This California Pizza Kitchen Butter Cake (or CPK Butter Cake) is loaded with rich buttery flavor with a moist, fluffy and tender crumb. This cake is one of the best CPK copycat recipes and perhaps even better than the original one. Serve this warm butter cake with a scoop of ice cream of your choice and receive compliments from friends and family alike. This CPK recipe is the best butter cake recipe and a perfect dessert.
This is my California Pizza Kitchen Butter Cake copycat recipe. The restaurant is known for its smoky pizzas but this cake on the menu description is really the best dessert. So it was necessary for me to recreate it at home. If you are a frequent visitor of the restaurant, you know how good this cake is.
This great dessert has a crispy light golden brown crust with golden brown and crunchy sides. The best cake for dessert time as you'll fall in love with it at the first bite.
Like cakes? Try my Italian Almond Cake, Victoria Sponge Cake, Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake, Peach Cobbler Pound Cake, Pecan Upside Down Cake and Southern Pecan Praline Cake.
Table of Contents
why this recipe works?
- This is a super easy cake to bake using a few basic ingredients.
- This is a perfect copy cat recipe of the famous California Pizza Kitchen restaurant.
- The buttery flavor of this cake is super rich making it a delectable dessert.
- The delicious dessert has a tender, moist and fluffy crumb.
- Serve this California Pizza Kitchen's Butter Cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
origin of butter 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 which resulted in the ooey gooey butter cake. Over the years it became popular throughout the United States and the credit goes to Paula Deen, and that’s why it is often referred to as Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake.
ingredients for california pizza kitchen butter cake
Baking Pro Tips
1. Unless a recipe says otherwise, always use room-temperature ingredients. This helps them mix together smoothly and evenly, for perfect results every time.
2. Ditch the measuring cups and grab your digital scale. Weighing dry ingredients in grams ensures perfect accuracy and consistent results.
- all purpose flour: provides structure to the cake.
- baking powder: is the leavening agent in this recipe that helps lifting the cake during baking.
- butter: use high-quality unsalted butter for this recipe.
- castor sugar: adds sweetness.
- eggs: adds to the structure and texture, color and aroma of this cake.
- pure vanilla extract: adds flavor.
- almond extract: adds flavor.
- buttermilk: gives moist and light crumb.
how to make california pizza kitchen butter cake
Detailed Instructions Below! See the key steps here, then head to the recipe card below for full instructions.
1. Sift and whisk flour and baking powder. Set aside.
2. Take a large bowl and beat butter and sugar using an electric mixer until creamy and fluffy.
3. Add the flour to the butter and beat until just combined well.
4. Add eggs one by one and beat after each incorporation. Add vanilla and almond extract and mix.
5. In the end add buttermilk to the batter and mix until combined.
6. Pour the batter to the 9-inch cake pan. Place the pan in the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 40 – 50 minutes until the cake is golden brown in color.
serving suggestions
- Vanilla Ice-Cream: serve this cake with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream to enhance the cake flavor. Yummy.
- Chocolate Ganache: pour over chocolate ganache on the cake that adds to the buttery flavor of the cake.
- Berries: add berries of your choice to the cake batter such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries.
- Whipped Cream: garnish the cake with dollop of whipped cream.
pro tips
Butter: use good quality butter to get the best results for this cake.
Buttermilk: do not omit or replace buttermilk in this recipe. 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.
common 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.
The main difference between the two cakes is that the butter cake has a lighter texture and hence it will rise more than the pound cake, which traditionally has a denser crumb because of 1:1:1:1 ratio of flour, butter, sugar and eggs.
Yes you may use individual pans and small loaf pans to make this cake. Distribute the cake batter into the small loaf pans and keep in mind the baking time will vary.
how to store
- This Butter Cake will keep fresh for up to 2 days in an air-tight container on the counter.
- Store this cake in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- 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.
related cake recipes
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Recipe
California Pizza Kitchen Butter Cake (Copycat Recipe)
Equipment
- Electric Mixer
- 9'' round pan
- Digital Scale
- Rubber Spatula
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (227 g) room temperature
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (180 g)
- 1 cup castor sugar (200 g)
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (4 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 g)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (5 g)
- 1 cup buttermilk (225 g) 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.