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I’ve made this pumpkin gooey butter cake every fall for the last few years! It’s a buttery cake-mix crust on the bottom, a thick spiced pumpkin layer on top, and a middle that stays soft on purpose. Somewhere between pumpkin pie and a pumpkin cheesecake, but easier! Ten minutes of real work and one pan, which is my favorite kind of fall dessert.
Come back for my lemon gooey butter cake in the spring and my peanut butter gooey butter cake when you want chocolate!
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- What Makes This Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Better Than Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Ingredients
- How to Make Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
- How to Tell When Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Is Done
- Eden’s Tips
- How to Store Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
- Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake FAQs
- More Pumpkin Desserts
- Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Recipe
What Makes This Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Better Than Pumpkin Pie
Never had a gooey butter cake? Picture a soft sugar cookie crust with something like spiced pumpkin cheesecake poured over it. The center never fully sets, similar to my chocolate chip cookie pie! This is what makes it gooey in the middle.
- No crust to roll. You press a box of cake mix into the pan and it bakes into a buttery cookie layer.
- Not too sweet. Most recipes call for three or four cups of powdered sugar. One cup of dark brown sugar does it here, and you actually taste the pumpkin.
- A one-bowl, one-pan dessert that serves twelve people!
- Better the next day, so you can bake it in advance.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“It is delicious. I made it for my family last month… The flavor was amazing. My family loved it so much. It’s becoming our Thanksgiving dessert this year.” — Linda
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Ingredients
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Yellow cake mix. One box, dry, straight into the bowl. Ignore the directions on the back. Spice cake mix works too if you want it cozier.
Unsalted butter. Two sticks, melted. One for the crust, one for the filling.
Cream cheese. Full fat, brick style, soft enough to dent with your finger. Microwave it 20 seconds if you forgot to set it out.
Pumpkin puree. The can should say 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. Libby’s lives in my pantry.
Eggs. One in the crust, three in the filling.
Dark brown sugar. Packed. This is where the caramel flavor comes from.
Pure vanilla extract. A little in the crust, more in the filling.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Or two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
How to Make Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Press the crust. Beat the dry cake mix, one melted stick of butter, one egg, and a teaspoon of vanilla on low until it clumps like cookie dough. Press it across the bottom of a parchment-lined 9 or 10 inch springform with your fingertips. It’ll look like barely enough. It is enough.
Beat the filling. Same bowl. Cream cheese and pumpkin first, on low, until there isn’t a lump left. Then add the three eggs, brown sugar, the second stick of melted butter, vanilla, and spices. Scrape the bottom; that’s where the cream cheese hides.
Pour it over. Smooth the top with an offset spatula and leave the two layers alone. They’ll sort themselves out in the oven.
Bake at 350°F. Then let it cool completely, which matters more than you’d think.
How to Tell When Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Is Done
Nudge the pan. The edges should be puffed and deep golden, and a circle in the middle about the size of a saucer should still jiggle. If a knife comes out clean, it went too long.
Your pan decides the timing. A 9 or 10 inch round holds the batter deep, so give it 50 to 60 minutes. A 9×13 spreads it thin and needs 40 to 45. Start peeking at 40 either way.
Then walk away for two hours. It firms up as it cools, and slicing it warm gets you a puddle on the plate. Chill it overnight if you want bakery-clean slices.
“This is amazing! It took my oven an hour. I had to just ACCEPT it should be jiggly in the middle. I’m so glad I took it out after an hour. It was perfect!” — Alison
Eden’s Tips
Brown the butter. You can melt the butter in the microwave and move on, or you can brown it. Melt it in a saucepan over medium heat until you see golden flecks and it smells nutty, about 5 to 10 minutes; then let it cool before you use it in the recipe. It’s a small extra step that makes the whole cake taste toastier.
Switch the mix. A reader made hers with almond cake mix and loved it. Spice mix is good too.
Out of pumpkin? Butternut squash puree is my favorite swap. Sweet potato works but runs sweeter, so ease up on the brown sugar. My sweet potato casserole with marshmallow is basically dessert, so you can use sweet potatoes!
Add something. One reader stirred crystallized ginger and mini chocolate chips into the filling and called it the best thing she’s ever made! You can also add chopped nuts; pecans would be lovely.
Make it mini. Two 6-inch pans give you one to keep and one to give away to a friend.
Dust with powdered sugar right before it hits the table. Any earlier and it disappears into the cake.
How to Store Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Covered on the counter for two days, or in the fridge for five. I like it cold, straight from the refrigerator, when the filling goes almost like cheesecake. To freeze, wrap the cooled cake in plastic, tuck it into a freezer bag, and keep it for three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake FAQs
No. Pumpkin pie filling already has sugar and spices in it, so the cake comes out too sweet and never sets right. Grab the can that says 100% pure pumpkin.
A 9 or 10-inch springform is my favorite because you release the sides and serve it like a cake. A regular round pan works fine. A 9×13 gives you squares and bakes faster, 40 to 45 minutes.
It’s similar to and inspired by her recipe, but different. Hers uses three to four cups of powdered sugar. Mine uses one cup of dark brown sugar, so it’s less sweet and tastes more like pumpkin. I bake it in a round pan instead of a 9×13.
Please do. Bake it two days early and let it cool completely before covering so the top stays soft. The spices settle in overnight and it slices cleaner on day two.
More Pumpkin Desserts
When you make this pumpkin gooey butter cake, leave a 5-star rating and a comment below! It helps other bakers find it, and I read every single one.
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Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks separated and melted
- 1 large egg, you'll need 4 eggs total for this recipe
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Pumpkin Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, super soft
- 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 or 10 inch springform or round cake pan with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray.
- Beat 1 box (15.25 oz) dry yellow cake mix, ½ cup (4 oz) melted unsalted butter, 1 large egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a stand mixer on low until it clumps together like cookie dough, about 1 minute.
- Press the crust mixture across the bottom of the pan with your fingertips in a thin, even layer.
- 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.
Pumpkin Filling
- In the same bowl, beat 8 ounces soft cream cheese and 1½ cups pumpkin puree on low until completely smooth with no lumps.
- Add 3 large eggs, 1 cup packed dark brown sugar, ½ cup (4 oz) melted unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Beat on low until smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Pour the filling over the crust and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Don't stir the layers together.
- 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.
Bake and Cool
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in a 9- or 10-inch round pan, or 40 to 45 minutes in a 9×13. Start checking at 40 minutes.
- It's done when the edges are puffed, set, and deep golden, and a circle in the center about the size of a saucer still jiggles when you nudge the pan. If a knife comes out clean, it's overbaked.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack at least 2 hours before slicing. Chill overnight for the cleanest slices.
Notes
- Doneness is about the edges, not the clock. Set and golden at the rim, soft jiggle in the middle.
- A round pan holds the batter deeper and needs a longer bake. A 9×13 spreads it thin and bakes faster.
- Use 100% pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Cream cheese needs to be soft enough to dent with your finger. 20 seconds in the microwave does it.
- Spice, white, or pumpkin cake mix all work in place of yellow. Or use 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual spices.
- Dust with powdered sugar right before serving, or it melts into the cake.
- Store covered at room temperature for 2 days, refrigerated for 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
WOULD A SPICE CAKE MIX WORK?
yes!