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Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

A pumpkin-inspired take the original St. Louis gooey butter cake. Made from scratch, this cake features a delicious crust and the gooey filling that many have grown to love.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Author Melissa Hiatt (Making it Sweet)

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk

Filling

  • 8 oz 1 package cream cheese
  • 7.5 oz about 1/2 can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 lb powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup 1 stick melted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Spray a 9x12 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

For the cake/crust

  1. Mix together sugar, cake flour, salt and baking powder. Add egg, milk and melted butter to combine. Press mixture on the bottom of the baking pan.

For the filling

  1. Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat until softened. Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon and nutmeg and continue beating until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined. Scrape down bowl as necessary. Slowly add powdered sugar in small increments (otherwise it will explode all over the place). Scrape down the bowl and add butter and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Pour over crust.
  2. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until center is jiggly. Don’t overbake or it will not be “gooey”.
  3. Allow to sit for about an hour before cutting into it.

Recipe Notes

I've tried both all-purpose and cake flour for this recipe and found that cake flour makes the crust a little more tender and easier to cut.
You can serve this with fresh whipped cream and/or sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top like the original St. Louis version.