If you visit or live in St. Louis, there are a few non-negotiable foods to try: toasted ravioli, Imo’s pizza (you just have to try it, you don’t have to like it), Ted Drewes frozen custard and gooey butter cake.

I knew that gooey butter cake originated in St. Louis, but I didn’t realize that it was created by mistake. Back in the 1930s, a German-American baker got proportions of the ingredients mixed up while trying to make a regular cake. (Fun fact: the creation of toasted ravioli was also an accident, no matter which version of the story you believe. We St. Louisans know how to screw up right!)

As long as I have been living and baking here, I can’t believe that it took me this long to bake my own gooey butter cake from scratch. Whoa, I am so happy I did.  I can honestly say that this recipe absolutely did my hometown proud. It is hands down one of the best things I have ever baked.