Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking for a good fall dessert recipe to take to my sorority reunion when my sister recommended Paula Dean's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake. She had made it on multiple occasions & it was a hit every time! Her only warning: Be sure that none of it is left over. You won't be able resist eating the rest & you'll gain 10 lbs. I love Paula Dean & a lot of her recipes sound divine, but I don't make many of them because of the one thing Paula is known for: butter. Don't get me wrong. I love butter. But take the first 4 letters of that word & you'll know where it winds up!

But every once in a while, you've gotta splurge & make the good stuff. So I did. And my sister was right, it's good. Unfortunately, I left the cake ON MY COUNTER AT HOME when I left for the reunion! Ugh! I was so mad at myself.

Anyway...the cake turned out very tasty & was quite simple to make. If you're looking for a rich dessert that will be a hit at a party, I'd recommend this one.


Ingredients

Cake:

* 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
* 1 egg
* 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
* 3 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 8 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon nutmeg


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer.


(It will look like this when combined)


3. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.


4. To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.


5. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together.


6. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well.


7. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter.


8. Bake for 1 hour **(see note below)**. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.


Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Photo: foodnetwork.com

My Tid-Bits:

* The original recipe says to bake this for 40 to 50 minutes. By 50 minutes, it was not even close to being done. I think I wound up baking it for close to 1 hr 15 minutes. Start checking the cake at about 1 hr & keep an eye on it until it has the right consistency. It should wiggle in the middle a bit, but not be liquidy. Think cheese cake.

* Paula also offers several variations on this cake:

For a Pineapple Gooey Cake: Instead of the pumpkin, add a drained 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

For a Banana Gooey Cake: Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

For a Peanut Butter Gooey Cake: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter to the cream cheese filling instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.