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The Best Gooey Butter Cake Bars

August 17, 2015 by thedomesticrebel | 55 Comments

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Gooey Butter Cake Bars stacked on white plate with milk glass in backgroundYou guys – these bars are SO. AWESOME.

I don’t think I’m too terribly bossy, but in this instance, I’m going to have to demand that you make these bars. Because really? Your life is seriously lacking these Gooey Butter Cake Bars.

When I made these, it was like heaven’s flood gates opened and I was rushed in. They are oh so heavenly, decadent and positively divine.

And apparently, they’re a huge deal in St. Louis. Who knew?

I mean, I’m sure St. Louis is a great city, but why go there when you can easily make these cake bars at home now? Save yourself some time and money. St. Louis will be there when you decide you can’t wait to get to Missouri.

In the meantime, it’s time for me to eat another bar, so here’s the recipe! I suggest you be a smartypants and make something with it 🙂

Gooey Butter Cake Bars stacked on white plate

Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

The Best Gooey Butter Cake Bars

These gooey cake bars have a buttery, decadent flavor and are absolutely irresistible!
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time45 mins
Total Time55 mins
Course: Bars, Dessert
Cuisine: American, Dessert
Servings: 15
Author: Hayley Parker, The Domestic Rebel

Ingredients

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 2 sticks butter melted & divided
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 (8 oz pkg) cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 (16 oz) pkg powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13x9" baking pan with foil, extending the sides of the foil over the edges of the pan. Spray the foil liberally with cooking spray and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, ONE (1) stick of the melted butter and 1 egg until a soft dough forms. Batter will be thick. Press into the prepared pan and set aside.
  • Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese and vanilla in a large bowl together until blended and smooth. Beat in the remaining 1 stick of melted butter and 3 remaining eggs. Lastly, beat in the powdered sugar until combined.
  • Bake 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden and the center is just about set. Do NOT over bake as these will continue to set up as they cool and are called gooey bars for a reason. Cool completely before cutting into bars, and dust bars with additional powdered sugar if desired. Store bars covered in the fridge.

Gooey Butter Cake Bars stacked with bite missing on white plateThese decadent bars are swimming in rich cream cheese, warm vanilla and creamy butter – they’re absolutely sinful and delicious! A tall glass of milk is optional 🙂

Have a sweet day!

xo, Hayley

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Comments

  1. rachel says

    August 17, 2015 at 3:49 am

    Haley- I have a question for you. Is there anyway to make your creations that use box mixes, without the box mix? So many of them look really good, but we don’t eat boxed cake or brownie mix. You should come up with some amazing recipes that are totally from scratch! Box mixes are bad for you! You are very talented, I know you could do it! Like the Butter Cake recipe- what amounts of flour, sugar, salt, etc would I use to make the crust for it? I need your brain!

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      August 17, 2015 at 9:42 am

      Hi Rachel! Thanks so much for writing to me. My blog is all about the semi-homemade approach, using everyday convenience items and transforming them into one of a kind, delectable desserts that you wouldn’t know came from a box mix. While I do dabble in scratch made desserts occasionally, this blog is all about transforming box mixes into amazing creations and this cake is no exception. I will definitely take your suggestion to heart and try incorporating more scratch-made desserts onto the site, but in the meantime, I encourage you to try this recipe because you won’t even know it came from a box – promise! 🙂

      Reply
    • cj6246 says

      November 14, 2016 at 1:52 pm

      You could probably use any good yellow cake recipe

      Reply
  2. Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says

    August 17, 2015 at 4:34 am

    I have never eaten gooey butter cake before, but this looks decadent!

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      August 17, 2015 at 9:53 am

      You must give these a try, Laura!

      Reply
  3. Phyllis says

    August 17, 2015 at 10:19 am

    5 stars
    I’ve been making these since the 1970’s, and they were around in bakeries in central Illinois. I’m sure bakeries may have massive recipes, but I’ve never seen a home recipe in all that time that do not use boxed mixes. There are organic mixes, but have never used one. This is my signature to bring to events. It’s the one recipe I make where people clamor for the recipe.

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      August 17, 2015 at 11:28 am

      Phyllis I’m sure yours are awesome!

      Reply
    • cj6246 says

      November 14, 2016 at 1:53 pm

      I’ve seen a lot of scratch recipes that use a yeast based cake instead of cake mix.

      Reply
  4. Jennifer says

    August 17, 2015 at 11:18 am

    As a St. Louis native, I must say that these are pretty much a staple in any bakery in town. Gooey butter cake is one of life’s pleasures that the rest of the country is missing out on. Gooey butter cookies are also delicious.

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      August 17, 2015 at 11:29 am

      I need to travel to St. Louis apparently if they’re in every bakery! 🙂

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        August 17, 2015 at 12:03 pm

        They are even in just about every grocery store bakery in town also. Definitely a staple!

        Reply
  5. Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says

    August 17, 2015 at 11:37 am

    I’m obviously missing out, because I’ve never had gooey butter cake before! These bars look amazing!

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      August 18, 2015 at 5:57 pm

      It’s a must try for sure!

      Reply
  6. Michele @ Alwayzbakin says

    August 18, 2015 at 2:49 am

    Ooooh! Gooey butter cake! One of my favorites! I guess I will have to make these bars immediately. 😉 They look amazing.

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      August 18, 2015 at 3:10 pm

      Thanks Michele! <3

      Reply
  7. Sandra @ A Dash of Sanity says

    August 18, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    Oh my yum!! I love Gooey Butter and this one looks delicious. It’s perfect for parties. Pinning, Yumming and Stumbling.

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      August 18, 2015 at 5:56 pm

      Thanks Sandra!! xoxo!

      Reply
  8. Julianne @ Beyond Frosting says

    August 22, 2015 at 11:34 am

    When I was in NYC, I tried crack pie for the first time and I was totally hooked. I have never had a gooey cake of any sort. Can’t wait to try these!

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      August 24, 2015 at 12:14 pm

      Crack pie is the BEST! You’ll love these gooey bars then, Julianne!

      Reply
  9. venus says

    August 31, 2015 at 5:12 pm

    hi haley, yellow cake mix is not available here in my country so just wanna ask if 1box of yellow cake mix contain how many grams so that i can make this recipe using an ordinarycake mix…thanks a lot. ☺

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      August 31, 2015 at 7:28 pm

      Hi Venus! A standard box of cake mix is 432g or 15.25 oz. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Shravi says

    September 2, 2015 at 12:53 am

    Hi Hayley, thank you for sharing this recipe. I would like to make my own cake mix, so my question is do I still need to add the egg coz the cake mix recipe has egg in it already. I’m new to baking but I would like to do everything from the scratch.
    TIA,
    Shravi

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      September 2, 2015 at 3:45 pm

      Shravi, if your homemade cake mix is just the dry mix, then yes, you would need to add the egg to the cake mix mixture. You’re only using the dry mix here with the melted butter and one egg – you don’t prepare the cake batter, if that makes sense. Enjoy!

      Reply
  11. Cathy says

    September 2, 2015 at 9:12 am

    Just wondering if you have tried these with a different cake mix instead of yellow. Like maybe lemon, or spice cake mix?

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      September 2, 2015 at 3:44 pm

      No, but I’m sure spice or lemon would be wonderful, Cathy!

      Reply
  12. Vandamn says

    January 24, 2016 at 5:43 pm

    I tasted a piece of this from a store bought one n its the devil’s advocate…. Extremely Delicious !!!

    Reply
  13. Mark R says

    March 21, 2016 at 7:06 pm

    Google “gooey butter cake yeast”, perhaps with -mix -deen thrown in, to find a traditional St. Louis recipe. The original didn’t include cream cheese either, but since Cooks Illustrated’s recipe does, recipes with it might be more foolproof.

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      March 21, 2016 at 7:12 pm

      Mark, I’m making no claims that this is the real deal.. it’s simply a riff off of the traditional St. Louis cake with easy shortcuts 🙂 One day, though, I will make the real deal!!

      Reply
  14. Phyllis says

    July 19, 2016 at 8:01 am

    looking for a recipe similar to the butter crunch cake at Amerigos Italian resturaunt. So far no luck but I did find out that they use the ooey gooey butter bars from Colts chocolates in Nashville, Your recipe seems the closest so far to something I could make at home. love some input

    Reply
  15. Kaelin says

    September 5, 2016 at 3:11 pm

    Hi…. so at the end of the second step, is that mixture poured OVER the other that is already in the pan? I just wanted to be sure. Thanks!

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      September 5, 2016 at 7:11 pm

      Hi Kaelin, yes, you make the crust/base first, then pour over the filling.

      Reply
      • Kaelin says

        September 6, 2016 at 6:25 am

        these turned out completely AMAZING! I baked them a little longer because the filling was actually sloshing around, but they became the best gooey bars I’ve ever had and one of the best things I’ve actually ever tasted

        Reply
        • thedomesticrebel says

          September 6, 2016 at 7:04 am

          Kaelin, I’m so happy to hear that!

          Reply
      • Susan Wright says

        November 14, 2016 at 7:06 pm

        So you bake the first layer and then juzst pour the second layer over it but don’t bake that layer, just let it set?

        Reply
        • thedomesticrebel says

          November 15, 2016 at 7:21 am

          Hi Susan, you make the first layer, top it with the filling and then bake the whole thing.

          Reply
  16. Pat says

    November 14, 2016 at 7:32 am

    OK, this will blow your mind – as a girl growing up in St. Louis and having a gooey butter cake on a regular basis, and as a good German girl I was always served a piece with butter on top!!!!! (Is there anything better than butter?) I’ve seen recipes over the years and never tried them but think I’ll try this one cause I haven’t had any since moving away.

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      November 14, 2016 at 9:39 am

      Pat, wow – the butter on top sounds like a game-changer!!

      Reply
  17. Janet Flaugher says

    November 14, 2016 at 9:28 am

    I’m curious why the cake has 4 cups powdered sugar, while the bars have only two cups.

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      November 14, 2016 at 9:39 am

      Janet, I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying. The base of the bars does not have powdered sugar in it – only the filling does.

      Reply
  18. Carol in Mpls says

    November 14, 2016 at 10:58 am

    5 stars
    My most favorite bar growing up!!! So good, that my mother would hide them when I was coming back home to visit, perhaps with the idea to parse them out. Hah 🙂 FYI, she grew up in north central Missouri.

    Her recipe used cinnamon sprinkled on top. Sometimes she substituted a lemon cake mix for the yellow. Yummmmy! Her recipe also just had 2 eggs, and 2-3/4 cups powdered sugar in the filling.

    Reply
  19. Lynne says

    November 14, 2016 at 12:13 pm

    I live outside of the USA and we don’t have boxed cake mixes available in our country. How about a recipe from scratch?

    Reply
  20. Aisha says

    November 15, 2016 at 5:55 am

    How much a stick of butter weighs? Can you please tell in grams/oz?

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      November 15, 2016 at 7:22 am

      4 ounces/113 grams 🙂

      Reply
  21. lINDA says

    November 15, 2016 at 6:48 am

    GONNA TRY THESE – BUT DO THEY NEED REFRIGERATION??

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      November 15, 2016 at 7:21 am

      Hi, yes they do need to be refrigerated after cooling – at least 2 hours – and they need to be stored in the fridge as well.

      Reply
  22. celina says

    November 16, 2016 at 6:53 pm

    are these supposed to be really mushy in the center like a layer of goop?

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      November 17, 2016 at 7:16 am

      They are very gooey in the center, hence the name 🙂

      Reply
  23. Amber Rowland says

    November 22, 2016 at 6:16 pm

    After pressing the cake mix, butter and egg mixture into the bottom of the pan. Then do I mix the rest of the ingredients like stated then put that mix on top of the dough already pressed into the pan?

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      November 23, 2016 at 9:34 am

      Hi Amber! Yes. First, put your “crust” ingredients in the bottom of the pan. Then mix up the “filling” ingredients and pour that over the crust. Then you bake the whole pan together. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  24. Steve says

    April 15, 2017 at 1:40 pm

    I’m wondering if you have ever done the gooey cake with a chocolate cake mix?

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      April 17, 2017 at 9:48 am

      Hi Steve! Yes I have – I have a chocolate peanut butter version on my blog! Just search “Reese’s Gooey Bars” and it should pop up!

      Reply
  25. Kathy says

    June 28, 2017 at 5:01 am

    Would I be able to make the gooey bars with white cake mix. I have white cake mix, and not the yellow. would it taste the same, or not as good.

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      June 28, 2017 at 8:36 am

      Hi Kathy! It will be just fine with the white cake mix!

      Reply
  26. Charlotte says

    January 21, 2018 at 10:44 am

    I put a cup of Heath Bar chips in the top layer. It gives it a different flavor.

    Reply
  27. Doreen says

    May 4, 2021 at 4:35 pm

    I cant wait to try these! There is a certain restaurant near me that has “THE BEST” butter cake and thankfully I cannot eat it from anywhere else (thus I eat less of it). This recipe is intriguing ,,,,finger crossed it rivals “THE BEST”. Cannot find any copycats to this restaurant 🙁 Thank you !!!!!

    Reply

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About me

Welcome to The Domestic Rebel! My name is Hayley and I am the 31-year old writer, photographer, recipe developer, taste-tester and creator of this blog. I’m so glad you’ve stopped by my little slice of sprinkly, butter-laden heaven on the interwebs. If it wasn’t apparent, I like to bake… a lot. Read More…

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