Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

ByJennifer Osterholt UpdatedJune 23, 2025

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4.80 from 5 votes

The name says it all, this Ooey Gooey Butter Cake has deep flavors and a special richness you’ll remember!

A light crunch in the crust of yellow cake covered with a buttery gooey filling is something memories are made of.

Close up piece of ooey gooey butter cake revealing layers of cake, and a buttery cream cheese mixture underneath a crispy topping on a white plate with a fork and the full cake in the background.

Gooey Butter Cake From A Box Mix

A few simple ingredients mixed together with a sweet and rich layer of cream cheese, eggs and powdered sugar on top add the gooeyness that makes this cake so memorable!

Our Ooey Gooey Butter Cake is made from a box mix and is great for dinner parties, potlucks, carry-ins, and big family meals. If someone loves butter they will adore this cake.

This quick and easy dessert has been so popular on Pinterest we made a Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake and it’s just as amazing with slightly different flavors!

Overhead view of a delicious gooey butter cake with a golden brown top and perfectly finished edges with a soft, buttery, gooey center on a blue and white napkin.

I grew up on a dairy farm, so I like to support dairy farmers by buying dairy products whenever I can. I love that when I buy store brand butter, cream cheese and anything else, I know that there’s a farm family behind that food. And the farm family is likely right here in the US!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Yellow Cake Mix – Duncan Hines is our preferred brand, Butter Cake or Yellow Cake both work well.
Butter – Absolutely do not substitute margarine, the deep, rich flavor of the real thing is critical.
Eggs
Cream Cheese – use regular, not reduced fat.
Powdered Sugar – we have tested using a full pound, but enjoy 3 cups just as much.
Vanilla Extract – use real vanilla for the best flavor, avoid imitation vanilla.

Ingredients to make an ooey gooey butter cake are vanilla extract, yellow cake mix, powdered sugar, eggs, butter and cream cheese on a wooden counter top.

I like easy family recipes like this! We have several easy homemade cake recipes including Cinnamon Applesauce Cake, Pumpkin Pie Cake and Pina Colada Cake. Having so many delicious cake options means we can mix up our desserts which is always a win!

How to Make Ooey Gooey Cake

Preheat oven to 350º F and coat a 9 x 13-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Mix together cake mix, melted butter, and 1 beaten egg. Press mixtures evenly into sides and bottom of the pan.

Thick mixture of butter cake mix, butter and an egg in a speckled mixing bowl.

Butter cake mix with an egg and stick of butter mixed in pressed in the bottom of a glass 9 x 13" dish.

To make filling beat cream cheese until creamy. Add eggs one at a time.

Two eggs added to softened and beaten cream cheese in a mixing bowl.

Handheld mixer starting to stir powdered sugar into an egg and cream cheese mixture in a bowl.

Mix in sugar and vanilla.
Pour over crust.

Rich and sweet layer that's liquid in a mixing bowl ready to pour over a cake.

Cream cheese and melted butter mixture being poured over top of a yellow cake mix pressing in the bottom of a 9 x 13" dish.

Bake 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Pieces removed from a pan of classic gooey butter cake showing delicious, rich and buttery layers in a glass baking dish.

Other Easy Cakes in a 9 x 13 pan

Flaky, golden brown layer of baked cream cheese and gooey butter mixture over a layer of yellow cake mix on a white plate.

4.80 from 5 votes

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Created by Jennifer Osterholt

Servings: pieces

Prep Time: 1 10

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 1 40

The name says it all, this Ooey Gooey Butter Cake has deep flavors and a special richness you’ll remember! A light crunch in the crust of yellow cake covered with a buttery gooey filling is something memories are made of.

Ingredients

Cake Layer

▢ 15 ounce box yellow cake mix
▢ 1/2 cup butter melted
▢ 1 egg beaten

Filling

▢ 8 ounces cream cheese softened
▢ 3 cups powdered sugar
▢ 2 eggs
▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Cake Layer

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9 x 13-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Mix together cake mix, melted butter, and 1 beaten egg. Press mixture evenly into bottom of the pan.
15 ounce box yellow cake mix, 1/2 cup butter, 1 egg

Filling

Beat cream cheese until creamy. Add eggs one at a time.
8 ounces cream cheese, 2 eggs
Add powdered sugar and vanilla, stir well. Pour over crust.
3 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
Bake 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Nutrition

Calories: 251kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 3gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 257mgPotassium: 96mgFiber: 1gSugar: 26gVitamin A: 330IUCalcium: 48mgIron: 1mg

“Plowing Through Life” is not a dietitian or nutrition professional. Any nutritional information shared is an estimate and can vary greatly depending on specific products are used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator of your choice.

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Recipe originally shared on August 19, 2018 with pictures updated on June 23, 2025.

Categories:

Cakes, Desserts, Recipes,

11 Comments

I’ve made this cake twice now, and everyone who’s tasted it had nothing but positive responses! This is by far one of the easiest and most delicious cakes I’ve made recently. I am right now about to bake two more as my co-workers are bugging me to bring more into work, so here I go!

Jennifer Osterholt says:

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Thanks so much for letting me know! So glad to hear you are enjoying it! The Cinnamon Applesauce Cake https://plowingthroughlife.com/cinnamon-applesauce-cake-3/ and the new Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake https://plowingthroughlife.com/chocolate-covered-strawberry-cake/ are also my favorites!

Making this now but after 35 min, the center is still not cooked. The outer edges and bottom are though. What should I do next time? For now, I’m just turning off the oven and leaving it in there in hopes the heat will help it cook but not burn.

Jennifer says:

at

Sorry to hear this. I just tested the recipe again and found that the cake really set up in the 35 – 40-minute time frame on baking. Hope you still enjoyed the cake!

I made this cake for Easter and my family loved it. I’ve been on a low sugar diet so it was a bit too sweet for me but It was great. it was so beautiful I had to get a picture of it.

Deb says:

at

Where’s the Pic, Lady? Lololol!

Amazing

My granddaughter’s favorite! I made this cake when my granddaughter came for a visit! She loved it so much she learned to make it before she left. So I printed out an extra recipe and she’s now baking this cake for friends and family. It’s taught her the love of baking! She comes more often just to bake more recipes. For a 16-year-old girl, this is amazing! It’s not just the baking that I enjoy with her ” It’s the talks we have while we’re doing it! I guess we grandmas have more to offer than we knew? This is one of the best, Simple yet irresistible! I’m sure glad I found your recipe! : – )

Jennifer @ Plowing Through Life says:

at

Hey There! This note is so wonderful to get. I’m so grateful you can spend that time with your granddaughter! Thanks so much for sharing!
~Jennifer

I have made this for years! My favorite is using a butter pecan cake mix and adding chopped pecans to the filling mixture. A dark chocolate cake mix with the addition of peanut butter to the filling is also a favorite.