One of my coworkers kept telling me about this St. Louis original breakfast pastry called the Missouri Gooey Butter Cake. I had to find a recipe because it just sounded so good!
The legend is that a baker in 1930s St. Louis made a mistake in his coffee cake recipe proportions. Instead of tossing it out, he cut it into portions & it sold out. And history was made with a brand new breakfast & coffee treat!
So I scoured through the internet to find recipes & videos. There are two main versions of this. The bakery version is made with a brioche type base & a gooey, buttery topping. They are baked together, as you would cheese danish, but is nothing like that!
There is a quick version with a yellow cake mix and cream cheese topping baked together. But while that certainly tastes great, the consensus I read was that they are certainly not the same in taste and texture.
So since I am a food history buff and a stickler for authenticity, especially if it’s the first time, I went with the bakery version!
You start by making the dough. It is milk based just like brioche. You will need to let it rise for 2 hours. Towards the end of the rise and while you are preheating your oven, you can make the gooey topping,
My friend from Missouri said it’s usually sold in 8 inch square pans. Some of the recipes suggested to separate the cake into two pans. The actual recipe calls for a larger cake, which fits into a 9×12. That is what I made, as I was bringing it to my taste testers at work, and so was sharing this with a larger crowd. None of them had ever had it before either, and quite a few came up to me to tell me how good it was! Success!!!
Recipe:
For brioche base:
1/4 cup of slightly warm milk
1 packet (2 tbsp) of yeast
1 stick room temperature butter (reserve 1 tbsp for the prepping pan)
1 room temperature egg
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
Topping:
2 sticks room temperature butter
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 1/4 cup of flour
1/4 tsp salt
Confectioners sugar for dusting
Directions:
Slightly warm up the milk. It should just be warm to the touch. Sprinkle the yeast on top & set aside for a few minutes.
Mix the yeast into the milk to dissolve. After 5 minutes, the yeast should froth. This means that it is active and will make your dough rise. If this does not happen, this means your yeast is not active. You will have to do this step again with new yeast.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar & salt together till creamy. Add in the egg and continue.
Alternate adding the milk and flour into the mixing bowl. If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook and beat on low for 5 minutes till it becomes elastic.
Transfer it to a bowl and cover. Let it rise in a warm place for 2 hours. It will double in size.
After 2 hours, make the topping while you preheat the oven to 350 F.
Beat the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla & salt. Add the flour in a little at a time. It will resemble frosting.
Butter your pan. Press the dough into the pan. Get it all the way to the edges. Spread the topping over that from edge to edge to fully cover the dough.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. The topping will for a crust, but still be loose & bubbly. It will set as it cools down.
Dust it with powdered sugar before serving. Store it in the refrigerator, but certainly best at room temperature. Though I have to say, it’s not going to last very long! It will be gobbled up quickly. It’s that good!
Enjoy this St. Louis, Missouri original!
Kali Oreksi!
on xenia street 