This California Pizza Kitchen Butter Cake is infused with buttery flavor. This recipe is easy to put together, needs a few ingredients, bakes within minutes and has a fluffy, moist and tender crumb. The cakes has a crispy light golden brown crust with golden brown and crunchy sides.
This traditional gooey butter cake has moist, fluffy and buttery crumb. Also, as the name suggest this butter cake is loaded with buttery flavor. It will be a great addition to your breakfast table or evening tea gatherings.
This is my California Pizza Kitchen Butter Cake (cpk butter cake) copycat recipe. If you are a frequent visitor of the restaurant, you know how good this cake is. This copycat recipe is as good as the cake they serve you in the restaurant. You need to give it a try.
Table of Contents
Origin of the Cake
It is believed the cake was created by a German American baker in St. Louis city in Missouri in the 1930’s. The baker was trying to make regular cake batter but changed the proportion of butter and flour by mistake. And it resulted in the ooey gooey butter cake. Over the years it became popular throughout the United States and the credit goes to Paula Deen for it and that’s why it is often referred to as Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake.
California Pizza Kitchen Recipe
This recipe is a copycat recipe of the California Pizza Kitchen. I am the fan of this cake at the restaurant and wanted badly to be able to bake it at home. Finally, after a few tries I was able to nail it. Therefore, I am sharing it with you all to enjoy the cake too.
Difference between Butter Cake and Pound Cake
The main difference between the two cakes is that the Butter Cake has a lighter texture and will rise more than the pound cake. Whereas the Pound Cake which traditionally has a ratio of 1:1:1:1 of sugar, butter, eggs and flour, will have a denser crumb. If you are a Pound Cake lover, try my Old Fashioned Sour Cream Pound Cake, Peach Cobbler Pound Cake and Southern Pecan Praline Cake, which are always a hit.
Why should you try this cake?
Well – there are so many good reasons to try this cake. The first and foremost is, this cake is super simple and easy to put together. All you need is a few simple ingredients to bake the soft, moist, fluffy and buttery cake.
Variations
Although I like to eat this cake the way it is but there are some variations that will enhance the flavor further.
Vanilla Ice-Cream: Serve this cake with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream to further enhance the fudgy chocolatey cake flavor. Yummy!
Chocolate Ganache: Pour over chocolate ganache on the cake to add to the buttery flavor of the cake.
Berries: You may add berries of your choice to the cake batter such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries.
Frosting: Garnish the cake with whipped cream.
Ingredients Required
The best part about this cake is that you do not need any fancy ingredients for the cake. All the ingredients will be readily available in your pantry.
Unsalted Butter
Granulated Sugar
All-Purpose Flour
Baking Powder
Eggs
Vanilla Extract
Almond Extract
Buttermilk
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven at 375F.
Step 2: Take a 9-inch baking cake pan and spray it with a baking spray or apply butter on the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the liner in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle granulated sugar on the sides and bottom of the pan.
Step 3: Sift and whisk flour and baking powder. Set aside.
Step 4: Take a large bowl and beat butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy.
Step 5: Add the flour to the butter and beat until just combined well.
Step 6: Add eggs one by one and continue beating. Add vanilla, among extract and buttermilk to the cake batter and mix until the batter is light in color.
Step 7: Pour the batter to the greased pan.
Step 8: Place the cake pan in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 40 – 50 minutes until the cake is golden brown in color. Insert a toothpick in the center to check if the cake is done. If the toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs, the cake is ready.
Important Tips
Butter: Make sure to use butter of good quality to get the best results for this cake.
Room Temperature: Use ingredients at room temperature so that the ingredients infuse well with each other, resulting in a good bake.
Frequently Asked Questions
The oven temperature might be too high as every oven is different. Place foil over the pan halfway to avoid it getting too brown. Please remember to not add the foil while placing the cake in the oven or it will not rise properly.
I wouldn’t suggest replacing buttermilk as the recipe gets the moist crumb because of the buttermilk. The buttermilk helps generating an acidic reaction with baking powder helping with the rise of the cake and creating the moist, fluffy crumb. The buttermilk also helps to counter the gluten in the flour in the batter.
How to Store
On the Counter: The cake will keep fresh for up to 2 days in an air-tight container on the counter.
In the Fridge: The cake will stay fresh for up to a week in the fridge.
In the Freezer: First freeze the whole cake tray and then remove the pieces and wrap it in plastic wraps and add a layer of foil. Now stash it in a Zip-loc bag and place in the freezer. It will stay good for up to 3 months.
Recipe
California Pizza Kitchen Butter Cake (Copycat Recipe)
Equipment
- 1 Electric Mixer
- 1 9'' round pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (227 grams) room temperature
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (180 grams)
- 1 cup castor sugar (200 grams)
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (4 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 grams)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (5 grams)
- 1 cup buttermilk (225 grams) room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 375F.
- Take a 9-inch baking cake pan and spray it with a baking spray or apply butter on the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the liner in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle granulated sugar on the sides and bottom of the pan.
- Sift and whisk flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- Take a large bowl and beat butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy.
- Add the flour to the butter and beat until just combined well.
- Add eggs one by one and continue beating. Add vanilla, among extract and buttermilk to the cake batter and mix until the batter is light in color.
- Pour the batter to the greased pan.
- Place the cake pan in the middle-rack of the oven and bake for 40 – 50 minutes until the cake is golden brown in color. Insert a toothpick in the center to check if the cake is done. If the toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs, the cake is ready.
Madeeha Anwar
Yes - I will be updating with new recipes frequently (hopefully) 🙂