St. Louis in dessert form

Saturday was my little sister's birthday (happy birthday, yo!). When I asked my mom how they were celebrating, she said she was starting by making gooey butter cake for breakfast.

My brain seized up. Gooey butter cake! Gooey + butter + cake = excellent baking endeavor for a Saturday afternoon.

Luckily, I had snagged this local cookbook gem from my Nana not too long ago.

You really can't go too far wrong with a recipe book made from Midwestern moms' best dishes.

 The bottom layer was a shameful amount of Crisco (one stick!), melted, and combined with a box of yellow cake mix and three eggs.

Then, I mixed up a pound of powdered sugar,  a box of cream cheese (I used fat free, but I don't think it helped any. There's a stick of Crisco in this shizzle.) and two more eggs.

I spread the topping on the uncooked cake mix and popped it in the oven at 350 for 35 minutes.

As I admired my cooling GBC, I realized there was no butter in my Gooey Butter Cake. Shocking, right? I know. I was scandalized, but I was able to console myself with an iced tea and hefty hunk of Gooey Butter Cake.

Even Hubs, who hid his skepticism well, fell in love with the caramel-y crunch and rich ooze. It's a powerful force, this GBC.

What's your favorite hometown dessert?