Glad to report that I made it to Austin this weekend and got to see my pregnant sister and feel lil Kim kick, punch and hiccup a few times. Babies are amazing. I don’t think there will come a time in my life that I am not completely and totally in awe of a pregnant woman. That little kid has fingers, toes, and eyelashes! Incredible. I cannot wait to see my little niece in just a few months…
I also got to see my nephew, my parents, aunt, uncle, cousin, and many relatives and family friends at my Grandpa’s 90th birthday celebration on Sunday. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to spend time with those people. I am so blessed to have such incredible family and friends!
Back in Amarillo tonight and remembered that I had some of this cake leftover in the fridge. The piece I ate today wasn’t as good as it was 5 days ago, but it was still tasty. It was crazy gooey and delicious freshly made!
In my search for the origin of gooey butter cake, I discovered that the cake’s roots are in St. Louis. I know next to nothing about St. Louis. I do know that this is the home of the well known Gateway arch, which is the tallest man-made monument in our country standing at 630 feet at its highest point. It is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and it located near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark expedition. I had no idea there was so much historical significance to the arch! Maybe I will plan a vacation to see some historical sights in the USA someday. Someday…
Paula Deen. What a woman. I actually do kind of like her! Yes, she can overdo it a bit when it comes to butter, bacon and cream, but I find her endearing. I’d like her to be in my family so that I could see her a few times a year at family functions. She’d be my Great Aunt Paula who always gives me super tight, full-frontal hugs. She seems like she makes everyone around her happy…or at least full of incredibly rich comfort food, which pretty much equates to happiness, right? Maybe you think I’m wrong, and that’s OK. Regardless of what you think about Paula Deen though, I think we can all agree that this sounds delicious. How can something sweet and gooey, with ingredients like toffee pieces, butter and cream cheese be bad?
This cake is by no means a classy or visually impressive dessert. It’s not something that you would serve at a fancy dinner party, but it would be a crowd pleaser at a pot-luck or at a small, casual family dinner.
When you search “gooey butter cake” on Google, your first results will most likely be Paula Deen recipes. However, she is not the inventor of the cake. It originated in St. Louis in the 1940s and is typically not a dessert cake, but a coffee cake. This Paula Deen version is too rich and sweet to be served as a coffee cake, in my opinion. I found a recipe today for one made from scratch that I plan to try soon. The base is made with a yeast dough that rises around the edges of the butter, cream cheese and sugar filling.
The cake mix makes this recipe very quick. However, the cake mix with the combination of butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and toffee make this cake very rich and incredibly sweet. Some people may not like it (like Ben) for this very reason. I am OK with crazy sweet desserts, so I liked this cake. It should however be served in small pieces so that no one goes into a sugar coma. Here is a link to the recipe.
Gooey Toffee Butter Cake
(Courtesy of Paula Deen, Foodtv.com)
Ingredients
Cake:
1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 large egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup almond toffee bits or chocolate toffee bits
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9 by-2-inch baking pan.
For the cake: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.
For the filling: Still using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners’ sugar and beat well. Reduce the speed and slowly pour in butter. Mix well. Fold in toffee bits.
Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don’t be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don’t bake it past that point!
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way.
