Gluten Free St Louis Gooey Butter Cake

During college, I made a lot of friends who are St Louis natives, who decided that they needed to show me the true cuisine of St Louis.  As a result, I was exposed to St Louis staples right from the beginning…fried ravioli, Ted Drewes frozen custard, food from “The Hill”, provel cheese/Imo’s Pizza (absolutely disgusting…sorry guys!), etc.  But my favorite item gleaned from St Louis’ food culture was the Gooey Butter Cake.

The Gooey Butter Cake is something that is hardly known outside of the St Louis or Midwest region and I didn’t quite understand the obsession over upon first hearing about it.  Thankfully a friend of mine’s Mom gave me her favorite recipe for this delightful creation and I set out to make it to see what all the fuss was about.

I was hooked with my first bite of this ethereal cake… It is unlike any other cake I’ve ever had.  So when the time came to plan a Gluten Free Thanksgiving, I knew this had to be on the dessert table and quickly set out to come up with a recipe.

The resulting cake is identical to the gluten containing version–a crisp shortbread-like crust, a layer of butter goo, and a heavy coating of powdered sugar.  It was a big hit with my family and friends (who love the original!) and I hope it will be a hit for yours as well!

Gluten-Free St Louis Gooey Butter Cake

CRUST:
1/4 cup white rice flour

1/4 cup oat flour (make sure it’s gluten free!)

1/4 cup almond meal

2 1/2 tablespoons tapioca flour

1 1/2 tablespoons potato starch

1/4 tsp xantham gum

3 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup butter

FILLING:

1 1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter

1 egg

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/6 cup almond meal

3 tablespoons potato starch

2 tablespoons tapioca flour

1/4 tsp xantham gum

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

powdered sugar

CRUST:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Sift the flours together in a mixing bowl.  Stir in the sugar. Cut the butter into the flour/sugar mix until it looks like small peas and it starts to cling.  Grease a 9×9 baking pan and press the mixture onto the bottom of the pan (you can push it up the sides, but I just like the crust to stay on the bottom).  Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes–until it browns only slightly. Cool the crust.

FILLING:
Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer until fluffy and white.  While the butter is creaming, sift together your flours into a medium sized bowl. Add the egg in and mix until combined. Alternate adding the flour mixture and evaporated milk (ie flours, milk, flours, milk, flours) and mix after each addition.  Mix in the corn syrup and vanilla and beat until well combined.  Pour the filling onto the cooled crust.  Liberally cover with powdered sugar and bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake is nearly set.  Trust me on this one, you do not want to overbake your cake!  Cool and serve!Sorry about the lackluster pictures–they do not do these treats justice!  I have to admit–I was so caught up in Thanksgiving madness that I did not take a picture of the whole cake…sorry! 😦