A recipe for sourdough gooey butter cake

and it's a d a p t a b l e

Sourdough Gooey Butter Cake topped with crushed freeze-dried blueberries.

I first heard about gooey butter cake from a Food Network recipe my sister sent me years back. (It was definitely from Paula Deen.) But it wasn’t until I was inducted into the cult of being a St. Louis sports fan that I truly grasped this cake’s powers.

According to this sweet treat’s origin story, gooey butter cake was originally made with a yeast-risen dough on the bottom and a gooey, buttery top. (Today you’ll find most recipes online use yellow cake mix for the bottom.) St. Louis had a lot of German bakers — which tracks for a yeast-risen cake — and one day in the 1930s (or was it the ‘40s?) someone messed up their recipe, creating that signature messy, crinkly topping. (I wonder if it was supposed to be a streusel?) The enterprising baker decided to sell their mistake anyway, and now gooey butter cake stands with T-Ravs, Provel, and Nelly as St. Louis icons.

I first made gooey butter cake in October 2011, ahead of the Rangers v. Cardinals Game 6 of that year's World Series, which as some of you may recall was a pivotal, wild game that St. Louis had to win in order to go on in their World Series bid. (Here’s a youtube of the highlights, since I know you all really care about this.) Braeden and I were a relatively new thing then, so I was probably trying to be the girlfriend who brought an appropriately themed dessert to her boyfriend’s parents’ house. Did the cake also send its magical powers through the airwaves and prompt the Cardinals to win? Maybe!

(I’ve since made gooey butter cake in a somewhat desperate attempt to cast spells to get a win for the Blues, and have had mixed results. Maybe the recipe needs tweaking.)

After the bottom layer rises for about 4 hours, spread on the very buttery topping

The version I’m sharing today is adapted from a few sources: Melissa Clark/NYT (who adapted it from a St. Louis baker in Brooklyn) and Keepwell Vinegar, a fantastic small vinegar, miso, and soy sauce business run by Sarah Conezio and Isaiah Billington, former pastry chefs who also share lots of vinegar-infused recipes on their insta. Their recipe for a St.Louis gooey butter cake meets Baltimore peach cake used persimmon vinegar instead of water in the topping, a swap I borrowed and adapted in my version below.

The other biggest change is using sourdough starter to leaven the bottom layer. I looked up general rules of converting yeast recipes to sourdough, and that’s what I followed when I made this the first time in October 2019. Do I remember exactly what those rules are or where I found them? No.

Will this cake propel your favorite St. Louis sports team to victory? Sometimes.

Will it make you feel better in the face of soul-crushing violence that those in power are apparently too busy spending their millions of NRA dollars to bother passing laws that would prevent more deaths, again? No.

Will it taste good? Yes.

The bottom stays relatively thin, while the top gets nice and gooey.

Sourdough Gooey Butter Cake

Adapted from NYT and Keepwell Vinegar

Since you’re working with sourdough, you’ll need to plan ahead. You need a freshly fed, active starter and at least four hours, depending on your kitchen’s temperature, to let the cake layer rise.

The New York Times recipe I adapted this from uses a stand mixer, which definitely makes it easier. I usually don’t feel like lugging mine out, so I use a bowl and fork. The results are probably different and someone who cares about the level of air whipped into butter when creaming will probably say my method is inferior. But it tastes really freaking great as written, so…

For the cake:
99 grams (7 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temp
45 grams sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg, at room temp
200 grams* fed sourdough starter
150 grams all-purpose flour

For the topping:
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
170 grams (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temp
250 grams granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg, at room temp
145 grams flour
2 to 3 tablespoons crushed freeze dried fruit, chopped chocolate, or chopped fresh fruit (optional)

Start with the cake. Use a fork to mash the butter, sugar, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl, then as the butter softens, stir vigorously until light and airy. (When I say vigorous, I mean vigorous. Your arm should be sore. You should need to take breaks. Alternatively, cream the ingredients in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. A food processor would probably work too.)

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then thoroughly mix in the egg. If your egg wasn’t really room temperature, the butter may form small to large curds; this is fine and it will work out in the end (though perhaps someone who knows more about food science can explain why this isn’t desirable).

Stir in 100 grams of the sourdough, followed by 75 grams of flour, then the final 100 grams of sourdough and final 75 grams of flour. Use a fork at first, scraping the sides of the bowl and beating until the dough is as smooth as you can get it, then switch to a sturdy spoon or use your hands to work in the rest. (Again, a stand mixer would make this easier. If you do it by hand, don’t say I didn’t warn you!) The dough should be shaggy and only slightly sticky. If it seems dry, add a spoonful of water; if it seems way too sticky or loose, add a spoonful or two of flour.

Use a spatula, a spoon, or your hands to stretch and pat the dough into an ungreased 9-by-13-inch baking dish. (At this point you may doubt whether this recipe will even work. Persevere!) Cover with a towel and let rise until it’s a little springy to the touch, about 4 to 6 hours depending on your room temperature. (It will not double in size and may not even visibly expand, but it will be a little springy.)

To make the topping, whisk the maple syrup, vinegar, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Use a fork to cream the butter, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl, mashing and beating as you go; it won’t get very light and fluffy if you do this by hand. (And if you thought this was a workout before, now you’ll really hate me. Alternatively, use a stand or hand mixer.)

Add the egg, scraping down the sides as you go, and beat until thoroughly combined. Alternate stirring in the flour and maple mixture, again scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go, mixing until no dry streaks of flour remain. Stir in the freeze-dried fruit, if using (you can also sprinkle it on top before baking).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the bottom is done rising, spread the topping evenly over the dough. If you’re adding chocolate or fresh fruit, scatter that over top and then pat it in slightly with your fingers.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the top is ripply and golden with darker, set edges.

Once completely cool, cover and keep at room temp for up to 5 days; if you live in a very humid place or your kitchen is warm, keep it in the fridge.

Yield: This is a tough one because it really depends how much cake you eat at once. It’s a rich, sweet, 9-by-13-inch cake. You be the judge.

*I only had 175 grams of starter and it worked; was it because baked goods require less leavening at higher altitude (less air pressure = faster rising time), or was it because 25 grams of sourdough starter doesn’t really make or break a recipe, or a combo of both? I’ll find out.