Fall is in the air, and that means pumpkin season is here! This pumpkin gooey butter cake recipe is one of our favorites. It’s easy to make and so delicious! The vanilla cake batter crust is perfect with the gooey butter filling. It’s a delicious fall dessert and would be great for Thanksgiving!
This cake is a combination of a pumpkin pie and a vanilla cake. It has a creamy, gooey butter texture and a delicious cookie-like crust made from cake batter! It’s really a fun recipe to bring to Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving and perfect for the holiday season.
If you love this cake, then you have to try my peanut butter gooey butter cake!
And if you’re a pumpkin fan try my popular pumpkin bread, the best pumpkin donuts and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!
What is gooey butter cake?
Gooey butter cake is a type of dessert that originated in St. Louis, Missouri. It consists of a yellow or German chocolate cake mix crust, with a gooey filling made from butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, and eggs.
Ingredient Notes
The full recipe and measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Boxed Yellow Cake Mix – This is the mix that creates a delicious crust for the cake.
Eggs – Use whole, organic eggs when possible. The eggs act as a binding agent in this recipe.
Unsalted Butter – Adds to the gooey butter texture.
Canned Pumpkin – Libby’s canned pumpkin is great for this recipe. You can also use an organic canned pumpkin too.
Cream Cheese – Use full-fat cream cheese. Make sure the cream cheese is completely soft, you can microwave it for 20 seconds to ensure it has a creamy and soft texture.
Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract to add flavor and also enhance the flavors in the recipe.
Brown Sugar – A type of sugar that is brown in color. It is made by adding molasses to white sugar. You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar.
Ground Spices – This recipe uses cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to add flavor.
Expert Tips For Recipe Success
Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This includes pumpkin puree, eggs, and cream cheese. Room-temperature ingredients mix together much easier and produce a more consistent cake.
This cake is a GOOEY butter cake, which means it has a gooey texture.
If your cream cheese and butter are not at room temperature, place them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds or until they are soft to the touch.
Don’t over-bake this recipe; the cake is supposed to have a gooey texture once it sets.
Let the cake cool completely before cutting into it. The gooey butter filling needs time to set up, so resist the urge to cut into it too soon.
Check our Kitchen Conversion Chart for any measurement questions.
Variations and Substitutes
- You can substitute yellow cake mix for a pumpkin, white, or spice cake mix.
- Substitute pumpkin puree for sweet potato puree or butternut squash puree.
- Ground spices for pumpkin pie spice. You’ll add 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice instead of the ground spices the recipe calls for.
- Make brown butter by melting it on the stovetop until it browns. This brings out a delicious nutty flavor. You can use browned butter in place of regular butter in this recipe.
- Use different types of extracts like almond extract or pumpkin extract.
- Add chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or dried fruit to the batter before baking.
Best Substitutes for Pumpkin
Here are the 2 best substitutes for pumpkin puree:
Butternut Squash Puree – This is our favorite pumpkin substitute. It’s sweet and has a similar texture to pumpkin puree.
Sweet Potato Puree – Another great pumpkin substitute. Sweet potatoes are a little bit sweeter than pumpkin so you might want to add a little less sugar to the recipe.
How to Store
This cake can be stored at room temperature, in an airtight container for 2-3 days. If you want to keep it longer, store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
How to Freeze
Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and then place it in a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let the cake thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- The Best Pumpkin Milkshake
- Pumpkin Donut Holes
- Pumpkin Pana Cotta
- Cornbread with Pumpkin
- Pumpkin Olive Oil Graveyard Cake
Also, try my Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie and The Best Peanut Butter Cookies.
Now that you know everything you need to make a perfect pumpkin dessert, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
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Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 4 large egg, 1 egg and 3 eggs separate
- 8 ounces unsalted butter, 2 sticks separated and melted
- 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 8 ounces cream cheese, super soft
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a springform pan or a round cake pan with parchment paper and cooking spray.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the boxed cake mix, 1 stick melted butter (1/2 cup), and 1 egg and mix well.
- Pour into a prepared 9" or 10" round cake pan or springform pan and press an even layer on the bottom of the pan. This will be a thin layer.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine pumpkin puree, super soft cream cheese, 3 eggs, dark brown sugar, 1 stick melted butter, vanilla extract cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- Beat on low until the ingredients are fully mixed. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Pour the pumpkin filling over the cake batter in the pan.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes until the top of the cake is golden brown. The center should be a little gooey! It's a GOOEY butter cake!
- Let the cake rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting into it.
How should I store my pumpkin gooey butter cake? I will not be cutting it until tomorrow morning.
In the refrigerator!
Want to make this, but wondering about the pan size. Can this be made successfully in a 9 x 13″ pan as mentioned in the directions (which actually would work better for my purposes), or does it have to be made in a 9″ springform pan? thank you!!!
I tried making it with silken tofu instead of cream cheese for my dairy intolerant friends. May decrease the sugar a little and add an extra egg next time, but still good!
I’m wondering if you have alternate baking temp/time for this? I ended up baking it for a full hour because the middle was still so very jiggly. The middle pumpkin mixture tasted perfect, but the extra bake time caused a very crispy, overdone bottom. Thank you!!
What size cake pan?
9″ or 10″ will work! I updated the post too 🙂 Remember this is a gooey cake, so it’s supposed to be gooey in the center! Have fun!
Why do 3 of the eggs need to be separated?
Oh my goodness! That wasn’t very clear! They are not separated… they are just separate, so 1 egg and then 3 eggs since there are two parts to this. I changed it from separated to separate, and I hope that helps!