Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Name: Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: ½ cup butter (softened); 2 eggs; golden butter recipe cake mix; 2 eggs; 1 can pumpkin (15 ounce can); 8 ounces cream cheese (softened); 4 tablespoons butter (melted); 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 16 ounces powdered sugar

50 minutes

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By: Julie Blanner6 Comments
Posted: 11/19/19

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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.

A white plate with a slice of gooey pumpkin butter bars, a white pumpkin beside the plate.

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.

Table of Contents

What is Gooey Butter Cake?

Gooey Butter Cake may have been made famous by Paula Dean who calls it Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, but 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.

Small white plate with a single slice of gooey pumpkin butter cake.

This recipe was originally published September 29, 2014, and updated Sept 2, 2020.

Why You’ll Love Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

It’s a pumpkin lover’s delight and an easy fall dessert you can prepare in under 10 minutes. I love sharing pumpkin flavors with you, including my incredible pumpkin cake, and these delicious pumpkin bars too!

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!

A single slice of pumpkin gooey butter cake on a white plate, gold fork in foreground.

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.

close up of a slice of pumpkin gooey butter cake sprinkled with powder sugar.

How To Make Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Recipe

Prep – Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9×13 baking dish.
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.
Combine Topping – Mix eggs, cream cheese, pumpkin, and spices pour onto crust. Garnish with powdered sugar and optional cinnamon.
Bake – Bake 40 minutes and allow to cool before serving.

How do you make a gooey butter cake from scratch?

I know this will come as a surprise to my regular readers… but I promise, this cake is one that is best with a cake mix! It’s just so easy, why complicate a good thing?

Tips

Do not to over-bake, it should remain slightly gooey.
Making more, or prefer a smaller dessert? Print my Measurement Conversion Chart or use the feature to double or triple in the recipe card.
Learn how to substitute the ingredients in this cake with my printable Baking Substitutions Chart.

Shortcuts

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.