Paula Deen Ooey Gooey Butter Cake is so easy to make with the best cream cheese filling. The crust is a box mix, so the recipe is effortless. It’s special enough for Thanksgiving but simple enough to make year-round.
Ooey Gooey Butter Cake is so rich and delicious. It’s been on the top of my list for oven baked desserts for at least 20 years!
I have been making Paula Deen Ooey Gooey Butter Cake long before she made the original recipe famous. The entire family also loves Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies and Paula Deen Pumpkin Bars.
It’s a great bar-type dessert and serving is easy. We also make Caramel Cheesecake Bars Recipe.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe
It’s so easy with basic ingredients. The crust is very simple using a box yellow cake mix. The filling comes together in minutes.
The cake mixture and texture taste perfect. The filling is rich and decadent. The recipe is so delicious, and everyone is always impressed with these little sweeties.
Ingredients
Cake
- Yellow Cake Mix. You can choose any brand of basic yellow cake mix you prefer.
- Egg. I used a large egg at room temperature.
- Butter. Melted
Filling
- Cream Cheese. Room temperature is suggested to it’s easier to combine.
- Vanilla Extract. Pure vanilla extract will give the dessert the best flavor.
- Powdered Sugar. Sift to remove any lumps in the box confectioners’ sugar so the filling will be smooth.
Get the complete ingredients at the bottom of the page.
Substitutions and Additions
- Pumpkin Gooey Cake. Add pumpkin pie filling into the cream cheese mixture before spreading on top of batter.
- Nuts. Add a few tablespoons peanuts, pecan half or walnuts.
- Cake Mix. Substitute spice cake mix, lemon cake mix or chocolate cake mix. This is an easy variation in place of the yellow cake mix.
- Mix-ins. Try adding to the top of filling with butterscotch morsels, white chocolate chips, cup chocolate chips, heath almond toffee bits or heath milk chocolate toffee bits.
- Citrus flavor. Add lemon juice or zest to the cream cheese filling.
- Sea Salt. Sprinkle sea salt on top.
Step By Step Instructions
- Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch by 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Step 2. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix ingredients with a mixer until combined.
Step 3. Spread the cake part into the baking dish. Pat into an even layer.
Step 4. In a separate large bowl, beat together the 8 oz package cream cheese until smooth. You can use the bowl of an electric mixer. I prefer a stand mixer but you can use a hand mixer.
Step 5. Next, lower the speed of mixer and add in the eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract. Stir until combined. Then slowly add in the powdered sugar.
Step 6. Spread the filling batter over the cake batter in the baking dish.
Step 7. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the outside starts to brown and the center is still slightly gooey. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Step 8. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top if desired.
Step 9. Then cut the cake into squares, serve and enjoy!
Storage
Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Expert Tips
- Room temperature ingredients. Make sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature, so they mix well before making the cake.
- Follow the recipe for the crust. You aren’t making the cake as instructed on the box.
- Beat the cream cheese alone until smooth. Always beat this first until smooth and creamy before adding the other ingredients.
- Serve with whipped cream. It’s optional but delicious topped with a dollop of fresh Whipped Cream.
- Oven temperatures vary. Keep a close eye on cooking time.
- Don’t overbake the dessert. You do not want it to be dry.
More Easy Dessert Bars
Try Paula Deens Ooey Gooey Butter Cake to jazz up your traditional cake. Don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating.
Paula Deen Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 box Yellow Cake Mix 18.25 ounces
- 1 Large Egg
- 1/2 cup Butter melted
For the Filling:
- 1 pkg Cream Cheese 8 ounces, room temperature
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1/2 cup Butter melted
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9X13 baking pan with a non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake ingredients with a hand held or stand up mixer until combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the baking dish into an even layer.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese until smooth and creamy with a hand held or stand up mixer.
- Add in the eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract.ย Mix until combined.
- Then slowly add in the powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) until all combined and mixed well.
- Spread the filling batter over the cake batter in the baking dish.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until the outside starts to brown and the center is still slightly gooey.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely at room temperature.
- Then cut the cake into squares, serve and enjoy!
So delicious and easy to make.