Lemon Chess Gooey Butter Cake

Recipe courtesy of Ann Byrn's The Cake Mix Doctor (Workman, 2000)

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (6)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(6)

Cook Time:
45 min
Level:
--
Yield:
20 servings

Times:

Prep: 15 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 45 min
Total:: 1 hr 0 min

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Ingredients

Crust:

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
1 large egg

Filling:

2 large lemons
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
2 tablespoons white or yellow cornmeal
3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set aside an ungreased 9- by 13-inch pan.

For the crust, place the cake mix, melted butter, and egg in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for two minutes. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The batter should come together in a ball. With your fingertips, pat the batter evenly over the bottom of the pan, smoothing it out with your fingers until the top is smooth. Set the pan aside.

For the filling, rinse and dry the lemons well. Grate the zest from the lemons and set aside; you should have about 2 teaspoons. Cut the lemons in half, and squeeze into a small bowl; you should have about 6 tablespoons. Set the juice aside.

Place the cream cheese in the same mixing bowl that was used to make the crust, and with the same beaters (no need to clean either) blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the lemon juice, lemon zest, eggs, melted butter, and cornmeal and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar. Beat on medium speed until the sugar is well incorporated, 1 minute more. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with the rubber spatula so that the filling covers the entire surface and reaches the sides of the pan. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it is well browned but the center still jiggles when you shake the pan, 45 to 47 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool, 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze it, wrapped in foil, for up to 6months. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Lemon Chess Gooey Butter Cake
Mari Columbia Heights, MN 01-01-2008
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One of the best there is
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I can't eat wheat, so I can't tell you personally how it tasted, but I can tell you that my daughter-in-law, my daughter, my... sons, and husband all love the lemon butter cake. I make the recipe as printed, except that I don't add the cornmeal, and I use slightly more than 1/3 cup of lemon juice. I don't follow most recipes exactly, I make them the way my family likes them, and they like lemon recipes to be tart, but not mouth puckering tart. I make all the gooey butter cakes, but this and the pumpkin are the clear winners in my family. This recipe is rich, easy, and will win you endless accolades. They are rich, so you might want to take a smaller slice if you can!Read more
recipe Lemon Chess Gooey Butter Cake
Julie Newton, TX 08-16-2006
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Yum!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

This is my first gooey butter cake and we really liked it. I used a little extra lemon juice and they were deliciously tart.... My favorite part was the chewy edges!!! Yum! I have to admit I didn't care for the cornmeal but it didn't deter from the flavor!! I will make this again! And I will try other flavors too!Read more
recipe Lemon Chess Gooey Butter Cake
Meredith San Diego, CA 11-18-2005
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kind of 'blah'
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

I gave this recipe a 2 star because everyone else had to have overrated this! It is simply "ok". If I were to rename this... recipe, I would call it "Greasy Lemon Bars". Thats basically all it was. All of the gooey butter cakes seem to get high ratings, but this was my first experience with a gooey butter cake, maybe I should try the chocolate version. I couldn't tell if the lemon just didn't agree with me, or if I just don't like the greasy crust. BTW, I love Paula Deen, and I know she loves these cakes, so I am willing to try it again, with a different flavor. Also, I think it would be better to use some other thickening agent instead of the corn meal, you can actually feel the little granules of corn meal in your teeth after you've eaten a peice of this cake. Maybe a little flour or arrowroot or cornstarch would leave a nicer texture.Read more
recipe Lemon Chess Gooey Butter Cake
J Greensburg, KS 06-09-2005
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Very Good
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I used juice from a can of mandaran oranges instead of lemon and orange peel. I will definitely be trying the chocolate... version of this.Read more
recipe Lemon Chess Gooey Butter Cake
VICKI olathe, KS 03-21-2005
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best lemon filling ever
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This is more like a lemon bar than a cake, but it outstanding. So delicious. I didn't have cornmeal on hand, so I used... flour. I also didn't realize I needed to sift the powdered sugar. No harm done there, either. This was the best lemon desert I have ever had. So delicious. Very hard to walk away from!Read more
recipe Lemon Chess Gooey Butter Cake
KIMBERLY Glendale, AZ 07-09-2004
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MMMMMM!!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

While Paula Dean's double chocolate version of this cake is the hands-down favorite in our household, this is very, very... good. The recipe went home with everyone at our luncheon today. When I make it again, I'm going to add more zest or juice to make it just a touch more tart.Read more