If you have a case of the blues, Paula Deen’s ooey gooey butter cake recipe is your rainy-day cure.
With plenty of butter and ample cream cheese in the batter, you know this cake is downright delightful.
The crumb is so moist, you can eat this butter cake with a spoon just like ice cream! It wouldn’t be a bad idea to scoop some on top either.
So, add Paula Deen’s ooey gooey butter cake to your list of recipes to try. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

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Paula Deen’s Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
You don’t have to be a master baker to produce a master dish. It's one of those simple recipes that lets the butter do the talking.
Paula Deen has a reputation for butter and this dish proves it. This recipe is heavy on it, and I couldn't be happier.
Prepare it a la mode or topped with jam, or serve it plain after a weeknight pot roast.
There's no wrong way to serve this sinfully buttery cake.
Either way, this ooey gooey butter cake is sure to please your friends and family.
Ingredients
For a cake this good, the ingredient list is relatively short. That means you probably already have all of the necessities on hand.
Here's everything you'll need.
- Butter. It wouldn’t be a butter cake without this namesake ingredient. Be sure to use real butter, not margarine, and use unsalted.
- Eggs. Let us thank our poultry friends for the texture of this cake. If butter brings the ooey, the eggs bring the gooey.
- Yellow cake mix. This ingredient cuts out the measuring of dry ingredients. Some may consider this cheating, but baking is all about working smarter, not harder.
- Cream cheese. I have never met a recipe that called for cream cheese that I didn't like. This ingredient is the holy grail of moist cake batters, and your final product is better off for it.
- Vanilla. What’s a dessert without a little vanilla flavoring? The better the quality, the better it tastes, so don’t skimp on your extracts this time around.
- Powdered sugar. If love is the sweetness of life, powdered sugar is the sweetness of this cake. Use the scoop and sweep measuring method to be sure you add the perfect amount.
Tips for Making the Best Butter Cake
I have to be honest- it’s hard to mess up this recipe. It’s that easy! But for good measure, here are a few tips and tricks to ensure your buttery cake is perfect.
- Use quality butter. Now is not the time to skimp on cheap butter. It’s the star of the show, after all. Higher-quality butter yields a better-tasting cake.
- Avoid opening the oven. This cake is temperamental. If you open the oven door prematurely, it causes the cake to sink in the middle.
- Test for doneness. Sadly, the toothpick test doesn’t work in this insanely moist cake. Instead, give it a jiggle test! A perfectly done cake has a set edge and jiggly center.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Room temperature ingredients blend easier into the cake batter. Let the butter, cream cheese, and eggs hang out on the counter for 30 minutes before adding them to the bowl.
- Add powdered sugar last. Be sure to add in the powdered sugar very last. This ensures a silky-smooth consistency.

Butter Cake Vs. Pound Cake
These two cake terms are often used interchangeably, which can be misleading.
Both recipes call for similar ingredients, but the resulting taste and texture are different.
This is because the ratios for the two cakes are different. Pound cake uses a 1:1 ratio, while butter cake has more butter than any other ingredient.
Variations of Paula Deen's Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
You can switch up the flavor of your butter cake simply by changing the flavor of the cake mix you use. Easy peasy.
Here are a few boxed cake mix suggestions to take the flavors over the top.
- Chocolate
- Lemon
- Strawberry
- Pumpkin
- Butter pecan
- Blueberry
- Orange
Make your butter cake match the season by changing up the base flavor being used in the cake.

















11 Comments
I need some help!! I have been making this gooey butter cake for years now, but I have been so disappointed with the cake layer because it is always so dry to me and just bland tasting! 😥😥I have made it exactly to the recipes and rarely has the cake bottom tasted very good to me. I have no idea what is causing this, I have used several different cake brands and never remember ( in my old age- lol-( upper 70’s 🤦🏼♀️) to start making a note as to what brand cake I am using and then after it bakes how it turned out to my satisfaction! How dumb is that??? I’m going to start! The other problem I just had was that last night I decided to make one with a regular Brownie as the “cake” base, thinking that wouldn’t make a difference and I would love it because I love Brownies. And the brownie layer was great, real fudgey but the cream cheese layer did not set up at all!!!! I’m serious, I took it out at the recommended time the recipe I was following called for about 40 minutes and it has risen and looked gorgeous. I let it cool for about 1 1/2 hours on the counter and then cut into it and the inside was the texture of sweetened condensed milk! Exactly like that! Runny and so icky sweet! I put it back in the oven and cooked it about 30 more minutes until it looked like it might have set up but no luck. After being in the refrigerator all night, it was still the same today! Does anybody have any idea what caused that? I measured 3 and 1/2 cups as the recipe called for and I looked to see how many cups a Box held and it said about 3 3/4 or 4 cups so I wondered if I just needed to have added more sugar. The batter was very thin when I poured it in and I wondered about it. Aldo my cream cheese got a little too warm and was very very soft and mushy. Could that have contributed to the filling being overly thin to start with?? I would appreciate any suggestions from anyone as this is one of my favorite cakes and I have made them for years! The only thing I’ve never cared for was the cake on the bottom. Thank you in advance for any ideas ❤️❤️❤️
16 tbsp. = 1 stick of butter.
Love this recipe
Good !!
OMG this is the best cake I have ever
had in my whole 76yrs living on God’s green earth !!!!!!
Did I miss the size of the pan?
Hi MaryAnne!
Sorry about that.
You’ll need a 9×13-inch baking pan.
I’ve added it to the recipe, so thanks for asking 🙂
My family thinks this pumpkin cake is better than pumpkin pie. My topping is whipped cream or Cool Whip. Easy!
Hi Linda, I’m so happy to hear your family likes it! I love whipped cream or Cool Whip on top as well.
This cake is the best cake I’ve ever eaten. It is heavenly. I made it today, and the first time ever having it, and I immediately fell in love.
I haven’t tried this one yet, Beverly, and I have been on the fence about doing so. But after that rave review, I think I’m going to have to make it this weekend. <3