Blueberry Lemon Gooey Butter Cake
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What’s not to love about a good Gooey Butter Cake, especially when it’s made with zesty lemon and juicy blueberries? This melt-in-your-mouth gooey butter cake recipe is made from scratch without using any cake mix. I created a very well balanced recipe that is not overly sweet, something I know not many people love about this cake. It consists of a crumbly cake as the base layer and a gooey cream cheese layer on top. You only need the most basic baking ingredients and 1 hour to make it. It’s a total crowd pleaser that everyone will love!
If I would have made this gooey butter cake back in high school, I can assure you I would have been the most popular girl back then, saving me from many insecurities growing up, lol! But I can make this cake now and that’s my superpower, and it can be yours as well. I promise you’ll be the most popular person around! Not that you need that now as a grown up, of course, but al lil’ extra love never hurts anyone, right? : )
Seriously, this gooey butter cake is totally addictive. The bottom layer is made with a very basic batter of flour, eggs, butter and sugar. It’s not a sugar cookie but a dense and crumbly cake. You top that with a mixture of cream cheese, eggs and powdered sugar so it barely sets, creating that gooey buttery texture. You can eat it warm or cold. It doesn't matter! It’s that good!
You can add different flavor combinations without affecting too much the recipe, like using almond extract instead of vanilla and covering the cake with almonds, or adding spices to the dry ingredients in the cake batter. I wanted a lemon and blueberries gooey butter cake, that’s why I added plenty of lemon zest to both the cake layer and the cream cheese layer for that beautiful tangy contrast, and juicy blueberries between those two layers. Since the cake is pretty dense it would have been difficult to incorporate the blueberries there, but they are perfectly cooked in the middle of the cake.
Other popular recipes use cake mix to make the cake layer. But seriously friends, how easy is to combine butter, flour, sugar and lemon zest? You would probably spend the same amount of time making the pre-made cake mix. I prefer to control the proportions, quality of ingredients and flavors of the batter to be honest, and the result is so much more satisfying!
I know other versions of this cake may end up way too sweet because of the heavy amount of confectioner’s sugar in the top layer. But that amount of confectioner’s sugar is what helps in creating that gooeyness, it helps the mixture to retain moisture. What I did was to reduce the amount of confectioner’s sugar and replaced it with some cornstarch. That cornstarch helps in retaining moisture and achieving that amazing gooey texture we all love, without ending up with an overly sweet cake.
Here are some notes for when making this easy cake:
Making a Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake
Making this cake is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Start by gently melting about 6 tablespoons of the butter, then add the remaining two. This is to prevent the butter to become too thin or oily. You want a thick bright yellow liquid.
Have a baking pan greased with plenty of butter, I used a 9” round porcelain dish but you can use a 9” springform pan or just a regular cake pan.
Rub the lemon zest with the sugar to infuse it. Let it rest while you prepare everything else.
Mix the cake batter by hand, you don’t need a mixer here!
Then mix up the cream cheese layer, also by hand. Just make sure the cream cheese if very soft so you can smear it and make it creamy. If needed, heat in the microwave for 15 seconds in medium power.
Spread the cake batter on the baking dish. Here’s is the tricky part! You need to make sure there aren’t large holes on the surface of the batter, if so the cream cheese mixture will drip all the way down to the bottom. Also, you need to push the batter a bit high in the edge, creating a border. This is to make sure the creamy cream cheese layer stays inside.
Toss the blueberries in a single layer and pour the cream cheese mixture on top. Blueberries of course are optional here.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Your cues for doneness are bubbles in the middle and a thin dark yellow crust on top.The toothpick test won’t work here because the top layer will be too gooey and the toothpick will come out wet.
I know the worst part is waiting, but to achieve the best possible texture for this cake it needs to cool down, be chilled and then let it come down to room temperature. But everything should happen in 2 hours, so not much waiting!
This cake can be made a few days in advance. Trust me it gets better with time!
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My round scalloped white baking dish.
A beautiful set for white porcelain mixing bowls.
You’ll need both, a hand whisk and a small silicon spatula.
3 recipes I think you’ll love if you’re loving this one:
Clafoutis with Blueberries and Lemon
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When you bring a chocolate cake for dessert and people ignore it just to eat the leftovers for this cake, you know it’s really a good one!! I can’t wait to see your creations and how much your people love it too! So please bake, snap, eat, clean your sticky fingers and tag me in Instagram (@devamadeo), TikTok (@DevAmadeo) or Facebook (@DevAmadeo). Happy baking!
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Blueberry Lemon Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients
◯ Butter - 8 TBSP, ½ cup, 114g
◯ Natural granulated sugar - ¾ cup, 150g
◯ Lemon zest - 2 TBSP
◯ Large egg - 2 (1 for the top layer and the second the the bottom layer)
◯ Vanilla - 1 Tsp, 4g
◯ Fine sea salt - ¼ Tsp
◯ All-purpose flour, preferably unbleached - 1 ⅓ cup, 175g
◯ Baking powder - 1 Tsp, 5g
◯ Cream cheese, full fat, at room temperature - 8 oz, 226g
◯ Confectioner’s sugar - 2 ½, 315g
◯ Corn starch - 2 ½ TBSP, 18g
◯ Lemon juice - 2 TBSP/29g
◯ Lemon zest - 1 TBSP
◯ Large egg - 1
◯ Blueberries, fresh or frozen - ¾ cup, 142g
Details
Yield:
A 9” cake
Total time:
2 to 3 hours, including chilling time
Active time: 20 minutes to make the mix
Baking time:
25 - 30 minutes
Equipment:
9” baking dish or cake pan, hand whisk and silicon spatula
Steps
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease with butter or baking spray or line with a parchment paper a 9” baking dish.
Gently melt about 6 tablespoons of the butter. Do not let it boil. As soon as the butter has been melted, add the remaining 2 tablespoons and swirl until most of that has melted. Set aside to cool down.
Rub the ¾ cup/150g of sugar with the 2 tablespoon of lemon zest.
In a medium bowl, mix the egg with the sugar-lemon zest with a hand whisk until the mixture looks pale and frothy and has almost double in volume. In a thin drizzle, pour the melted butter while still whisking. Add the 1 teaspoon/4 grams of vanilla and the ¼ teaspoon of salt and mix.
Add the 1 ⅓ cup/175g of flour and the teaspoon/5 g of baking powder. Gently mix until a pasty and crumbly mixture has formed. Do not over mix.
In a bowl smear the softened 8 ounces/226g of cream cheese until pretty spreadable. Add the 2 ½ cup/315g of confectioner’s sugar and the 2 ½/18g of corn starch and mix until roughly combined. With a hand whisk, mix the 2 tablespoons/29g of lemon juice and the tablespoon of lemon zest. Add the egg and mix once more until very smooth and no large lumps of cream cheese are visible.
Using a wooden spoon, spread the cake batter on the greased baking dish. Press it down making sure there aren’t openings through the dough. Press it on the borders to create an edge. Add the blueberries and spread them out. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top, making sure it stays inside the edges of the cake batter.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until top looks very bubbly and a bit golden brown.The toothpick test won’t function here because the top will be super gooey and the toothpick will come out wet.
Let the cake cool down for 20 to 30 minutes and then chill uncovered for 1 to 2 hours to allow the cream cheese layer to set. Let it loose the chill for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. I know this sounds like a lot of waiting, but trust me this will create the ideal texture.
Cake can be made a few days in advance. Store covered in the fridge and allow to come down to room temperature before serving.
