The Murky Origins Of Regional Butter Cake Styles

What’s Cooking America states that the cake itself is said to have originated by a St. Louis-based German baker in the 1930s. The baker was aiming to make a coffee cake and haphazardly wound up with a gooey butter cake. Another story notes that a different St. Louis resident developed the cake — and entirely intentionally. And those are only two of the stories: there is a slew of “origin” stories hailing from St. Louis by many people who swear that their relatives were indeed the true inventors of the iconic cake. 

Kentucky butter cake is essentially a pound cake made with buttermilk, vanilla, and heaps of butter. A St. Louis style cake is a bit different, so that’s another way that one might also differentiate by the style of cake.

According to Fodors, the “true” St. Louis gooey butter cake is described as follows: “In its traditional form, the local delicacy combines a cookie-like bottom layer of sweetened yeast dough or cake mix, with a gooey middles section of butter, sugar, and eggs. A crunchy crust finishes it off, often with a dusting of powdered sugar. It’s an unusual texture with a sweet, rich taste, similar to creme brulee or a super gooey brownie without the chocolate.” Delicious!