St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

A while back a friend turned me onto a blog called Smitten Kitchen. Now, I know you've got to be thinking, just how many blogs does this chick follow? Lots. It takes a good portion of my morning to sit and go through all the new posts. But I continue to find blogs that I truly enjoy reading and truly feel inspired by. Smitten Kitchen is definitely one of those blogs. I love to cook and this blog is all about cooking. Recently, Smitten Kitchen posted a recipe that I was somewhat familiar with but had not produced in sometime - St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake. Her take on the recipe is a bit different so I'm interested to try it again with a different spin. Smitten Kitchen's recipes have yet to disappoint. Her step by step photos keep you on track which helps the novice chef. I know you're going to LOVE this recipe. This cake is to die for! In fact, I believe this will be my first recipe posted on my "recipe" page. Indulge in something sweet today!

St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

For the cake

For the topping
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling.

Make the cake dough: In a small bowl, mix milk with 2 tablespoons warm water. Add yeast and whisk gently until it dissolves. Mixture should foam slightly. (Very slightly in my case.)

Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and salt. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat in the egg. Alternately add flour and the milk mixture, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition. Clark doesn’t say to do this, but I switched to a dough hook at this point to beat dough on medium speed until it formed a smooth mass and pulled away (just a little, my dough was still very soft) from sides of bowl, 7 to 10 minutes.

Press, stretch and nudge dough into an ungreased (original recipe suggests this; I found that my topping stuck a lot and I really had to cut around it with a sharp knife; I will grease mine next time) 9-by 13-inch baking dish (see Note above about baking dishes) at least 2 inches deep. Cover dish with plastic wrap or clean tea towel, put in a warm place, and allow to rise until doubled, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Make the gooey topping: Heat oven to 350 degrees. To prepare topping, in a small bowl, whisk corn syrup with 2 tablespoons water and the vanilla. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat in the egg. Alternately add flour and corn syrup mixture, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition.

Spoon topping in large dollops over risen cake and use an offset spatula to gently spread it in an even layer. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes (see Note above about wide range); cake will rise and fall in waves and have a golden brown top, but will still be liquid in center when done. Allow to cool in pan before sprinkling with confectioners’ sugar for serving.