The Best Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Recipe (Gluten-Free)
Published Jan 06, 2024 Updated Jan 14, 2024
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This ooey gooey butter cake recipe features two layers– a dense cake base and a gooey cream cheese top. Baked into a sweet and tasty cake that is perfect for any occasion! Every bite is magic! Even better, we’re using boxed cake mix to speed up the process while still yielding baked-from-scratch results!
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Great
If you’ve never tried an Ooey Gooey Warm Butter Cake topped with fresh strawberries, well, you are in for a treat! I love this cake because it’s super easy to whip up. No need to make a homemade cake from scratch, a box mix will work just as well. Then, with a few simple ingredients and a unique method, the cake is layered and baked into a tender, moist, and perfect cake.
It’s versatile and tasty, and who doesn’t love butter?! Even better, you can make this cake gluten-free or dairy-free with a few easy swaps. It’s an easy recipe with an amazing result!
Ingredient Notes
- gluten-free yellow cake mix: You can use regular cake mix as well if you’re not gluten-free. Using a cake mix speeds up the process rather than making a cake with all-purpose flour from scratch.
- melted butter
- egg
- pure vanilla extract
- cream cheese
- powdered sugar
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake ingredients: gluten-free yellow cake mix, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. It should be a bit crumbly.
- Press the cake batter mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan to form a crust.
- In another large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth with an electric mixer/hand mixer on medium speed. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. Mix until smooth and combined.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture over the bottom cake layer, spreading it evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the center is set. If it becomes too brown, cover it with aluminum foil.
- Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, cut into squares and dust the top with powdered sugar. (I like to add the cake to the refrigerator for an hour or so before cutting. It makes it much easier and cleaner.
Mac’s Pro Tip
Expert Tips
- Mixins: This butter cake recipe is delicious on its own, but feel free to add chopped pecans or shredded coconut to the “crust mixture” for a little extra texture and crunch. You can also add chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks to the top layer.
- Cutting: I recommend storing this cake in the fridge for at least one hour before cutting. Refrigerating overnight before cutting yields the best results and flavor.
- Dairy-Free: For a dairy-free version, use vegan butter sticks (not the spreadable kind) and your favorite unflavored, dairy-free cream cheese.
- Mixer: You can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer. Just be careful not to over-mix.
Serving Tips
Serve your delicious butter cake with fresh fruit, fresh berries, a scoop of ice cream, or by itself. It’s a versatile dessert that works well for all celebrations– as a birthday cake, anniversary cake, or holiday cake. Decorate and top accordingly, and trust me when I say you will have NO leftovers!
Storage Tips
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer shelf life, store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.
To freeze, wrap the butter cake tightly with plastic wrap, then store it in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. It should last in the freezer for up to 3-4 months. Thaw before serving.
Recipe FAQs
They all have pretty simple ingredients, but the amounts of those ingredients different between recipes. Butter cakes are rich and moist, sponge cakes are light and airy, and pound cakes are dense and buttery. Butter cake and pound cake are the most similar, but their structure and texture are quite different.
All butter cakes are made with similar ingredients, however, Kentucky butter cake recipes also often incorporate buttermilk into the cake mix, and a sweet sugar glaze after the cake is cooked.
More Dessert Recipes
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The Best Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Recipe (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
Bottom Layer
- 1 15 oz box gluten-free yellow cake mix
- 1 1/4 sticks butter melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Top Layer
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- Additional powdered sugar for dusting optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the gluten-free yellow cake mix, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. It should be a bit crumbly.
- Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan to form a crust.
- In another bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. Mix until smooth and combined.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust, spreading it evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the center is set. If it becomes too brown, cover with aluminum foil.
- Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, cut into squares and dust the top with powdered sugar. (I like to add the cake to the refrigerator for an hour or so before cutting. It makes it much easier and cleaner.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Mixins: This butter cake recipe is delicious on its own, but feel free to add chopped pecans or shredded coconut to the “crust mixture” for a little extra texture and crunch. You can also add chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks to the top layer.
- Cutting: I recommend storing this cake in the fridge for at least one hour before cutting. Refrigerating overnight before cutting yields the best results and flavor.
- Dairy-Free: For a dairy free version, use vegan butter sticks (not the spreadable kind), and your favorite unflavored, dairy-free cream cheese.
- Mixer: You can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer. Just be careful not to over-mix.
Serving Tips
Serve your delicious butter cake with fresh fruit, fresh berries, a scoop of ice cream, or by itself. It’s a versatile dessert that works well for all celebrations– as a birthday cake, anniversary cake, or holiday cake. Decorate and top accordingly and trust me when I say you will have NO leftovers!Storage Tips
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer shelf life, store it in the refrigerator for up to a week. To freeze, wrap the butter cake tightly with plastic wrap, then store it in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. It should last in the freezer for up to 3-4 months. Thaw before serving.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Found this cake on my Google news feed, it was delicious. I made it for my sons birthday, he’s pretty picky and he LOVED it. Thank you so much!
This is one of my fav nostalgic childhood treats. I haven’t had these since going gluten free… until now. Mac always tweaks and tests recipes to perfection!! The hack for putting in the fridge before cutting is genius too. 5/5 stars from this girl!!
My son has multiple food allergies: corn, wheat, sesame, almonds, peanuts. All he wanted for his birthday was an ooey gooey butter cake. Most gluten free cake mixes contain corn starch or almond flour, and most confectioner’s sugars are made with corn starch. Major challenge! I made this cake using Pamela’s gluten free (and almond flour/corn starch-free) cake mix (Amazon Prime), and Wholesome powdered sugar (cornstarch free, Sprouts Market). I made it in a 12″ round pan so it looked more like a birthday cake, and added another 7 minutes or so. It came out perfectly! EVERYONE said it was the best dessert I’ve ever made, and they didn’t even know it was “special”. Thank you! You made my son very happy! He hardly ever gets foods that taste like the real thing. The recipe is permanently in my repertoire, and I’m very grateful. In fact, everyone is requesting it for more occasions!
This is absolutely delicious! You would never know it was gluten free. Tastes like a cheesecake and a sugar cookie had a baby. So stinkin easy too
So happy to hear this! Thank you