Recipes and Cooking Gooey Butter Cake Squares Be the first to rate & review! Gooey butter cakes are the result of a happy accident, or so we're told. The origin story says the first cake came about in the 1930s when a rookie baker in St. Louis, Missouri, mixed up the amounts of butter and sugar in a cake recipe. The result was too good to throw out and an addictively sweet confection was born. By Juliana Hale Juliana Hale Juliana Hale is a senior culinary specialist in the Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen with 20 years of experience in recipe testing and development. She works closely with AllRecipes, Forks Over Knives, Midwest Living, and Traditional Home overseeing testing in the test kitchen for those titles. Juli is an expert in all fields of cooking, but is particularly geeky about mixology and has taught her class, Fun with Sours, to internal staff and the AllRecipes Allstars. She holds an associate's degree in culinary arts and a bachelor's degree in food and beverage service management from the New England Culinary Institute. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Published on December 6, 2021 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Brie Passano Prep Time: 20 mins Bake Time: 30 mins Chill Time: 1 day Total Time: 1 day 50 mins Servings: 36 Yield: 36 bars Jump to Nutrition Facts Ingredients ¾ cup butter, softened ½ cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 3 egg 3 teaspoon vanilla ¼ teaspoon almond extract 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour 1 8 ounce pkg. cream cheese, softened 2 ½ cup powdered sugar Directions Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. For crust, in a medium bowl beat 1/2 cup of the butter with a mixer on medium 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. of the salt. Beat on medium, scraping bowl as needed. Beat in 1 of the eggs, 2 tsp. of the vanilla, and the almond extract. Beat in flour just until combined. Spread in the prepared pan. For filling, in a medium bowl beat cream cheese and the remaining 1/4 cup butter with a mixer on medium 30 seconds. Beat in powdered sugar and the remaining 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/4 tsp. salt. Beat in the remaining 2 eggs, one at a time, until combined. Pour batter over crust. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill overnight. Dust with additional powdered sugar. Cut into bars. Note: These bars are best served the day after baking To Store Layer bars in airtight container between sheets of wax paper; cover. Store in the refrigerator up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months. Rate it Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 122 Calories 6g Fat 15g Carbs 1g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 36 Calories 122 % Daily Value * Total Fat 6g 8% Saturated Fat 4g 20% Cholesterol 32mg 11% Sodium 102mg 4% Total Carbohydrate 15g 5% Total Sugars 11g Protein 1g Calcium 18mg 1% Iron 0.3mg 2% Potassium 21mg 0% Folate, total 10.6mcg Vitamin B-12 0.1mcg *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.