The recipe
A Pumpkin Twist on the Gooey Butter Cake Formula
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake, contributed by Sandy Bechtold of the McClusky Unit, layers a simple yellow-cake base with a cream cheese and pumpkin filling scented with cinnamon and nutmeg.
The source is explicit about the texture: bake it until the center is still a little gooey. That detail matters here, because the point is not a dry, fully set cake—it is the contrast between the firmer base and soft pumpkin filling.
Why it matters
Why This One Is Worth Bringing Back
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake is worth bringing back because it takes two familiar American dessert ideas—pumpkin spice and gooey butter cake—and combines them in a way that feels especially suited to fall gatherings.
The recipe is also unusually clear about what not to do: do not overbake it. The center is supposed to remain a little gooey. That instruction gives the dessert its defining texture and is one of the most important details to preserve from the source.
Sandy Bechtold’s note says the recipe came from the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The cookbook does not provide more context than that, so the archive keeps that attribution exactly as given.
For another fall bake from the same archive, try Raw Apple Muffins, or browse more recipes from 75 Years of Caring and Sharing.
Modern kitchen notes
If You're Making It Today
These are modern editorial suggestions, not changes to the archived recipe. When a variation comes directly from the original source, we will say so.
Let the center stay a little gooey
The source specifically warns against overbaking. A slightly soft center is part of the intended result.
Soften the cream cheese first
The filling starts with softened cream cheese and pumpkin. Bringing the cream cheese fully to room temperature will make that mixture easier to beat smooth.
Use the 13x9-inch pan called for
The recipe is written for a 13x9-inch pan. Changing pan size will change the depth and baking time, so keep the source dimensions if you want the preserved texture.
Serve it as a rich dessert
The source does not specify toppings. Powdered sugar, whipped cream, or ice cream would be modern serving additions rather than part of the archived recipe.
Recipe card
The Preserved Recipe
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients
- 1 (18.5 oz.) box yellow cake mix cake
- 1 egg cake
- 8 Tbsp. butter melted, cake
- 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese softened, filling
- 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin filling
- 3 eggs filling
- 1 tsp. vanilla filling
- 8 Tbsp. butter melted, filling
- 1 (16 oz.) box powdered sugar filling
- 1 tsp. cinnamon filling
- 1 tsp. nutmeg filling
Instructions
- Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat mixture into bottom of a lightly greased 13×9 inch pan.
- Filling: Beat together cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth in a large bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla, and melted butter, then beat together. Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter. Bake 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as center will be a little gooey. Yield: 13×9 inch pan.
Notes
Give Something Back
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This recipe traces back to a Jersey County community cookbook created in the spirit of sharing, service and local connection. If you’d like to carry that spirit forward, consider supporting the Jersey County Historical Society and its work preserving local history for future generations.
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From the archive
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