Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

This pumpkin gooey butter cake is the definition of fall decadence. Ooey Gooey pumpkin cake is moist, rich, and creamy layer of gooey pumpkin cake, with a buttery crust.

Make these incredible gooey pumpkin bars in just 10 minutes hands on time.

Ready to kick off fall baking?

It’s so simple to embrace the flavors of the seasons by substituting a few ingredients in a favorite recipe. Gooey Butter Cake is one of our favorite staples! Every now and then, I love treating my husband to one of these classic St. Louis favorites.

As a St. Louisan and Gooey Butter connoisseur, I’m proud to share this fun fall twist – Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake! You’ll love my Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cookies and Pumpkin Pound Cake too – they are simply incredible!

I’ve even got a Complete Guide to Pumpkin Desserts filled with dozens of recipes you’ll enjoy all fall.

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Why You’ll Love this Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

• Starts with a shortcut box of cake mix!
• Comes together in just minutes.
• So moist, dense, rich and decadent.
• Goes perfectly with your pumpkin spice latte!

What is Gooey Butter Cake?

Gooey Butter Cake may have been made famous by Paula Dean, who calls it Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. However, it was first made in the 1930’s in error by a baker in St. Louis. He had simply reversed the proportions of butter and flour.

Gooey butter, intended for danishes and stollens was smeared on top and it instantly became a hit! What a happy accident!

The addition of pumpkin gives it incredible fall flavor you can’t resist. The texture is out-of-this world with a thick cake-like base topped with a sweet, gooey pumpkin spice layer you can’t resist.

It’s makes a delicious breakfast treat or amazing dessert – you can serve it a la mode with a scoop of cinnamon or vanilla ice cream.

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Ingredients

It’s a simple and delicious combination of ingredients to create a decadent, unforgettable treat.

• Yellow Cake Mix – You know I love to bake from scratch, but I am also a fan of a shortcut when it makes sense. You can learn how to make Gooey Butter Cake from scratch here. You can substitute pumpkin or spice cake mix for even more pumpkin flavor.
• Butter – I tend to use salted butter in my baking because I like a little salty flavor to balance the sweet, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Learn how to soften butter.
• Eggs – Eggs are important because they help stabilize the batter, and they add moisture.
• Cream Cheese – Use full fat cream cheese when possible! Learn how to soften cream cheese.
• Canned Pumpkin – Canned pumpkin adds an incredible boost of moisture and density to this cake.
• Cinnamon – This gives it the fall flavor and fragrance you’ll love.
• Powdered Sugar – Also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar. If you don’t have any, you can pulse white granulated sugar in a food processor until light and fluffy.

Variations

• Spices – Mix up your seasoning a little! Instead of the required cinnamon, replace at a one to one ratio with pumpkin pie spice mix, ground mulling spices, homemade allspice, or even cinnamon sugar.
• Extracts – Add a teaspoon of homemade vanilla extract for even more flavor.

How To Make Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Recipe

1. Prep – Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9×13 baking dish.
2. Combine Base – In a mixing bowl or mixer, combine butter, eggs and cake mix. Spoon into your dish and with a spatula, firmly press down into the base of the dish to create a thin crust.
3. Combine Topping – Mix eggs, cream cheese, pumpkin, and spices pour onto crust. Garnish with powdered sugar and optional cinnamon.
4. Bake – Bake 40 minutes and allow to cool before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Shortcuts

• quickly soften butter
• quickly soften cream cheese

How to Store

• At Room Temperature – Cover and keep at room temperature for up to three days.
• Refrigerate – Cover in an airtight container up to one week refrigerated.
• Freeze – Freeze whole or in slices for up to a month in an airtight container.

How to Serve

As a breakfast danish, serve it as is.

For dessert, top with:

• Homemade Whipped Cream
• Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
• Eggnog Whipped Cream
• Dust with powdered sugar

Slice it into squares and serve with a topping! Keep in mind, this is a very sweet, very rich dessert, so a little will go a long way!

Dietary Considerations

• Vegetarian
• Nut Free (so long as you purchase an approved box of cake mix)

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