St. Louis Gooey
Butter Cake
Gooey Butter Cake
originated in St. Louis in the 1930’s which is where I grew up. It’s said that a German baker added the
wrong ingredients to his cake batter and the result was a gooey, buttery cake
which is now a St. Louis tradition.
There are lots of variations but this is my Mom’s recipe which dates
back to the ‘70’s.
For the crust:
1 yellow cake mix with
pudding mix added
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted
Combine the cake mix, egg,
and butter in a large bowl and mix well.
Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Use your fingers to pat the mixture smooth on the bottom and
slightly up the sides of the pan.
For the filling:
1 8 ounce package cream
cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
1 16 ounce package of
powdered sugar
In a large bowl, mix the
cream cheese, eggs and vanilla with a mixer until smooth. Add the butter and mix until well
blended. Gradually mix in the
powdered sugar and mix well until the filling is smooth again. Pour the filling on top of the
crust. Bake at 350 degrees for
45-50 minutes until the top of the filling is a light golden brown. Do not overbake.
When cool, sprinkle the
top with powdered sugar.
Dream Bars
CRUST
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 tsp. salt
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
TOPPING
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup cream of coconut
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped rough
1. prepare pan - adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13x9 inch baking pan with foil, allowing excess foil to hang over edges. Coat lightly with cooking spray.
2. Make crust - Process flour, sugar, pecans and salt in food processor until pecans are coarsely ground. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press mixture firmly into prepared baking pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes.
3. Make Topping - Combine coconut and cream of coconut in bowl. In another bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla and salt until smooth. Stir in pecans, then spread filling over cooled crust. Dollop heaping tbsps. of coconut mixture over filling, then spread into an even layer.
4. Bake and cool - Bake until topping is deep golden brown, 35 - 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack, about 2 hours. Using foil overhang, lift bars from pan and cut into 24 pieces. Serve. Bars can be refrigerated in airtight container for 5 days.
Magic Bars
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350
Melt butter in 13 X 9 inch baking pan in oven; remove from oven. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter. Stir well; press onto bottom of pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs. Sprinkle with morsels, coconut and nuts; press down firmly.
Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
HARVEST BREAD
2 c. flour
2 c. shredded carrots
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 c. shredded zucchini
1 Golden Delicious apple, cored & chopped
3/4 c. raisins
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare 2 loaf pans. Mix all ingredients except eggs and oil, in large bowl. Beat eggs and oil in another large bowl to blend. Stir flour mixture into eggs. Bake until tester comes clean, about 60 minutes.
You can use 1 c sugar. You can use ½ c oil and ½ c unsweetened applesauce. You can use 1 c white and 1c whole wheat flour.
Jan Pepe
