WorldBites.The world, dish by dish

📍 Missouri

St. Louis gooey butter cake

· Dessert

A flat, dense cake with a sweet dough base and a sticky top layer of butter and sugar, dusted with powdered sugar.

Editorial content by WorldBites · · Contact

St. Louis gooey butter cake: A flat, dense cake with a sweet dough base and a sticky top layer of butter and sugar, dusted with powdered sugar.
Photo: Amanda · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto resized, converted to WebP and cropped for display.
⏱ 190 min🍽 9 servings📊 Intermediate🏷 Commonly associated🌱 Vegetarian
Preparation
30 min
Cooking
40 min
Waiting and resting
120 min

History

This flat, gooey dessert was born in the German bakeries of south St. Louis around the 1930s or 1940s. The most repeated story says a baker mixed up the proportions of butter and flour, baked it anyway, and the sticky result delighted customers. Its exact inventor is still disputed.

Ingredients

Adjust quantities

Only numeric quantities at the start of an ingredient are adjusted. Descriptive quantities, seasoning to taste and timings remain unchanged; check them when changing servings.

Preparation

  1. 1

    Mix flour, yeast, milk, base sugar and 60 g butter; knead and spread in a pan. Cover and let rise 1 hour.

  2. 2

    Beat the remaining 120 g butter with topping sugar, eggs, syrup and vanilla.

  3. 3

    Pour the topping over the dough without spreading it too much.

  4. 4

    Bake at 175°C for about 40 minutes; the center should stay jiggly, not dry.

  5. 5

    Let cool and dust generously with powdered sugar before cutting into squares.

Cooking tips

  • Use 60 g butter in the base and 120 g in the topping; cool before cutting.

References to consult

References provide information about the dish, its context or a technique. Quantities in this version may differ from those in the source.

Keep exploring

More flavors from United States

Kansas City burnt ends: Fatty smoked beef brisket points, caramelized twice and bathed in a sweet, thick barbecue sauce.🍽️ Lunch⏱ 510′

Kansas City burnt ends

Fatty smoked beef brisket points, caramelized twice and bathed in a sweet, thick barbecue sauce.

Gluten-free
St. Louis toasted ravioli: Breaded ravioli fried until golden, served with Parmesan cheese and marinara sauce for dipping.🌮 Street food⏱ 35′

St. Louis toasted ravioli

Breaded ravioli fried until golden, served with Parmesan cheese and marinara sauce for dipping.

Banana pudding: A layered dessert of vanilla custard, banana, and vanilla wafers, topped with meringue or whipped cream.🍮 Dessert⏱ 160′

Banana pudding

A layered dessert of vanilla custard, banana, and vanilla wafers, topped with meringue or whipped cream.

Vegetarian
Key lime pie: A pie with a creamy, tart Key lime filling made with condensed milk, on a graham cracker crust.🍮 Dessert⏱ 230′

Key lime pie

A pie with a creamy, tart Key lime filling made with condensed milk, on a graham cracker crust.

Vegetarian
Marionberry pie: A double-crust pie filled with marionberry, a hybrid blackberry created in Oregon with an intense, slightly tart flavor.🍮 Dessert⏱ 210′

Marionberry pie

A double-crust pie filled with marionberry, a hybrid blackberry created in Oregon with an intense, slightly tart flavor.

Vegetarian
Sugar on snow (maple syrup on snow): A treat of hot maple syrup poured over snow, where it sets into sticky strands eaten like candy.🍮 Dessert⏱ 15′

Sugar on snow (maple syrup on snow)

A treat of hot maple syrup poured over snow, where it sets into sticky strands eaten like candy.

Vegetarian
See all recipes from Missouri →