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This Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake starts with a box of yellow cake mix and ends with a rich, spiced pumpkin cream cheese layer that stays soft and gooey in the middle. Five minutes of prep, one 13×9 pan, and it feeds a crowd. It’s the fall version of my Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, and if you love cake-mix desserts like my Pumpkin Dump Cake, this one belongs on your Thanksgiving table.
Why This Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Works
- ✅ Cake mix does the hard part. The crust is yellow cake mix, an egg and melted butter pressed into the pan. No measuring flour, no mixer needed for the base.
- ✅ A gooey center on purpose. You pull it while the middle still jiggles. That soft, almost pumpkin-pie layer over a buttery crust is the whole point.
- ✅ Feeds twelve from one pan. Perfect for potlucks, tailgates and Thanksgiving, and it travels well in the pan it’s baked in.
One of my favorite desserts includes a boxed cake mix and lots of butter: my Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. While I’m a fan of any boxed cake mix hack, from Chocolate Poke Cake to Peach Dump Cake, when it comes to fall desserts this one can’t be beat. Normally it’s filled with butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar, but adding a can of pumpkin and some pumpkin pie spice takes it to a whole new level.
A Note from Kasey
I look forward to every fall when it’s time to pull out that can of pumpkin and a box of cake mix and make this Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake. It’s one of my favorite desserts, and I’ve been making it for years. It started with one of my all-time favorites, Paula Deen. Watching Paula make her gooey butter cake, and seeing how easy and delicious it was, made me want to make it for my family, and now I’m sharing it with you.
I’ve been sharing easy family recipes here on All Things Mamma since 2009, and this is one that has never left the fall rotation. One reader made it for a pumpkin carving party and said it best: “It was a huge hit. Makes a big pan which helps for a big crowd. You won’t be sorry making this.”
Table of Contents
- Why This Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Works
- A Note from Kasey
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- Variations
- How to Make Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
- How Do You Know When Gooey Butter Cake Is Done?
- Serving Suggestions
- How to Store Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
- Kasey’s Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Pumpkin Desserts
- Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
See the recipe card below for exact amounts.
For the crust
- Yellow cake mix – Any brand. Butter-recipe yellow works too; spice cake mix makes it extra fall-flavored. (More ideas in my 10 Tricks to Make a Box Cake Mix Taste Homemade.)
- Egg – One, to bind the crust.
- Butter – Melted. Salted or unsalted both work here.
For the filling
- Pumpkin puree – One 15 oz can of plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which is already sweetened and spiced. It’s also the key ingredient in my Pumpkin Bread Pudding.
- Cream cheese – One 8 oz block, softened. Use the brick, not the tub kind.
- Eggs – Three, room temperature if you can.
- Vanilla extract – Pure vanilla is best.
- Butter – Melted. I like unsalted for the filling.
- Powdered sugar – A full 16 oz box. It’s what sets the filling, so don’t cut it much (see the FAQ).
- Pumpkin pie spice – Homemade pumpkin pie spice or store-bought.
Variations
- Spice cake crust: swap the yellow cake mix for spice cake mix.
- Pecan topping: scatter chopped toasted pecans over the filling before baking. Their earthy flavor is perfect with pumpkin.
- Maple whipped cream: flavor your homemade whipped cream with a little maple extract, cinnamon or nutmeg.
- Other cake mix flavors: you can, but it changes the flavor of the cake. Have fun with it and let me know what you think.
How to Make Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
- Make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 13×9 pan. Combine the cake mix, egg and melted butter with an electric mixer, then press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan.
- Beat the filling. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth with no lumps of cream cheese. Beat in the eggs, vanilla and melted butter.
- Add the sugar and spice. Mix in the powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice until smooth, then spread the filling over the crust.
- Bake. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. The edges should be set and lightly browned, and the center should still jiggle a little. Don’t overbake; the gooey middle is the point. Cool before cutting into squares, and serve with whipped cream.
How Do You Know When Gooey Butter Cake Is Done?
Don’t wait for a clean toothpick; you’ll overbake it. Look for edges that are set and golden and a center that still wobbles slightly when you nudge the pan. It firms up as it cools and sets fully in the fridge. If the whole top is puffed and cracked, it went a few minutes too long; it’ll still taste great, just less gooey.
Serving Suggestions
Serve it in squares with a dollop of whipped cream and a mug of homemade pumpkin spice latte. It’s easy to carry to fall cookouts and potlucks, and it holds its own on the Thanksgiving dessert table next to Pumpkin Coffee Cake, Pumpkin Cobbler and Kentucky Butter Cake.
How to Store Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
It’s fine on the counter, covered, the day you bake it. After that, because the filling is cream cheese and eggs, cover the pan or move slices to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Let slices sit out for 20 to 30 minutes before serving so the center softens back up. To freeze: wrap the cooled cake well in the pan, or freeze individual squares in an airtight container, for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Kasey’s Tips
- Soften the cream cheese all the way so the filling beats smooth. Cold cream cheese leaves white flecks.
- Metal pans bake a little faster than glass or ceramic. Start checking at 40 minutes in metal, closer to 50 in glass.
- Cool it before you cut it. Warm, it’s more like a pumpkin pudding cake. Chilled, it cuts into clean squares.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cream cheese. Beaten with butter and powdered sugar, it makes the filling set soft and creamy instead of cakey. This version adds a can of pumpkin to that filling.
Same cake, two names. Ooey gooey butter cake is just the fun way to say it, and it is what my original Ooey Gooey Butter Cake is called.
Yes. Here the cake mix makes the crust and the pumpkin goes in the cream cheese filling. For a pumpkin cake from a mix, try my Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes, which add canned pumpkin straight to spice cake mix.
Gooey butter cake is a St. Louis original. The story goes that a German baker in the 1930s mixed up the proportions in a coffee cake and the gooey butter cake was born.
I have not tried it with less. The powdered sugar is not only for sweetness; it is what thickens the cream cheese filling so it sets, so cutting it a lot will likely leave the center loose. If you want to experiment, reduce it by a cup at most and expect a softer, more custardy result.
Yes, for up to 3 months. Wrap it well in the pan, or freeze squares in an airtight container, and thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Pumpkin Desserts
Quick & Easy Dessert Recipes
Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe
All Recipes
Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts
All Recipes
Pumpkin Cookies
Looking for more fall baking? Browse The Best Fall Dessert Recipes, bake Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls or Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread, or make a batch of Roasted Pumpkin Seeds while the oven is on.
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Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients
- Cake
- 1 box package yellow cake mix
- 1 egg
- 8 tablespoons butter melted
- Filling
- 1 15- ounce can of pumpkin
- 1 8- ounce package cream cheese softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 16- ounce box powdered sugar
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13×9-inch baking pan.
- Prepare the filling.In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.
- Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together until combined.
- Add the powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice – mixing well.
- Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Do not over bake as the center should be a little gooey.
- Serve with whipped cream.
Video
Notes
- Use plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Soften the cream cheese (brick, not tub) so the filling beats smooth.
- Don’t overbake. Edges set and lightly browned, center still jiggles a little. Metal pans bake faster than glass; start checking at 40 minutes.
- Cool before cutting for clean squares.
- Storage: Fine on the counter the day it’s baked; after that, cover and refrigerate up to 5 days. Freeze up to 3 months.
Would this set without the powdered sugar? I have fibromyalgia and can’t have much sugar plus, I don’t like a lot sugar in my dessert.