If there is one dessert worth making this week, it is Paula Deen’s gooey butter cake. This is the original recipe and it’s so easy with only a yellow cake mix, butter, cream cheese and eggs and it has that classic ooey, gooey middle!

Now don’t be confused, this is NOT the traditional St. Louis bakery version. This is Paula Deen’s original gooey butter cake recipe—the easy cake-mix version that made this rich, gooey dessert famous with home bakers.

Don’t worry, I’ll take you through all the trouble shooting below, but first, here’s one I don’t want you to miss:

How do I get the perfect gooey center?

This is so important!! 🚨 Don’t Wait for the Center to Look Fully Set!

You must do the jiggle test on an ooey-gooey dessert. It’s going to look undone, but give the pan a jiggle and then take the cake out of the oven when the edges are golden brown but the center still moves slightly.

What Does Gooey Butter Cake Taste Like?

Imagine a buttery, melt in your mouth yellow-cake crust topped with a rich cream-cheese custard that’s sweet, soft and just a little gooey in the center. It’s somewhere between a cake, cheesecake bar and blondie—but much more wonderful.

This is a pure Southern comfort recipe. Our Ooey Gooey Butter Cake with a dusting of powdered sugar on top makes it look as good as it tastes.

The Surprising Twist on How We Eat Our Gooey Butter Cake

Fair warning: Claire and I did extensive testing on the best way to eat this cake, and the unanimous winner was straight from the fridge the next day. Chilled, dense, and impossibly rich with that cold sprinkle of powdered sugar on top. Do not skip that step.