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    Gooey Butter Carrot Cake

    March 3, 2021 By Meagan Fikes 2 Comments

    Two images of gooey butter carrot cake joined at their top/bottom with the recipe title, "gluten free | dairy free", and "eat something delicious displayed on the image.
    Up close side view of a square slice of gooey butter cake on a white plate. Flowers and a white cup with lid are in the background.

    Some links on this site are affiliate links which means that if you make a purchase at one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Additionally, I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. I only link to products and services I personally recommend and believe will benefit my readers. These links help to cover some of my blogging expenses. I appreciate your support!


    Eat Something Delicious turns seven years old today and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than by making my fifth variation of gooey butter cake. Or rather - I can't think of a better excuse to make gooey butter cake than to celebrate my blog's "birthday". Something like that.

    Overhead of a 9x13 metal pan of gooey butter cake sprinkled with raisins.

    Honestly, I can't even believe I made that many. At this rate, these will probably have their own category on my blog. Or not. I mean... how often am I posting, every few months now? Fun fact: posting more to the blog was the only new year's resolution I made for 2021. My work hours doubled last year and it has made doing anything like this near impossible. However, maintaining this site is so incredibly expensive that I can't justify keeping it online if I'm not taking time to enjoy using it. (Why did I have to pick an expensive hobby?!) The good news is, I could never bear to part with my site so it's here to stay for now - static or not. The other good news is I have three more recipes already made and photographed that I plan on sharing when I get the time. One of them I made eight months ago. Whoops.

    A square slice of gooey butter cake on a gray floral bordered white plate. Background shows part of a butter cup, pink and yellow flowers, and the baking pan of cake.

    Now that I've made so many gooey butter cakes, I'm thinking I have a few tricks to improve some of my previous recipes. They're all great as-is but I enjoy experimenting either way. Revisions are also a good opportunity to improve photos that I'm not happy with. Oh and an opportunity to eat more dessert of course. I think you know where most of my motivation for recipe re-dos comes from.

    A 9x13 metal pan of gooey butter cake, pink and yellow flowers, and sugar and butter cups all in front of a gray background.

    If you're unfamiliar with them, gooey butter cake has a soft bottom layer made from cake mix, egg, and butter while the top is.....gooey? I have a hard time describing it. It has cream cheese and butter (in this case, dairy free), eggs, vanilla, and no shortage of powdered sugar. After baking, it gets a subtle flaky crust on top, similar to a brownie.

    Up close, side view of the gooey butter cake with on a white plate.

    Anyways, what I'm trying to get at is that my favorite gooey butter cake variations keep that gooey top layer as close to the original as possible. This recipe does that. The yellow cake mix gets swapped out for spice cake and carrots and raisins are mixed into that. The gooey layer is the same as the original except that I sprinkle some cinnamon and raisins on the very top. No change in texture though.

    Overhead view of a square of gooey butter cake atop a gray floral bordered white plate all on a pink and sage floral placemat. Flowers, a partially full baking dish, and a white metal cup with lid are also visible.

    That's why I'm thinking of modifying my pumpkin pie gooey butter cake recipe. It has pumpkin mixed into the gooey layer and the texture changes to midway between gooey butter cake and pumpkin pie. I know a lot of people loved that one but I'm ready to change that top layer and work in the pumpkin a different way.

    Here are all the other gooey butter cake variations if you want to try one:

    Dairy Free Gooey Butter Cake | A classic St. Louis dessert made dairy free and gluten free. Yellow cake is covered in a sweet and creamy "gooey" layer with a perfectly flaky top. | eatsomethingdelicious.com
    Original Gooey Butter Cake
    Pumpkin Pie Gooey Butter Cake | A fall version of the classic St. Louis dessert, this tastes like the perfect combination of pumpkin pie and gooey butter cake. Dairy free and gluten free. | eatsomethingdelicious.com
    Pumpkin Pie Gooey Butter Cake
    Chocolate Sunbutter Gooey Butter Cake | Chocolate flavored gooey butter cake with a thick layer of sunbutter (or peanut butter!) in the middle. Free from dairy, gluten, grains, and soy. | eatsomethingdelicious.com
    Chocolate Sunbutter Gooey Butter Cake
    Gooey Butter Cookies | Gooey butter cake in the form of cookies. These gooey butter cookies use all dairy free and gluten free ingredients but taste just as good as the original. | eatsomethingdelicious.com
    Gooey Butter Cookies
    Print
    Up close side view of a square slice of gooey butter cake on a white plate. Flowers and a white cup with lid are in the background.

    Gooey Butter Carrot Cake

    • Author: Meagan Fikes
    • Prep Time: 25 mins
    • Cook Time: 45 mins
    • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
    • Yield: one 9X13 inch cake (about 18 servings) 1x
    • Method: baking
    • Diet: Gluten Free
    Print
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    Description

    A gooey butter cake that uses carrot spice cake for the base and has been converted to be gluten free and dairy free.


    Ingredients

    Bottom cake layer:

    • 18 oz gluten free, dairy free spice cake mix
    • 1 large egg
    • ½ C earth balance soy free buttery sticks, melted
    • 1 ½ C shredded carrots
    • 1 C raisins

    Gooey layer:

    • 8 oz (one package) Daiya plain cream cheeze style spread, softened
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 1 lb powdered sugar
    • ½ C earth balance soy free buttery sticks, melted
    • additional raisins, to taste
    • cinnamon, to taste

    Additional materials:

    • metal 9x13 pan (nonstick is fine but not dark)
    • electric mixer (stand or hand-held)

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a lightly colored, metal 9×13 inch pan.
    2. Using either a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine the cake mix, one egg, and ½ C of melted dairy free butter alternative.
      Cake mix being weighed on a food scale reading 1 pound, 2 ounces and a spice cake mix box behind it.
      A metal mixing bowl containing a brown, crumbly dough.
    3. Fold in the shredded carrots and raisins by hand. It will make the mixture more wet but that's ok. Spread the mixture evenly into the 9x13 pan.
      Orange colored crust with shredded carrots and raisins pressed into the bottom of a metal pan.
    4. Using a mixer again, beat the cream cheese alternative until it is as smooth as possible (it may stay a little lumpy but you will be able to completely smooth it in the next step).
      A black mixing bowl filled with whipped dairy free cream cheese alternative.
    5. Add the two remaining eggs, the other ½ C butter alternative, and vanilla extract and beat until completely smooth.
    6. Gradually mix in all of the powdered sugar. The end result should be like a smooth batter. Pour this over the cake layer and use a spatula or gently tap the pan on the counter to get it to spread out evenly.
      White batter after being poured into a 9x13 metal pan.
    7. Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and extra raisins, both amounts to your preference.
    8. Bake for 35-50 minutes. Be careful not to overbake. The center should still be a little jiggly and finish setting once it’s removed from the oven (like a baked cheesecake). Additionally, some oil may pool on the top of the cake – don’t confuse this oil with undercooked batter or you could end up over cooking it.
    9. Allow cake to cool before slicing and serving.

    Notes

    • Potential allergens contained in this recipe may vary due to brands of ingredients used, product reformulations, etc. Please verify that all your ingredients are safe for you to consume and always be mindful of allergen cross contamination while cooking.
    • The cake mix I used was large so I just measured out 18 oz and saved the rest for making individual mug cakes or other recipes.

    Did you make this recipe?

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Darcie

      March 03, 2021 at 9:02 am

      This looks delicious!!! Every time I go in to a grocery store around here they have all sorts of different gooey butter cakes.. bc well STL ????
      Definitely going to have to give this a try!! This would be a perfect dessert for Easter dinner. I love how a lot of the ingredients needed are already things you already probably have at home. Super convenient for a random gooey butter cake craving ????

      Reply
      • Meagan Fikes

        March 03, 2021 at 9:31 am

        I don’t think I’ve actually had a store bought GBC. Just homemade. You’ll have to tell me about what variations you’ve seen because I definitely want to try more of them! Up until I posted my chocolate sunbutter one, I had only eaten the original recipe and the cookies

        Reply

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    About Meagan

    About Meagan

    I started out with a passion for creating unique recipes and decorating cakes. In June of 2012, I discovered I was not only severely gluten intolerant but also, many of the foods I was eating I simply couldn't include in my diet anymore. Fortunately, my love for trying new recipes, ingredients, and cooking methods made re-learning how to cook seem more like a fun challenge than an unfortunate circumstance. I'm so happy to say that my dietary restrictions haven't stopped me from doing what I love. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do.

    Some links on this site are affiliate links which means that if you make a purchase at one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only link to products and services I personally recommend and believe will benefit my readers. These links help to cover some of my blogging expenses. I appreciate your support!

    I'm a member of Food Blogger Pro. Learn how to start and grow your food blog.

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    eatsomethingdelicious

    eatsomethingdelicious
    She’s finally here 🥰 Erika Claire Fikes was b She’s finally here 🥰
Erika Claire Fikes was born January 24th, 2022 at 1:35pm. 7lb 9 oz, 19 inches.
    Not really a new recipe but I shared my sons 4th b Not really a new recipe but I shared my sons 4th birthday cake on the blog today. Also wrote a recap on everything that’s been going on for the past year since I would normally write about it in my blog posts but haven’t written anything! I don’t know when I’ll be back on there. I’ve only had time for site maintenance and I really miss blogging but I’ll be back on once things slow down. The link to the new post is in my profile!
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#glutenfree #dairyfree #cakedecorating #foodallergies #celiacdisease
    I almost didn’t make this into a casserole becau I almost didn’t make this into a casserole because the sauce and pasta combined made a delicious side dish on their own! @beldolcefood #sponsored my most recent blog post and provided me with their new gluten free fusilli and penne to try out. I used the fusilli in this recipe and the sauce is a creamy, cheesy enchilada sauce made from just 3 ingredients.
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I ended up adding taco meat, fire roasted tomatoes, corn, black beans, and dairy free cheese to make a taco noodle casserole. Then we ate it all and I made it again! This is one of those recipes that will be going in our regular meal rotation.
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This is a pretty versatile recipe. It can be made vegan just by leaving out the meat and it’s just as good. And as I said earlier, the pasta with just the sauce makes a really good side dish. You can also top it with whatever you like such as cilantro, jalapeños, sour cream, scallions, or salsa.
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The recipe and details on @beldolcefood new gluten free pasta is linked in my profile:
@eatsomethingdelicious
Let me know if you try it!
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#glutenfree #dairyfree #glutenfreefacility #pasta #casserole #beldolce #foodallergies #f52grams #foodbloggerpro #celiac #glutenintolerant #eatsomethingdelicious
    I’ll just say it - I’m one of those bloggers t I’ll just say it - I’m one of those bloggers that makes cakes for their blogs “birthdays”. Or uses the blog birthdays as an excuse to make yet another cake recipe....yeah, that’s probably more accurate.
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Definitely felt like I needed a good excuse for this one because it’s my fifth variation of gooey butter cake! However, my site is seven years old so maybe I should have had seven gooey butter cakes ready to go? Guess I’d better get caught up before year eight 😉
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Anyways, I really enjoyed this carrot cake variation of gooey butter cake. The cake layer/crust swaps out the yellow cake mix with spice cake mix and I added in some shredded carrots and raisins. I kept the “gooey” top layer the same except that I topped it with a sprinkle of cinnamon and additional raisins before baking.
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If you want to try the recipe, the link is in my profile: @eatsomethingdelicious
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#gooeybuttercake #foodallergies #glutenfree #dairyfree #foodbloggerpro #baking #celiac #f52grams #f52sweets #glutenintolerant #carrotcake
#glutenfreelife #eatsomethingdelicious
    Couldn’t decide which to use on his birthday inv Couldn’t decide which to use on his birthday invites so got a big trifold card and used almost all of them 😅 This is the first time he’s cooperated (sort of) for his “milestone block” photos since he learned to roll over so it’s been a long time!
    Here are a few last minute treat ideas! The carame Here are a few last minute treat ideas! The caramel stuffed crispy rice treats recipe is written below. The other recipes (gooey butter cookies, salted caramel turtles, and pumpkin snickerdoodles) can be found at the link in my bio!
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CARAMEL STUFFED CRISPY RICE TREATS
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INGREDIENTS
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• ¼ C dairy free butter, divided
• 4 C mini marshmallows (regular and vegan both work), divided
• 6 C gluten free rice cereal *see notes*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, divided
• 10-11 oz dairy free chewy caramels
• 11.25 oz can sweetened condensed coconut milk
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DIRECTIONS
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1. Melt 2 tablespoons of the dairy free butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add 2 cups of marshmallows and stir until they are melted with no lumps.
2. Remove from heat and stir in ½ tsp of vanilla then gently fold in 3 cups of cereal until it is well-combined with the marshmallows.
3. Using wet hands, press this mixture evenly into the bottom of a 7x11 inch casserole dish and set aside.
4. Unwrap the caramels and add them along with the sweetened condensed coconut milk to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir often to avoid burning. Once this has turned to a completely smooth sauce, pour over the cereal layer.
5. Make your top cereal layer by repeating steps 1 and 2. Distribute this evenly over the caramel layer and pat down with wet hands.
6. Once the treats have cooled down, they will firm up and hold their shape when cut. Cut into squares and serve.
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NOTES
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• Potential allergens contained in this recipe may vary due to brands of ingredients used, product reformulations, etc. Please verify that all your ingredients are safe for you to consume and always be mindful of allergen cross contamination while cooking.
• Double check that the cereal you use is gluten free. At least one brand carries 2 different versions of rice cereal and only one is GF.
• Don't make both cereal layers in one large batch then divide it up. The top layer will cool and firm up before you can layer it on which will make the caramel seep out when you press it down.
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