Gooey Butter Cake

There is nothing more satisfying than spending time baking something yummy and filling for my family and friends, especially when it is something as yummy as this gooey butter cake.  I adore cooking for others. Especially if it puts a smile on people’s faces. I’ll happily get involved with catering for other people’s events but only on the condition, others stay out of my kitchen. I am not a fan of other people ‘meddling’ when I’m cooking. Cook do the washing up, oh yes please, but never meddle in the cooking part.

I hadn’t spent an afternoon cooking due to our house move for quite a while and it was just what I was craving.

I gathered the ingredients together and in an instant, my little helper (daughter) had arrived. It doesn’t take her long to appear if she thinks there is some form of baking going on. Baking with my kids makes me even happier and luckily both of them enjoy cooking.

Gooey butter cakes are a none traditional tray bake. The base is a bread dough and the top half is s very buttery cake. This is not a cake for someone on a low fat diet. The word butter in the name is a bit of an understatement for these yummy little bites. The slices are rich and this isn’t a cake you sit and eat in one sitting. For me, that’s great as usually I bake, I blink and the kids have eaten it all. I know with this cake they’ll be another slice for the next day.

I’ll start by saying this gooey butter cake is not one you can whip up in 10 minutes. It takes a few hours but sometimes it good to take time and create yummy goodness.

Ingredients

For the dough base

• 55ml milk
• 55ml water
• 50g unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 tsp dried yeast
• 265g plain flour
• 50g caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg

For the butter cake topping

• 310g unsalted butter
• 160ml condensed milk
• 160g golden syrup
• 2 eggs
• 90g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons vanila extract
• pinch of salt

Icing sugar to decorate

Method

The cake is made in two parts. To make the dough base:

• Preheat oven at 175.
• Grease and flour a 23 x 32 cm loose bottomed tin.
• In a saucepan gently heat milk, water and butter. Then add the yeast.
• In a separate bowl mix together the flour, sugar and salt.  Add the liquid mix after 10 minutes.
• Add the egg and mix well.
• Using an electric mixer, preferably with a dough hook mix for a couple of minutes.
• Scrap the dough down the bowl and mix for a further 10 minutes.
• Push the dough in to the baking tin.
• Place somewhere warm whilst you prepare the butter cake mix.

Now to make the butter cake topping you need to:

• Using an electric whisk beat the butter for 5 minutes until soft and fluffy
• Add half of the condensed milk and whisk for a further 5 minutes.
• Add the golden syrup and mix well
• Add the salt to the flour
• Add the egg and flour/salt mix a bit at a time
• Mix in the remaining condensed milk and vanilla extract
• Whisk until you have a light and fluffy batter
• Pour over the dough base and cook for 30 minutes
• The cake batter will still be a little spongy to the touch.  Don’t worry it will stiffen up once cooled.
• Allow to cool then cut into squares
• Dust with icing sugar

What I have found with this cake is it tastes best if left for 12/24 hours as the butter in the topping soaks into the dough. This cake should never be eaten warm. Sometimes s slight less warm co cake can taste so much better than a cooled cupcake but not with this cake. The topping can be greasy due to the amount of butter used so take my advice and be patient, you won’t regret waiting with this slice of goodness.