Reviewed: Jul. 24, 2011

I have lived my whole life in the St. Louis area and grew up near a metro east bakery that is famous for gooey butter cake. Cream cheese solidifies gooey butter cake's topping and gives it a cheesy danish taste. The end product of a gooey butter cake should be gooey, running gooey, and buttery in flavor. It is a messy, but delicious result! This recipe is spot on for my favorite.

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5 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

kate30

Reviewed: Aug. 21, 2009

I had never baked, or eaten anything like this "cake" before so I had no expectations. I love it and so does everyone who has had some. I had ghee (clarified butter) on hand so I used that in the "goo" the third time and what a wonderful flavor. Thank-you for a wonderful addition to my "something special" collection.

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3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

ironorchide

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada

Living In: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Reviewed: Jan. 23, 2009

If I could divide the rating into two, I'd give the crust a 1 and the "goo" a 4. The crust is too doughy and not enough like cake; it's very dense and heavy. I also think the crust is too plain. I was born and raised in St.Louis and all of the gooey butter cakes that I've had, had more of a cake feel and taste to the crust. The "goo" is very tasty, but was way too runny. The crust made by the goo on the very top was excellent, though. The "goo" definitely tasted like the gooey butter cakes I've had growing up, but the one on this definitely needed to be less runny. Nice try, but it needs some tweaking!

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8 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

MEREDITHRAE24

Reviewed: May 4, 2008

This was very good! I've been hunting for a recipe similar to Sara Lee's Butter Coffee Cake (frozen) and first tried one of the Gooey Butter Cake recipes that used cake mix and cream cheese - NOT it! So I tried this one, and it was dang close (minus having a streusel topping). Halved the recipe and used margarine for the shortening and butter - but changed nothing else. Yum! So much better than the cake mix/cream cheese recipes.

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4 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

littlemrslarge

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Plainfield, Indiana, USA

Living In: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

Reviewed: Aug. 8, 2007

My father-in-law is from St. Louis and said it was wonderful! I almost used one of the other recipes with the cake mix and cream cheese. That would have been a disaster!!! I was told this recipe is just like the real thing from St. Louis!!!

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14 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Amy

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Buxton, Maine, USA

Living In: Naples, Florida, USA

Reviewed: May 14, 2002

This is the same gooey butter topping from Richard Sax's cookbook, but with a homemade crust. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the crust, but not the goo so much! It was too sweet for my taste, too gooey (when I cut the cake, the goo oozed down the sides instead of remaining firm), and there was just too much goo for the amount of crust. I'll definitely use the crust recipe in the future, but I'm still searching for the perfect goo. I suspect most bakeries here in St. Louis use a cream cheese variation.

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12 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

AVOAVO

Reviewed: Mar. 14, 2002

We're on the right track here, but anyone who enjoys the real butter cake recipe will find this one overcooked. Where is the "goo"? 18 minutes may be too long. It makes 2 large pans -- why not put in a 9 x 13" pan?? The recipe calls for one TBSP. of vanilla extract under ingredients, but only 1 tsp. of vanilla in the text, which one is it?? Not as expected for the amount of time and effort.

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8 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

JANBRINKS

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

Reviewed: Nov. 21, 2001

I have been searching and searching for this recipe for a very long time. I was pleased to find the "original" recipe here with no shortcuts. It takes time, but it well worth it!

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11 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

LAMA_MA

Reviewed: Apr. 20, 2001

I have been searching for this recipe for so long and am thrilled that I finally found the right one! Most of the recipes I've found are the ones with the cream cheese and cake mix, but those can't hold a candle to this one.

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9 users found this review helpful