Putting the goo in 'good': Gooey butter cake is a Midwest tradition

I know I'd be in big trouble if my copy of Roget's Thesaurus were ever stolen, pilfered, purloined, swiped or ripped off. Without it I'd have difficulty writing a sentence, let alone a whole paragraph.

But as valuable to a writer as the good Dr. Roget's book is (some say it ranks right up there with the Bible as one of the most important works ever printed), you have to be careful when using it.

As a case in point, look up the word "goo" and you'll find the following synonyms: mire, muck, sludge, mud, slime and gunk. These, I submit, are far too pejorative meanings for a word that when applied to desserts is entirely positive. Think about it. What could be more sensuous and decadent than a gooey dessert, the kind that when you bite into it drips down your chin? Even the most beautifully decorated petits fours pale in comparison, for underneath all the frosted ornamentation there is nothing but dry cake. No, give me a squishy, sticky dessert anytime.

And when it comes to gooey desserts, perhaps the champion is the aptly named gooey butter cake, though, surprisingly, it is little known outside our region. Perhaps that's because the gooey butter cake was invented here in the Midwest and possibly the recipe has been understandably safeguarded ever since.

Like many a delicacy -- fudge, brownies and chocolate chip cookies among them --the gooey butter cake was created by accident. Sometime in the 1930s, legend has it, a German baker in St. Louis inadvertently put too much sugar into his cake batter and was too thrifty to waste it, so he just baked it instead.

The glutinous result was a hit and today there's hardly a bakery in St. Louis or the surrounding region that doesn't offer a version. The old Heimburger Bakery on South Lindbergh was especially famous for it.

There appear to be at least two different approaches to making gooey butter cake. One starts with a yeast-based dough over which a filling consisting chiefly of butter, sugar, milk and often corn syrup is poured. Similar to Philadelphia German butter cake, this may well have been the original version. More recently a version starting with a packaged cake mix has become popular. Its filling consists mainly of cream cheese and powdered sugar.

However it's prepared, there's no doubt that were Dr. Roget alive today to try a slice, he'd feel compelled to revise his thesaurus accordingly.

Gooey Butter Cake

Though she doesn't hail from St. Louis, perhaps no one has done more to popularize the gooey butter cake than restaurateur turned Food Network star Paula Deen. Her secret, characteristically, is an extra stick of butter blended into the filling. This recipe and its variations are adapted from "The Lady & Sons Just Desserts" cookbook.

Ingredients: 1 box (18.25 oz.) yellow cake mix, three eggs divided, two sticks melted butter divided, one package (8 oz.) cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 pound powdered sugar

Directions: Combine cake mix, 1 egg and 1/2 cup melted butter and pat into the bottom of a greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Beat cream cheese until smooth and beat in remaining 2 eggs and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and mix in well. Carefully stir in remaining 1/2 cup melted butter and mix well. Spread filling over cake base and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes. Do not overbake. True to its name, cake should be a little gooey in center. Dust with additional powdered sugar if desired and cool before cutting into squares.

Variations:

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake: substitute spice cake mix and add a 15-ounce can of pumpkin pie filling and an extra egg to filling.

Lemon Gooey Butter Cake: substitute lemon cake mix and add 1/4 cup lemon juice and zest of two lemons to filling.

Pineapple Gooey Butter Cake: add a 20-ounce can of drained crushed pineapple and an extra egg to the filling.

Carrot Cake Gooey Butter Cake: substitute spice cake mix and add 1 cup chopped nuts and 1 and 1/2 cups finely grated carrots to the filling.

Peanut Butter Gooey Butter Cake: substitute chocolate cake mix and add 1 cup creamy peanut butter and an extra egg to filling.

Chocolate Chip Gooey Butter Cake: substitute chocolate cake mix and sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup chopped nuts on top of filling.

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