wonderful!
I stop here every once in awhile.
Was surpised greatly by the St.L announcement as it sounds “out of character” for your previous plan of a small farm.
I guess I am in the vast minority…I grew up in the midwest…left in ’79, had my “city” experience and have been happily rural (western rural: northwest MT) for 20 years. I hope St. L is all you’d like and wish you only the best but must be honest and say I’d hoped to see you in Texas on some land.
I guess by now you are in St. Louis – Welcome! I’ve been here my whole life and love it. Southerners do not consider us the south and northerners do – so you can be whatever you want here! :)
love the recipe – can’t wait to try it…..
Congrats on your new adventure… These pics are gorgeous and this cake is unreal!
Hi Desert for Two! I know you posted this recipe for Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake 3 yrs ago but just saw it now when I was looking for a recioe from scratch. I refuse to use a box of this and a can of that! I will definitely try your take on this desert! At the time you wrote your blog y’all were fixin’ to move to STL. My husband and I moved here 2 1/2 yrs ago for his job. We moved to Soulard. Sounds like y’all moved to Lafayette Sq. As a Texas I consider STL as something north of the Mason-Dixon line. And no…a lot of the stuff that grows at home doesn’t grow here. Anyway…if you are here in STL welcome! Are you on NextDoor? LS and Soulard are in the same ND area. Hope you’re enjoying STL and that you are cooking up a storm! Kate
Hello! I would love to try this recipe. Just to check if there is a need to grease the pan? And if so, would you recommend butter or parchment? Secondly, wanted to check if I can leave out nutmeg?
Oh my gosh, I made this with my kids today and it turned out divine! Also, it is just the right amount! I would suggest creaming the cream cheese before adding the egg white and pumpkin. I ended up with chunks, though I may have been impatient in both waiting for it to soften and during mixing. P.s. I hate nutmeg, left it out, still good (of course). Anyhow, thanks for this perfect fall recipe!
This recipe looks fabulous—definitely going to try it! Although I only discovered your amazing blog about a year ago, I’m making up for lost time and exploring all your recipes. Thank you for what you do! :)