Cranberry Pineapple Gooey Butter Cake

 

Had a craving for something sweet the other night (I say that like it’s a rare occurrence…really, when am I NOT willing to pound down some sweets?)… particularly, some St. Louis style cherry gooey butter cake.  However, we had neither cherries nor powdered sugar in the house…both of which are pretty big ingredients in said confection.

So, I improvised.  And it was DELICIOUS.

A gooey butter cake is pretty simple in essence… oh sure, some recipes call for making it from scratch, but that’s just unnecessary.  Unless you feel like it, of course…but I rarely do.  This recipe involves three different sections.

Bottom layer:

1 box yellow cake mix

2 eggs

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup butter, melted

Middle layer:

4oz fat free cream cheese or Neufchatel

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

Top layer:

1 cup cranberries

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup fresh chopped pineapple

Directions:

Since it takes the longest, you’ll want to make the top layer first.  This is loosely based off the cranberry sauce recipe I posted back around Thanksgiving.  In a medium saucepan, combine the ingredients and cook over medium-high heat until the cranberries pop.  Let cool a bit while you’re working on the other layers.

Preheat the oven to 350. Then mix together all the ingredients for your bottom layer.  It will be somewhat thick.  Spread into a greased & floured glass 9x13 pan.  (it will likely also be sticky, so lightly spritz your spatula with cooking spray---it will help you spread the dough more easily/evenly.

Next: whip together the ingredients for the middle layer, & drizzle over the top of the dough.

Then: drizzle the cranberry-pineapple topping across the top, and then use a knife to create a swirled pattern in the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the edges are brown. 

Let cool for a bit before serving.

(Um…you’ve got a bit of drool on your chin there.)

NutriFacts (makes 16 servings):

Calories 252.8

  Total Fat 7.4 g

  Saturated Fat 3.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 2.7 g

  Cholesterol 47.8 mg

  Sodium 240.0 mg

  Potassium 90.6 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 43.9 g

  Dietary Fiber 0.9 g

  Sugars 15.3 g

  Protein 3.6 g

Shared on The Sweet Spot and 33 Shades of Green