Skip to Content
Five ingredients are all it takes to make a clone of the famous Paula Deen’s Ooey Gooey Butter Cake that you will find at Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen.
When I dined at Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen in Pigeon Forge, I tried the Queen of Southern Cooking’s Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. You might know it by some of its other names, such as Chess Cake, Chess Squares, or Cream Cheese Squares.
Before leaving the store, I purchased a box of the mix so that I could make a batch at home and see how it compared to the Cream Cheese Squares that my husband has been making for years.
Slice of Ooey Gooey Butter Cake at Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
The box indicates that it is 20 ounces, but I wanted to know how much each of the packets weighed so I placed them individually on my kitchen scale. The Gooey Filling Mix weighed 8 ounces and the Ooey Cake Mix was 12 ounces.
I made them following the directions on the box and this is how they turned out:
They look pretty good, don’t they?
The funny thing, though, is that they didn’t look like the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake that I had at the restaurant. (See the 2nd picture above in this post.)
To me, the restaurant’s version was nearly identical to the recipe for Cream Cheese Squares. To prove my point, I made a batch – see below.
I went one step further and decided to conduct a little taste test among friends. Granted, they did not dine with us at Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen and had not tried either recipe before the taste test.
While they enjoyed both, the winner of the taste test ended up being the boxed mix of Paula Deen’s Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. I admit to being a little disappointed, hoping that the Cream Cheese Square would be the winner.
I decided to figure out how to recreate the box mix version. Since I knew the weight of the ingredients in the box of Paula’s cake mix, I felt confident that it would be easy to make using a regular cake mix that one could pick up at most grocery stores.
Being a “butter cake,” I purchased a box of Duncan Hines Butter Golden cake mix. Since there were more than 12 ounces in the mix, I used my kitchen scale to figure out the unsifted volume to use. It came out to approximately 2.25 cups of cake mix.
The amount of powdered sugar in the original was 8 ounces. The weighted, unsifted volume on my scale came out to approximately 1 3/4 cups. I followed the directions on the box of Paula’s mix using Duncan Hines mix and they turned out very much like Paula Deen’s Ooey Gooey Butter Cake (from the box, not the restaurant).
While the clone version of the box of Ooey Gooey Butter Cake is good, I think the recipe for cream cheese squares is a near-perfect match of the same dessert served in Paula Deen’s restaurants.
How To Make Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
For this cream cheese cake recipe that tastes like Paula Deen’s Ooey Gooey Buttercake, you need the following ingredients:
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 16 ounces powdered sugar
To make it, start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
Place the cake mix, 1 egg, and the butter into bowl of mixer and beat for 1 minute until it becomes a soft dough. Spread the mixture evenly over bottom baking dish.
Combine the remaining eggs, cream cheese, and powder sugar in mixer bowl and beat until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture over cake batter and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
Allow to cool completely before cutting.
Paula Deen’s Ooey Gooey Butter Cake (Clone)
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1 stick butter
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 16 ounces powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Place cake mix, 1 egg, and stick of butter (melted) into bowl of mixer and beat for 1 minute until it becomes a soft dough.
- Spread mixture evenly over bottom baking dish.
- Combine remaining eggs, cream cheese, and powder sugar in mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
- Spread cream cheese mixture over cake batter and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Warning: These treats are loaded with sugar and are highly addictive.
Here’s a little taste of Pigeon Forge:
- Dolly Parton’s Stampede – This is the epitome of dinner and a show. In addition to the entertaining being top-notch, the food is delicious!
- Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen in Pigeon Forge – Take a peek at Paula’s namesake restaurant in Pigeon Forge.
Other delicious desserts you will want to sink your teeth into:
- Easy Peach Cobbler – With a few simple ingredients, you can make this dessert that tastes like summer in a bowl.
- Mini S’mores Pies – These little pies are not only adorable but also delicious! There’s no need for a campfire to make these cuties.
Teresa
Monday 18th of January 2021
Hey Lynda I really would like to have the recipe for your cream cheese squares you were comparing the ooey gooey butter cake to I've had the ooey gooey butter cake from the bakery section in Wal-Mart and it is addictive oh so good but the cream cheese squares sounds good too thanks for sharing!!
Lynda
Monday 18th of January 2021
This recipe for Ooey Gooey Butter Cake is the same recipe for Cream Cheese Squares. I hope you enjoy it!
Yvonne
Monday 30th of November 2020
Can I reduce the amount of sugar? Too sweet.
Lynda
Monday 30th of November 2020
I really don't know. If you do reduce the amount of sugar, please come back and let me know how it turned out.
L
Tuesday 24th of November 2020
Does this Ooey gooey butter cake need to be refrigerated?
Lynda
Wednesday 25th of November 2020
I am not sure. We have never had it last long enough to find out. Seriously, though, I would imagine that it should be okay unrefrigerated for a day or two at least.
According to food.com, "...Cake may be stored, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. It may be frozen for up to 6 months."
Margaret M.
Wednesday 4th of November 2020
I made this today and it came out perfect. It was Paula's recipe and there was a stick of butter in the batter and in the topping. It is rich but oh so yummy! :)
Wendi
Thursday 29th of October 2020
Just looked it up... These are Chess Bars, or Chess Squares, or Chess Cake. There's a lot of names for them. They're definitely good and a lot of people really like them.
Paula Deen's version calls for another stick of butter in the batter. Try it out. I've had both and Paula's Gooey Butter Cake is next level. Then you can write another blog post about it. :) I apologize for my earlier comment. I read back over it and it seemed a bit mean. I didn't intend it that way. Tone is hard to convey in text.
I first encountered what Paula calls Gooey Butter Cake in a restaurant (they call them ooey gooey butter bars, which I like better because they're more bar then cake when sliced) and then went looking for the recipe. I've been making the Paula Deen recipe ever since, which has been a pretty long time. I only make them if I'm taking the to an event or have company coming over because my husband can eat a whole tray of them and that just isn't a good idea for anyone. lol But they're a great special occasion dessert!
If you haven't already, I also highly recommend Paula Deen's "Not Yo Mamma's Banana Pudding". I think that's a silly name, but the recipe is undeniably delicious. I'm a big banana pudding fan and couldn't pick a favorite, but that one is unlike any other banana pudding I've ever had. And, because it's Paula, I'm sure you know it's decadent and another one of those "take to a potluck" or "make when guests a coming over" or "for the love of all that's good don't make this at home except on very special occasions". lol