Philly has cheese steaks, Chicago has deep-dish pizza, San Diego has fish tacos.

St. Louis has gooey butter cake.

Just about every visiting food writer has asked me two questions: What is gooey butter cake? And where can I get one?

I tell them it’s exactly what it sounds like, a buttery cake with a sweet and gooey topping. I explain that lots of folks make a version that starts with a cake mix, and that virtually all of our bakeries and supermarkets sell a version.

Now, however, our city also is home to Gooey Louie, a bakery at 6483 Chippewa that sells eight or so varieties daily. (For details, check out Joe Bonwich’s story on the cover of the Feb. 13 Let’s Eat section. You can also find the story at www.STLtoday.com/cooking.)

The Gooey Louie folks didn’t share their recipes, so we printed one that that, oddly enough, originated in a Boston bakery.

If you’d like to try the cake-mix version, click on this link for a recipe developed by Eleven Eleven Mississippi, the restaurant located at 1111 Mississippi in St. Louis: Gooey Butter Recipe (from a cake mix)

Here’s another recipe, a combination of a cake recipe from “My Mother’s Southern Kitchen” by James Villas and a filling recipe published in the Post-Dispatch in 1972. I tested this recipe in a cake pan, but the bottom of the cake stuck a bit. A springform pan would be a better choice. If you do use a regular cake pan, make sure it’s at least 2 inches deep, grease and flour it well, and consider lining the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.

From-Scratch Gooey Butter Cake

Yield: 12 servings

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon plus 1 dash salt, divided

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, divided

3 teaspoons vanilla, divided

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 tablespoons water

Powdered sugar

To prepare the batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan. (The pan needs to be at least 2 inches deep.) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Add milk, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Beat the eggs in a 1-cup glass measure. (You should have about 1/2 cup.) Set aside 2 tablespoons of the beaten eggs to use in the topping. Add the remaining eggs to the batter; beat for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

To prepare topping: In a clean bowl with clean beaters, combine 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter and a dash of salt. Add 2 tablespoons beaten eggs and corn syrup. Mix to incorporate. Add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, water and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat until well mixed.

With a spatula, spread the batter in the pan up and against the sides, leaving a slight depression in the center. Quickly add the topping to the pan, leaving a border of batter, and spreading the topping evenly with a spatula.

Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack. After 10 minutes, run a spatula or thin knife between the sides of the pan and the cake. When cake is completely cooled and topping is set, at least 4 hours, release and remove the sides of the pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, slice and serve.

Per serving: 405 calories; 13g fat (29 percent calories from fat); 8g saturated fat; 67mg cholesterol; 5g protein; 67g carbohydrate; 40g sugar; 1g fiber; 356mg sodium; 61mg calcium; 81mg potassium