Gooey Meyer Lemon Butter Cake

I had hesitations when it came to making this cake. I have made St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake in the past and wasn't a huge fan. Mostly I found the flavor kind of dull. I loved the idea of a gooey butter cake, but the execution seemed all wrong. I still had hopes of finding one I liked, so when I stumbled across a lemon cake that had similar qualities I decided to give it a try. As I mixed up the cake batter I made the mistake of taking a taste, blech. There is no sugar in the cake batter (there is in the filling however). Could that be right? I looked the recipe over twice, debated adding sugar, then decided against it. About half way  through the baking process an amazing smell started to fill my kitchen. The recipe called for chilling the cake before serving, but I knew there was no way I was going to be able to wait. I waited as long as I could (about 45 minutes) and finally cut a very small piece out of the cake. Five minutes later another...and then...another. I had to stop myself as I still needed to photograph the cake! You see that photo below? I'm not just being creative with the lemon placement, I seriously ate almost that much of the cake, minus the slice in the photo above. Good thing I didn't make any New Year's resolutions about dieting or anything. After photographing, I quickly wrapped the cake in plastic and threw it in the fridge and tried to forget about it. A few hours later, once it had completely chilled I pulled it back out to see how it tasted. I must admit I was disappointed, the cake had really dried out in a very short amount of time (3 hours). If you make this cake, be sure to have a few friends around to help you eat it soon after it comes out of the oven, it is much better that way. Plus, it might be good idea so you don't eat the entire thing by yourself!

Gooey Meyer Lemon Butter Cake
adapted from Blackjack Bakehouse

Filling
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, plus additional for dusting
1 egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp. (approx 1 lemon) Meyer lemon zest

Cake
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon zest

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9″ spring form pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add egg and beat until combined. Add butter, Meyer lemon juice, vanilla extract, and Meyer lemon zest. Beat until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Set aside.
In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. With a wooden spoon or spatula stir in melted butter, eggs, Meyer lemon juice, vanilla and Meyer lemon zest until just combined.
Scoop cake batter into spring form pan, using a knife or offset spatula make sure it is smooth and even. Pour filling mixture evenly over the cake batter.
Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near edge of cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife or offset spatula along the edge of the pan to release. Carefully remove spring form sides and allow to cool on rack for 30 minutes. The original recipe calls for refrigerating and serving chilled. I found that the cake dried out really quickly, although that could just be the fact that it was 40 below and the wood stove was running at full capacity. I preferred it served at room temperature, about 45 minutes after it came out of the oven.