Anne Byrn

Anne Byrn, whose recipes dress up cake mixes, tackles gooey butter cake in her new cookbook, “The Cake Mix Doctor Returns” (Workman, $15.95). Here’s what she told food writer Joe Bonwich about the recipe:

“I was in St. Louis on my first book tour, and the history was explained to me by a caller to a radio show, who made it quite clear that it was a St. Louis original.”

However, this recipe is courtesy of a reader from Texas. As she explained, “She solved my dilemma. I couldn’t ever get it quite right — it was either a little heavy or a little greasy.” The solution involved using two eggs in the crust and two in the filling, and a little vanilla in each.

Byrn will be at the Big Read in Clayton Saturday morning, and more of her recipes will be featured in the Post-Dispatch starting Oct. 7. In the meantime, here’s her gooey butter recipe.

Lemon Gooey Butter Cake

For the crust:

1 (18¼-ounce) package plain yellow or vanilla cake mix
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling:

2 large lemons
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3¾ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set aside an ungreased 13-by-9-inch metal baking pan.

Make the crust: Place the cake mix, butter, 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 1½ to 2 minutes. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The batter should come together in a ball. Using your fingertips, pat the crust evently over the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of the baking pan, smoothing it out with your fingers. Set the pan aside.

Make the filling: Rinse the lemons and pat them dry with paper towels. Grate enough zest to measure about 2 teaspoons. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a small bowl; you will have about 6 tablespoons.

Place the cream cheese in the same mixing bowl that was used to make the crust and, using the same beaters (no need to clean either), beat with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the lemon juice, lemon zest, 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and add the confectioners’ sugar. Beat on medium speed until the sugar is well incorporated, about 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the filling into the baking pan and spread it with the rubber spatula so that it covers the entire surface and reaches the sides of the pan. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it is well browned but the center still jiggles when you shake the pan, 42 to 45 minutes. Transfer the baking pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool for 30 minutes before cutting it into bars and serving.