Gooey Butter Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches

These Gooey Butter Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches are everything I want in a nostalgic dessert – soft, thin yellow cake layers, a thin gooey cream cheese filling, and creamy butter-flavored ice cream all pressed together and frozen into something that reminds me of the St. Louis classic dessert, but in its own unique way.

I grew up in St. Louis and gooey butter cake is one of those very specific regional desserts that doesn’t need much explaining if you know it, and makes absolutely no sense if you don’t until you try it. It’s extremely sweet (dare I say almost too sweet?), rich, and a little messy, but we made some changes to make sure everything works smoothly here!

Instead of leaving it as a traditional cake, we’re turning it into an ice cream sandwich situation using all the same familiar parts, just rebuilt for the freezer: sheet-pan yellow cake for structure, that classic gooey middle layer, and ice cream in between so everything freezes into something soft, rich, and sliceable.

What is gooey butter cake?

If you didn’t know I grew up in St. Louis, well then, surprise! It’s one of those cities that just has its own food thing going on, like, fully separate universe. And if you grew up there too, then you know gooey butter cake is a BIG part of that. It’s not something you explain and it makes absolutely no sense until you eat it, and then you’re like, oh okay, we’re not questioning this.

It’s called a cake, and it does have yellow cake in it, but that still feels like an understatement. The edges are soft, the top gets crackly, and the cream cheese-based middle is very much doing its own thing – it’s gooey, dense, and melts in your mouth.

It’s super buttery, super sweet, and usually looks like it maybe needed five more minutes in the oven, but didn’t, on purpose – which is exactly why at some point you stop asking what makes sense and just put ice cream in the middle.

Let’s talk about the three components of this ice cream sandwich

There are three things making this whole situation happen:

1. Butter-flavored ice cream: This follows my standard ice cream base, which I usually make in a KitchenAid stand mixer, but you can also churn it in a regular ice cream maker if that’s what you’ve got. The difference here is that we’re infusing it with butter, which sounds a little extra, but just makes it richer, creamier, and honestly kind of perfect with everything else going on.
2. Yellow cake: A key part of gooey butter cake is the yellow cake underneath. In this case, we’re baking it in a sheet pan so it stays nice and thin – kind of like Texas sheet cake energy, but really just to make it easier to stack into sandwiches later. We’re making the yellow cake from scratch, but if a box of yellow cake mix is what you’ve got, that also totally works.
3. The gooey butter layer: This is the actual St. Louis signature and what makes a gooey butter cake what it is. It’s a mix of cream cheese, eggs, and powdered sugar that bakes into that classic crackly top while staying soft and custardy underneath. Here it’s act as a buffer between the ice cream and the yellow cake.

Ingredients you’ll need

It looks like a lot of ingredients, but most of them show up more than once, and many are pantry staples. Once you start, it all comes together pretty simply. Here’s everything you’ll need:

For the butter-flavored ice cream

• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (360g) whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups (360g) heavy cream
• 1/4 cup (57g) salted butter, melted

For the yellow cake layer

• 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup (130g) whole milk Greek yogurt or skyr
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (42g) dark brown sugar
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

For the gooey butter layer

• 1 cup (226g) cream cheese, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 3 1/2 cups (420g) powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

How to make these gooey butter cake ice cream sandwiches

1. Prepare the ice cream

If you are using store bought, skip ahead to the cake batter section!

In a large bowl, whisk together the 4 egg yolks and sugar until it goes from deep yellow to pale yellow, and is about tripled in size, 2-3 minutes.

In a small pot combine the cream and milk. Put this over medium heat and, stirring often, bring it to 165°F. When it has reached that temperature, spoon about 1/3 cup of the warm cream into the eggs. Mix the eggs to temper them, then add more scoops of cream one at a time, mixing so as not to curdle the eggs. When 3/4 of the cream has been mixed in with the eggs, pour that back into the pan and cook until you reach 170-180°F. Pour this custard through a strainer into a heat-safe bowl. Whisk in 57g of melted butter to help infuse the flavor.

Wrap it with cling wrap, touching the surface of the custard so a film doesn’t form. Chill this in the freezer for two hours.

2. Make the cake layers

Whisk together all the wet ingredients for the yellow cake layer until smooth. Add in the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until you have a thick, smooth batter.

Divide the batter between the two prepared rimmed sheet pans and spread it evenly all the way to the edges. It will be a thin layer.

Bake the cake layers on the same rack of the oven for 15 minutes, or until they look firm to the touch but are still very pale.

3. Make the gooey butter layer

Whisk together the eggs and cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar a bit at a time, mixing until smooth and glossy.

When the cakes are out of the oven, pour this layer evenly onto each cake (don’t worry if they are warm, it can and should spread to the edges!). Bake another 15-20 minutes, or until the top layer looks slightly dry, crackly, and golden around the edges.

4. Churn the ice cream

Strain the chilled custard to get out the hardened butter. Add this to an ice cream machine or KitchenAid ice cream attachment and mix until it’s the texture of soft serve.

5. Assemble

Layer the ice cream evenly across one cake layer, leaving it in the pan. Lift out the other cake layer using the edges of the parchment paper, then gently flip it onto the ice cream, with the “gooey” layer touching the ice cream, and the cake layer facing out. Transfer this to the freezer immediately.

Let these freeze for 2 hours, up to as long as you like. Then you can use a serrated knife to cut them into 12 square ice cream sandwiches.

Variations

You can keep this recipe as is, or start messing with it depending on your cravings. Here are a few ideas:

• Swap the ice cream for something like chocolate, brown butter, or something with a little salt in it. It’ll all work really well with the sweet, buttery cake situation.
• If you want to get a little extra, add a thin layer of jam or caramel before the ice cream goes in.
• A sprinkle of flaky salt on top is also very correct.
• And if you want it slightly less chaotic, you can cut them into mini ice cream sandwiches so they’re easier to handle.

How to store and prep them ahead of time

Wrap each sandwich individually in wax paper or plastic wrap, then store them in an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. For best texture, let them soften slightly at room temperature before serving.

Also, you can definitely break this recipe up and make any component ahead of time.

The ice cream can be made and frozen up to 6 months in advance. You can also soften it ahead of time and spread into a pan, then freeze it again so it’s ready to go when you assemble.

The cake layers can be baked a day or two in advance. Once they’re completely cool, wrap them well and keep them at room temperature or in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.

And the gooey butter layer can be prepped and kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. I recommend bringing it to room temp and giving it a good stir before spreading it onto the cake layers.

Why is this recipe in grams?

Grams is always my preference for baking, and I hope it will be yours, too. The only way to ensure complete accuracy is through measuring by weight, not volume. One cup of flour can weigh anywhere from 120 grams to 160 grams, depending on how it was packed. This ends up causing some volatility and mismatched results.

I want to ensure you get the best results with this recipe (and I want to keep this recipe foolproof!) so I highly recommend getting a small affordable kitchen scale if you want to move forward with this particular recipe.

Watch the recipe here

The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.

Looking for similar recipes?

And that’s it for these Gooey Butter Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches!

If you make them, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

You can also shop this video if you’re looking for the exact pieces I use – I’ve linked everything on my ShopMy! *some links may contain affiliate commissions

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3