Gooey Toffee Butter Cake

All hail the Fairy Fat Mother because she is a Goddess among us. Paula Deens' Pineapple Gooey Butter Cake was excellent so I expected good things from this version, but it was even better than I could have hoped for. I took it to a party on the 4th of July and overheard someone after they had tasted them say "Oh My God, these are really good"...and she took a second piece. I'd say that was a good endorsement. Plus I got big thumbs up from The  Right Hand Woman, The Men Behind the Wheel, and my mom!  Mr. L was also smitten by them and almost didn't let me take them to the party (they are awesome warm out of the oven). Seriously, these are so easy to make and so yummy (and so fattening!). If you like toffee stuff at all, I suggest you try these. The recipe came out of the Wednesday food section of the San Jose Mercury News on June 27th.

Gooey Toffee Butter Cake

For Base:
1 (18 1/4 -ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 large egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup almond toffee bits or chocolate toffee bits (you can use finely crushed chocolate toffee bars)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan.
Combine cake mix, egg and 1/2 cup melted butter and beat well with an electric mixer. Pat into the bottom of the prepared pan and set aside. (The dough will be stiff, like soft Play-Doh.)
Beat cream cheese in the same bowl until smooth. (You don't have to clean the bowl and beaters first.) Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Dump in the confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed to low and slowly pour in 1/2 cup melted butter. Fold in toffee bits.
Pour onto the cake base and spread evenly. Bake 40 to 50 minutes. (The center should still be a little gooey.)
Remove from oven and cool completely. Cut into small squares. Makes 2 dozen squares.

Note: I used Heath Toffee bits...careful...you will have some left over and you will find they it is easy to take a spoon and eat the bits right out of the bag.

Note: Unlike the pineapple version, these have a semi-hard top crust so be careful when cutting them. My top actually cracked a bit before I took it out of the oven.

Comments

[Roz]

These were to die for!

[Jan]

All I can say its "OMG those look awesome!"

[Krista Lund]

another yummy lokoing recipe, rene! i am going to be busy come july 27 (my last day of work!)

[Lisa]

Rene, I'm going to have to stop reading your blog...you will be the death of any WW will power I may muster. Toffee and gooey and butter in the same cake? Evil incarnate.

[Lara]

I can totally use that saying here: "Yummy to my tummy!" Gotta try these sometime.