Eat it While You Got it!

Episode Transcript for Gooey Butter Cake

So, Carrie, what are some words describing sweet treats that if you saw them describing a dessert in a menu, you would automatically order? Oh, pumpkin. Oh, pink. Um, crema or cream. Yum, yum. And gooey. Yes, indeed. Well, what if I told you that we're making something today that's gooey along with using a lot of something that I like to put in my bra to thaw

better than your rear end crack. Ew.

Welcome to Mom's Wooden Spoon, where the recipes are retro and so are your hosts. You can say that again.

Today's recipe comes from someone that we met at a class that we taught at the public library all about how to start your own podcast. Okay. So, first let's discuss the amazingness. Yes. That somebody wanted us to do a class about how to start a podcast. It's so crazy, right? It's insane. Okay. And then here's something else we just found out. We found out online that not only are there 200 of you listeners, thank you very much. I mean, that's incredible. Kristen and I, I think our goal Yeah. was to exceed 50. Yes. So, yay. Thanks, guys. Thank you so much. And really, we thought we had like six six listeners. Our mother included, of course. Yes. And then we also found out we're in the top 8% of all podcasts. Yeah. That's pretty awesome. That's insane. I do think to put it in perspective. Oh, don't put it in perspective. Let them think grand things about us. Carrie. Okay. Okay. Totally. I'm trying to think of famous people with podcasts. It's Jason Bateman. Yes. And Venus Williams. Amy Poehler. Oh, Amy Poehler. And then us. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. There's four million podcasts out there. Four million. And we're in the top eight percent. I say that's pretty darn nice. I would like to know. Yeah. Mathematically, yeah, how many podcasts are in the top eight%. What is 8% of 4 million? I don't know. Okay. I don't either. Let's see. So, four, this is a lot of 0000 times .08 equals equals 320,000 of us. Oh, Geesh. That doesn't make me feel special at all. I'm cutting this part. I felt special before you did the math. Stupid numbers. Jeez, you ruined everything. Okay, back to the wonderful, wonderful woman who gave us the recipe that we're doing today. Yes. We started talking with Elizabeth about foods that come along with fun stories. and she told us this amazing story that comes along with this recipe and said, "You ought to make this particular treat." And I believe that this is what began our whole idea of cooking specialties from around the United States. Yes. Well, we got one and we're like, well, let's see what else we can find. That's right. So, today's regional specialty is from St. Louis, Missouri, and it is their famous gooey butter cake. Okay. So, I had never heard of it before we did this episode. Really? But it looks delightful. I mean, gooey and butter together and cake. I mean, it doesn't get any better than that, what more could you want? I really can't think of much. No. Now, I will say when I looked at the pictures, it's a very flat cake. Like, it looks like the height of a brownie versus like ah, you know, like a wedding cake layer or something. It may be a cake that my husband will eat. Maybe cuz it's so ooey gooey. He does not like dry cake at all. He doesn't. And he doesn't like fluffy cake cuz they're well dry. Kind of dry. Yeah. So maybe ooey gooey butter cake is the cake he's been missing all the time. I know. I'm hoping not. I want to keep all of it for myself at the end here. But you know, gooey butter cake is such an iconic dessert in St. Louis, Missouri that people sometimes eat it for breakfast. Um, okay. So again, I saw the pictures of it. Yeah. If we can have apple cake for breakfast. You can absolutely have gooey butter cake. Why not? I know, right? Well, I read the first recipe that Elizabeth sent me and it was lovely, but it was very difficult. You told me about it and I would say it was very baky. Well, yes. Yes. You had to make a yeast raised base and then you top it with a mixture of butter and sugar and eggs and so it would have this I mean it sounded delicious like this little custardy top on it. It sounded wonderful but us and yeast and I cooking I mean Yeah. Yeah. It's hard to cook and podcast. It really is. It's I think it's hard to cook. Full stop. True. Hard to cook. So, we decided to make the other recipe that she sent for us. I like that you said we Kristen made the entire decision. I didn't even call Carrie. I'm like, she's going to want to make the yeast one, and I don't want to do that. That is too hard for me. So, we are going to make one that's from a newspaper article. It includes yellow cake mix. We can handle that. And then it takes 16 tablespoons of melted butter. Holy moly. eggs, cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar. How is this not going to be amazing? I know, right? And you know how they think that this whole cake originated is that there was a German American baker in the 1930s who was of course frenzied and I'm sure making this delicious treat in the crack of dawn like the guy who had to make the donuts. Yes. you know, and he mistakenly reversed the ratios of flour and butter in a coffee cake that he was making. And so he created this dense, flat, and extremely gooey, custardy top with a slightly firmer cake base. Interesting. And it's traditionally topped with powdered sugar. I was doing Christmas baking one year and I love to make a rosemary shortbread. And again, my husband does not like anything he deems dry. That's right. And so he does not like shortbread. And you are not uh hearing things wrong, listeners. Yes, she does indeed put rosemary in her shortbread. Oh, it's amazing. It's delicious. It is. I I shared it with my neighbor and he came over and he was like, "This stuff is like crack. What did you do to it? It It's the Well, it's a savory sweet, you know." Anyway, I I digress. Yeah. So, I screwed up the ingredient. I reversed things. I don't remember, but it was like flour and butter. Yes. In the shortbread. And so came back with it. It was kind of shortbread. Oh, my husband is like, "Do this every time." Really? He loved it. Was it extra moist? It was not dry enough, you know, not as dry as it normally is. I didn't like it as much. I like shortbread. Yeah. But um yeah, were I a loving wife, I would have continued to make it like that. I'm not. She's not a loving wife. No, not one bit. Okay, I just realized that this recipe takes the melted butter. As I'm reading the recipe to our listeners, yeah, I'm like, "Oh, crud. It's melted butter." And it says, "Mix together cake mix, 8 tablespoon of butter, and one egg." And then we are going to pat it in the bottom of a 9 by13in pan. Right. Cuz we have to have the cake layer. Yeah. Yeah. Do you think we need to mix that in the KitchenAid mixer or I could just do that in a bowl I think we could just do it in a bowl. I don't even have a bowl out. What? What? Oh my gosh. Kristen's preparation is falling apart. What have you been doing all this time? Um, that's what I thought. Clearly not getting out bowls. No, I'm going to go get that. Do you have any stories you can tell our listeners? Do I have stories? Okay, you go for it, Carrie. Okay. So, I looked up a bunch of other foods that are also famous in St. Louis. Yeah. Yeah, I thought that that would be kind of fun. Okay, so the first one is a St. Paul sandwich. It was invented at a Chinese restaurant near downtown St. Louis in the '40s. Wait a minute. A sandwich from a Chinese restaurant. Yeah. Yeah. Wait till you hear this. Interesting. It's an early example of Asian fusion. Oh, cool. Yeah. So, from the 40s, the main component is fried egg foo young patty. No way. Yes. So, it's like an eggy fritter. And then you add in your protein. People typically do shrimp, but you can keep it plain. And then you top it with sandwich toppings like tomato, pickle, lettuce, bean sprouts, mayo, all that kind of stuff. And on white bread. That sounds delicious, doesn't it? If you have an egg allergy, it sounds like death. But otherwise, Exactly. Yummy. Yeah. I was like, oo, I would eat me a St. Paul sandwich. Is it La choy that had that uh jingle in the 70s? La choy makes Chinese food swing American. Do you remember that one? No, I do not. I think it's Loa choy that had that. So, whatever that restaurant was, what was the name of that restaurant? Did you ever know this restaurant in the 40s makes Chinese food swing American. And as she's doing this, she's getting ready to cut butter and she has a knife in her hand and she is flicking that knife. I think she chopped off some hair. I'm backing up. I cut myself a little. And I was totally singing that off key on purpose. I hope you all know. Especially when our friend who's a voice coach um listens to this, she'll be like, oh girl. Well, then when you call and you're like, I would like some lessons. She'll be like, I've know you need them badly. Sorry for the noise with the butter. I got to melt this sucker. I mean, the good news is is we have a fabulous melting butter device right here in this very kitchen. Is it called a micro? It is indeed. Yay. Okay, here you go. Melting butter. Okay, so while you micro, I will tell you about the next sandwich. Does it make something swing American? It does not. Uh-uh. It is called a St. Louis prosperity sandwich. What? I want one. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, it's a traditional sandwich, obviously from St. Louis. It was invented at the Mayfair Hotel in the 20s. Okay. In the 20s, the Mayfair Hotel was all that and a bag of chips. All the famous people stayed there. Presidents. Yes. Anyone who's anyone. And so if you were there, you would obviously want to get yourself a prosperity sandwich. Well, yeah. Which is three slices of buttered toast. Three. Topped with a slice of ham and turkey. The sandwiches are sliced in half. diagonally. Oh, here. Diagonally. Uhhuh. And each serving consists of three halves arranged on a plate. They're topped three halves. That's what it says. Doesn't make any sense to me. I'm just reading. Um they're topped with tomato slices and a sauce of butter flour, milk, paprika, worcestershire. Oo. Did I do all right with that? Swiss and parm. And then they're browned under a broiler and served hot. That sounds pretty darn yummy. Until you get to the sauce. It sounds like the most boring bootleg. You're having a ham and turkey sandwich. Well, that would be very prosperous in the 20s to be able to have ham for your sandwich. I assume turkey maybe the two meats. I don't know. I don't know. And then you make this fancy schmancy sauce and put it all over your tomatoes. Okay. I have another sandwich. Oh my goodness. Okay. Okay. It's called the Gerber sandwich. And as far as I could tell, it had nothing to do with the baby. A Yeah. It was named after Dick Gerber. Oh. Who lived next door to the Rumis deli. And the Rumis deli often allowed Dick into the kitchen to make his own lunch. What? Yeah. We're curious as to what those conversations were like. Hey guys, I don't want what you make. I can do it better. And they're like, "Okay, Dick. I can do it my own dang self." Right. Yeah, I don't know. Anyway, he prepared an openface sandwich on Italian bread. Okay. He spread the bread with garlic butter. Yum. And topped it with ham, provolone, and a sprinkle of a paprika. And then toasted it. All this paprika and the toasting of half these sandwiches. Everything cut in half. Everything toasted. They say it's like a St. Louis style Croque Monsieur. Oo, I love a Croque Monsieur. I have no idea what that is, but apparently it's got ham in it. It does. I believe that it has ham and cheese and then they top it with like a bechamel sauce and bake it. I believe it's also maybe open faced. Delicious. You know, I'll be truthful. The St. Louis Prosperity and the Gerber sandwich sound shockingly similar. Oh, yes. Yes, you know, but it's okay. I'd eat them both. I would eat those. Yeah, for sure. Oh my gosh. Okay, so I have the melted butter in the bowl and now I'm dumping in the cake mix. And then we have to add one egg. But, you know, all this talk of butter had me thinking about this little cartoon in the 70s from Sesame Street. That was this mom who tells her little daughter uh to go to the store and pick some stuff up for her. Okay. And she says, "I'd like for you to pick up a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter." Okay. So, I like to stop you there. Yes. that obviously in the 70s it was no big deal to send your young child alone to the grocery store only if you add and a pack of cigarettes

which you definitely they would have given to the child. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. So yeah, the little girl tries to remember it and she's walking down the street and she's saying I can remember it, mommy. A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter. Your guys are really missing the visual. Kristen's got her young child uh walk going. Oh, yeah. Swinging my arms. Oh, she is. I totally remember this cute little cartoon. And then she gets to the store and she goes, "Hi, I need a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a Oh no, I forgot." Oh no. And then her mom's face appears in the ether and she goes, "Remember, I need a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter." And she goes, "That's it. a stick a butter I remembered I remembered in this little New York accent so cute but what struck me as a kid is that you could buy a single stick of butter I did not realize that you could do that interesting well you know in Europe they don't sell like tiny sticks of butter like that they're huge Oh yeah you get like a a loaf of butter maybe if like if it was New York City if she walked to a little bodega maybe they did just sell single sticks of butter. But that was something that was not familiar to me in little Defiance, Ohio. Well, you didn't know what a bodega was. I did not know that you could go buy a single stick of butter. And I had also never heard container of milk. It would be a gallon, right? Or a half gallon. Half gallon of milk. Okay, I'm gonna conk this. Okay. Okay. And also with all this butter, I do not know if you remember in the 80s there was a skit on Saturday Night Live called Coffee Talk with Linda Richmond. Oh. Uh yeah. Also from New York, right? And she anything she loved, she'd say, "It's like butter to die for." Yes. Michael Myers. Yeah. Yeah. Michael Myers played Linda Richmond. Loved that skit so much. Like butter. To die for. Like butter. Like butter. I have seen on the social medias lately. Yes. that they have been talking about just make your own butter at home and how easy it is. It is easy. And then you just whip the crap out of it and then boom, you got butter and you pour off the buttermilk. You can save it, make you some pancakes or biscuits. Yeah. And then you salt the crap out of it. Did you never make it when you were a kid in like a baby food jar? No. When I taught elementary school, I had my students make it. We got uh baby food jars and we put a marble in there with the whipping cream and then they would shake it and that marble would agitate it and help turn it into a little ball of butter. I think the marble sound going round and round and round would agitate you too. It agitated the heck out of me. I think we mentioned Yeah. a few years ago on a Thanksgiving episode. Yes. How some family had Yes. The tradition of they would do that with the kids, but then they the kids could pick like different flavors for their butter. Maybe cinnamon butter or rosemary butter. Yes. So by the time the meal was prepped, you had all these delicious little butters that you could sample. How, fun. I thought that was fun. But no, I never did that. I thought that was kind of neat. I was like, "Oh, I mean, but then I feel compelled to use the buttermilk and seems like a lot of work." A lot of work. Will you want to stir this for a bit with just a melted stick of butter and one egg in this entire cake mix It's hurting my arm. You want to stir it for a bit? Absolutely. And then I'm going to tell everybody the story that Elizabeth sent us about her mother and her uncle and the gooey butter cake. Oh, there's more. Oh, there's stories. She didn't just send us the recipe. She'd send us a couple of stories and most of them center around her mom Nancy and her mom's brother Bill. And so they all used to live in St. Louis and then the family moved to Tucson. Okay. And so apparently Nancy and Bill would travel to St. Louis to visit their grandparents, their aunts and uncles and cousins. I guess all by themselves. Well, I mean maybe they were No, no, they were I believe they were kids. Kids, right? because they're visiting their grandparents. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so they would go and visit the extended family for a couple of months over the summer and they both loved gooey butter cakes so much. So of course they'd eat their fill when they were in St. Louis and then the grandparents would send them home with like a stack of gooey butter cakes. Oh, how cute. Isn't that so nice? And so they take them home. Um but the cakes never made it home because on the trip home the kids ate all the gooey butter cakes. Of course they did. Oh, so delicious. That's so cute. It's kind of like again on the social medias how you see people take like little treats and and their kids. Yeah. They're like, "Okay, don't eat this." And I'll be right back. They film the kid just losing their mind. Oh, you can see the inner turmoil. Yes. And some of them just cave and eat it. Yes. And some of them wait. And some don't have inner turmoil. They're like, "Forget you. I'm eating it. I'm eating this." Well, apparently Nancy and Bill had no inner turmoil. They ate the heck out of the gooey butter cake on the trip back to Tucson. I love it. I think this smells divine. It is beautiful looking. It looks like a pie crust dough. It kind of does. That That's the texture of it. It smells like butter. Like butter. It's to die for. Oh my gosh. I can't wait to eat this already. Yes. Okay. Okay. So, you're going to scoop it in the pan and then we have to press it out. That is so wild. This is not what I expected at all. As we do this, I'm going to give a quick little apology. I have a cold. I know Kristen's going to do her very best to uh cut out all of my coughs and throat clearing and sneezing and everything else, but if it stays in, I'm so sorry. And I'm not coughing in the cake. Well, just FYI. Oh, stop. Aren't you guys glad you don't have to eat this particular gooey butter cake with Carrie's cooties all up in it? I love that. I think that's so cute that they ate the cakes. Isn't that adorable? Yeah. Okay, so then Elizabeth's mom's cousin Tina said that many years later when they were all adults that she brought a gooey butter cake from St. Louis from Gooey Louies. Oh, I mean I looked them up. They still exist. Gooey Louies. She swears they are the best butter cakes to buy by name alone. You know, you can even order them online and have them mailed to you. I bet shipping is horrible. Oh, I bet it is crazy. Crazy. Okay, so anyway, she brought a gooey butter cake from St. Louis to Elizabeth's mom and uncle. And immediately after unpacking, the three of them each had a slice and planned to save the rest for later. But within the next 45 minutes, her mom and uncle had eaten the entire gooey butter cake. talking about special times in St. Louis when they were growing up. I love that that I mean like the those kids inside of them. I love that. Just you you eat some gooey butter cake and there's just no stopping. Your inner child comes out. I think that would happen to us if we got a Buds Pie. If someone brought a Buds pie to us here in Georgia, we would sit and probably eat the whole blooming thing and talk about our fun times growing up in Defiance and going to Buds and I'd eat the crap out of any old pie. Who are we kidding? That's true. Who are we kidding? I think I've gotten it all pressed down in there. There's not a lot. So, there's some places I'm trying real hard to get it. Yeah. Even, but you can't really tell. It really looks like a pie crust dough, doesn't it? It does. It's yellowower. I think yellowower, but I mean the consistency of it. It is. That is very surprising. I am just surprised. I'm so shocked and surprised. Here's the takeaway, people. Kristen is surprised. Surprised. It's like she's never made this cake before and is surprised. It's just not what I anticipated. That is so funny. Okay, so now what do we have to do? Butter. More butter. More butter. Now we have to blend together the cream cheese, the vanilla and the butter has to be melted again. Okay, cream cheese, vanilla, remaining butter and eggs till well mixed and then mix in the powdered sugar and pour it over the ingredients in the pan. Okay, I think we can do that. We can do that. So, you want to start with melting the butter and while you do that, yeah, I will talk about the last two foods. Okay, so I've been to St. Louis once. I have as well. Have you been up in the arch? Yes. Years and years and years ago. For those of you who have not been, that is the weirdest experience getting in that little pod elevator thing. It's so small and you don't go straight up. It is so weird. Yeah, it is weird. Did you go like with a church group? I did. Oh my gosh. That was the trip where it had been raining out and my mom was on the trip with us. And every time one of my friends, we were all in the church youth group together, would get out of the van to go into the church where we were staying the night, she would say, "Don't step in the mud. Don't step in the mud." To every kid that was getting out, "Don't step in the mud. Don't step in the mud." And then she turns to go into the church and she goes, "Oh, shoot. I stepped in the mud. And as a teenager, that was like the most glorious moment. It was great because I was mortified that she kept telling my friends, "Don't step in the mud." We heard it once, Mom. Right. That's hilarious. That's hilarious. Okay, so St. Louis is also known for their barbecue pork ribs. Oh, yes, they are. Okay, so what I find fascinating is it's not the barbecue style or the sauce that makes St. Louis ribs famous. What? True story. I did not know that. Well, I'm going to tell you more, Kristen. Please do. In the 1950s, Yes. the Meat Packers of St. Louis developed a meaty rectangular spare rib. What? Yes. How do you magically make a meaty rectangular spare rib? They grew square cows. I was going to say they magically made. And because most of the meat packers in the US were located in St. Louis at the time. Oh, really? They dubbed those spare ribs St. Louis style ribs. Wow. So, it's the cut. That's so interesting. And then I found a little fun fact about St. Louis that they actually eat more barbecue sauce per capita than any other American city. Really? Probably because they got the square ribs. Yes. You gotta put something on those. Wow. They make square cows and lots and lots of barbecue sauce. I mean, how do you go wrong there? I mean, I think I need to move there. Okay. Gooey, butter cake, barbecue, square ribs. Does it get any better than that? I don't think so. Wait, wait, wait. Prosperity sandwich. I mean, oh, wait. We could make Chinese food swing American. I mean, the opportunities are endless, really. Yeah. Okay, so one last food. Okay, I know I started off saying that I wasn't going to pick foods that were tied to a restaurant. Oh, but you did. But then I found this. And Kristen, I am so fascinated by this food. Oh, that I want us to make it. What is it? So, I don't know if we can wait till next season. I don't know. But I'm like, what? Okay. So, the restaurant is called The Fountain on Locust. Okay. And it is called Polish dill pickle soup. What? Yeah. They say it's a standout dish that has garnered a cult following among locals. I haven't even tried it and I'm in the cult. I'm in. That sounds really good. It's a creamy, tangy concoction that balances the brininess of dill pickles with the velvety richness of potato. A potato dill. It's like a potato soup with dill pickle and pickle juice. That sounds really yummy. I thought that sounded so unique. Oh my gosh. Do you think we should make it? I don't know. We'll have to see what we have left to make this season. Oh yeah. I I like that you're trying to open that real quiet. Open that real quiet. You wonder why she's saying oh. Oh yeah. It's because she was really concentrating on opening the cream cheese package. I think we need to kind of just move to St. Louis and stay there for a hot minute. I think we should. Let's make it. Let's make it on our next episode. You're really going to go with this? Yeah. I mean it'll be like the fish sandwich all over again. I'm like I'm in. I love it when I throw something at you and you're with me. I know. It's very very very very Doesn't happen often. No. As far as personality traits go, not yours. And I meant to say very rare, but I couldn't think of the word. Oh, I'm excited. Oh my gosh. We're going to have dill pickle soup next time. I cannot wait. It sounds like the kind of thing that we're going to love. But you know what? I thought we were going to like carrot souffle. So true. What do we know? You never know. You never know. Okay. So, I will see if I can find the Fountain on Locust dill pickle soup recipe. And if it's too fancy and it requires yeasted dough, then we can not get it. That sounds great. Okay, so I think we need to talk more about this. And why don't we do it while we go on a little break cuz I'm going to have to go over to the KitchenAid and we are going to have to mix together butter, cream cheese, the remaining eggs, and some vanilla on low speed. Oh, and then we'll pop in a whole bunch of powdered sugar. I mean, yeah. Yeah, that sounds awesome. Sounds so good. Okay. And we can dream of dill pickle soup in the meantime. I mean, plus that gooey butter cake. I mean, oh my gosh, this is the best episode ever. Who knew we were going to go to St. Louis and then park there for a hot minute? I didn't know. Hey, Carrie, don't step in the mud. Oh no, I stepped in the mud.

So, while Kristen whipped I Googled the Fountain on Locust dill pickle soup. Yep. I found the recipe. It's huge. You use like 16 cups of broth. So, we're already thinking that we're totally going to do it. Yeah. Yeah. And we're going to like at least half that recipe or we're going to end up with far more soup than we're ever going to get. That's right. Yeah. But Kristen went even crazier. I don't even know who this person is anymore. I mean, it must be the gooey butter cake fumes that are just making me crazy. It's just all the butter to die for. She's like, in addition to the dill pickle soup, let's chop some barbecue pork ribs St. Louis style. No, I'm kidding. We're going to make the Gerber sandwich. It sounded pretty easy. It's just the garlic butter on bread, ham, provolone, paprika, and cheese. Melt it. Oh, that sounds so good, doesn't it? It does sound good with a little dill pickle soup. Are you a dip your sandwich in soup kind of person? I do enjoy the dippage. Do you? I am not. Oh, really? As a matter of fact, whenever we have tomato soup, I don't really eat the tomato soup. It's only for the dippage of the grilled cheese sandwich. So anyway, before uh we move on with the dill pickle talk, this liquidy stuff that we made looks gorgeous. It's smooth. It's silky. And it looks like yellow cake batter. It looks so good. It's everything smells amazing. And there is so good. So much sugar. How many Carrie? Three and 3/4 cups of powdered sugar in this topping. I have one more story about a Missouri food, not a St. Louis food that I have to share because well, you'll see. Okay. Obviously, as you know, some famous foods in in um it's called Missouri in St. Louis. Oh, St. Louis. Yes. Yeah. And I was being snarky and I didn't even have the right answer. And then I was looking for famous desserts. The gooey butter cake was the only St. Louisfamous dessert that came up repeatedly. Oh, okay. But I did find that in southern Missouri there is a group of monks that make some of the most famous fruit cakes in the world. Really? Certainly in the US. Wow. Yeah. Okay. So, I've got a whole story about this. So, as we all know, most people hate fruit cake. Well, yeah. Except for our mother, right? She loves it. She steps in the mud and she loves fruit cake. And she loves fruit cake. Yes. But they would say that people who hate it only hate it because they haven't tried the fruit cakes from Assumption Abbey. Oh my. Which is a community of Catholic priests and monks near the small town of Ava, Missouri. So this article that I found interviewed one of the monks, Father Cyprien. Okay. And he arrived in 1960 or the 60s. Yes. And at the time the monks in Cyprian Abbey were making cement blocks. Okay. Mhm. Oh. And then they went to fruit cakes which taste like cement blocks. Right. Okay. Because what happened? What? Oh yeah. There was some competition. What had happened was a competitor from the town started making concrete blocks as well. Rude. But they could do it more efficiently and sell them for cheaper than the monks. So in the 80s the monks had to do something different. Yeah. And it was fruit cake. Wow. They got a recipe from a famous French chef. My goodness. Yes. and they tinkered a little bit with the recipe and now they sell about 30,000 fruit cakes a year. Oh my gosh. I know what we need to get our mom for Christmas. Oh my gosh. Yeah. So, the monks hand bake and decorate them at the monastery and decorate. Yes. And then after the things are cooked, they inject them with eight shots of rum. No wonder people like them. They get loopity loop. And the general rule of thumb is is that if a monk loses count while injecting them, they just start over. Oh now, that's hilarious. So you're never getting less than eight shots of rum, but if the monk is tired that day, you may get quite a bit more. Yeah, because their general feeling is it's better to have more than less. Oh, that is perfect. So they bless each cake before they ship them out across the world. So not only are you getting fruit cake, a boatload of rum, but you're getting a blessing. I think that's what I need to gift to everybody next year. Oh, people will hate you. Can you imagine? But our mother Oh, yeah. I bet the bootleggy 75% off fruit cake you got for mom at the Walmarts. At the Walmarts after Christmas sale this year did not have eight injections of rum in that sucker. I bet it didn't. And you know what that reminds me of? Do you remember in the 80s all the teachers at the high school and maybe the middle school would stand up and they did a little song for all the kids and it was called Fruitcake. Yes. And the only part I remember was I believe it was Mr. Meyers, Christopher's dad, and Mr. Gruber. Okay. Who were at the end and they sang cinnamon, cinnamon, don't forget the cinnamon. Lots of spice. Very nice. But don't forget the cinnamon. I can't believe they didn't say rum. Rum. Don't forget the rum. All the spice is very nice, but don't forget the rum. That was very nice and bassy. It was very low. Again, a little off key. Sorry, Charlotte. Thinking about all that rum makes me very, very glad that in 1928, Jim How, a pharmacist in St. Lewis developed Tums in the basement of his home while trying to figure out ways to treat his wife's indigestion. Jim How just last night. I appreciated your work. I did too. I had the heartburn and I got into the berry flavored Tums. I have a cold and the whole thing gave me the heartburn and I I also got the berry flavored are the best. They are the best. You know whose generic Tums I think taste delightful? How old are we? But this is a conversation. Dollar General. You're kidding me. Dollar General's generic berry tums. Chef. Oh my gosh. Go to the Dollar Genteral. Get yourself some Dollar Genteral berry flavored tones. They're better than tongue tongues. Jeez. Oh yeah. Okay. I did want to tell you something really cool that I found out about St. Louis. Okay. Seven Up was created by Charles Grigg in 1929 and it contained lithium citrate which is a mood stabilizing drug. It is indeed. Yeah. And lithium I happen to know has the side effect of making your mouth very dry. Is that not hilarious. That is perfection. This guy that's genius. Mr. Grigg is a regular genius and he named it Seven Up lithiated lemon soda before it was shortened to just a Seven Up. Well, and potentially because they took out the lithium. Yeah, they ended up taking out the lithium. Nobody really actually knows why it was called the Seven Up part. Some people think because it had seven ingredients or because it was actually produced in 7 oz bottles instead of 6 ounces like most other beverages at the time. Oh, and then you bottoms up. Oh, I didn't even think of that. Oh my gosh. And other people, very scientific people, oh, not us. Not us, said that it's probably because lithium's atomic mass is approximately seven. Oh, stop. Seriously, come on. I know, right? That's boring. Seven ingredients bottoms up. So, now Tums. I think I kind of need one right now. I've had nothing but coffee today. and some lithium. And some lithium. Uhhuh. But then this was not created. This is something that happened. St. Louis was the first US city to host the modern Olympics. Oh. And the men's marathon that particular year was considered to be one of the most unusual and controversial races in Olympic history. In all of history. Yes. It was really weird. It was a super hot day. Okay. And only 14 of the 32 athletes were able to actually complete the race. Oh goodness. Mainly because it was so disorganized and poorly officiated. The course wasn't even cleared of obstacles. The runners had to dodge cross town traffic, delivery wagons, railroad trains, trolley cars, and even people walking their dogs. What? That's insane. And then did they have people stopping and handing them Seven Up? That would have been a great idea, but no. One poor runner actually stopped in an orchard during the race to eat some apples, but they happened to be rotten and they gave him stomach cramps, so he had to lie down and take a nap, but he still came in fourth place. What? Are you kidding me? No. Can you imagine you're jogging along, you're like, "I'm so hot. Oh, that dog walker is in my way. Oh, look at that. Some apples. Let me pick some apples up off the ground." What could be wrong with that? What could be wrong with that? Well, they don't have any dang lithiated soda, so I'm going to have to eat me some apples. He needed some Tums. He really did need some toms. Then one runner almost died during the race. He was found lying on the road along the marathon course unconscious. Holy moly. With severe internal injuries that had been caused by breathing the clouds of dust kicked up by the race officials cars. Shut up. I mean, this whole thing was a flipping mess. Wow. But it gets worse. Oh, okay. Yeah. The American Frederick Lurs was the first to cross the finish line, but he was disqualified later because it was found out that he hitched a ride in a car for part of the race. I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to be running behind those dusty cars and getting sick. Oh my gosh. So crazy. Another runner was chased off course by a pack of dogs. What? Holy cow. Did he go to the apple field and start throwing rotten apples? He should have. He should have. And then the actual winner, Thomas Hicks, was near collapse and hallucinating by the end of the race, which was a side effect of being administered brandy raw eggs and strychnine by his trainers. No, he was drugging before drugging was outlawed in athletics. Yeah. Holy moly. Wow. The drugging didn't help him obviously, right? Well, I mean, maybe it did. brandy raw eggs and strychnine, he won so maybe it did help. Crazy. Well, I want to get this beautiful gooey butter cake. Did you take a picture? I did. It's so gorgeous. It really does look like custard on the top, doesn't it? It's beautiful. I want to get it in the oven cuz this sucker has to cook for 45 to 47 minutes. I I love the two minute window. Yeah, I know, right? That's hilarious. I think it's funny. And I read it carefully prior to this episode because it says bake at 350°, 325 for glass pans. Oh, I did the right thing. We got us a glass 9 by13inch pan. And so we're going to bake it at 325 for 45 to 47 minutes. And then we're going to wait not long before we eat it. We'll just call it lava cake. Gooey lava cake. Gooey butter lava cake. Oh, I can't wait.

Oh my gosh. I think my name might be Nancy cuz I'm going to eat the heck out of this cake. Who's Nancy? Oh, Elizabeth's mom. I forgot her name was Nancy. Yep. And you can be Bill. Okay. As long as I get to eat the cake, I don't care. Oh, it's beautiful. It looks fantastic. The edge is crusty, which sounds delicious. Ooh, it's definitely ooey gooey. You know, it's taller than I thought it was going to be. Really? Yeah. I was almost disappointed in the pictures. It was like a thin brownie, but this is much higher and cakey than I had anticipated. It just looks gorgeous. It really, really does. Do you like corner pieces or middle pieces? I'm happy with either. Okay, so you take what you want Nancy. I think the middle piece will come I think the middle piece will come out easier. Oh my goodness. Get a picture of that. It is ooey and gooey. Oh god wow. Okay, so who gets to taste it? I think you get to go first. Hot dog. What I'd really like with this is a nice glass of milk. Oh, and it's still a little warm. Oh, I'm thinking some coffee. Oh yeah. Okay, I'm taking a heck of a big bite. I don't know what to say. It smells like having the whole house. I don't blame you I don't even know what to say. It smells like butter. It just smells like butter. Kristen is losing her crap over there. Oh my gosh. I would eat an entire cake of this on a train ride to Tucson. That's for sure. My gosh, that is good. And talk about easy. It's sweet. It's very, very sweet. If you don't like cake because it's always dry, no problem here. No problem. It is moist. Oh, I want another bite so badly. Oh my goodness. OK. Wow. I would get coffee with that sucker and go to town. I think Nancy and Bill had it right. Eat it while you got it because that is fantastic. And I don't think Kristen mentioned this sucker is almost cool. It is like we did epically. I'm very proud of us. Yeah. I I I had to hold her back three or four times. I know, right? She's like, "Do you want to scald the flesh off the roof of your mouth?" I'm like, "Yes." And she goes, "No, Kristen, you don't." Correct. Correct. Here we are. It's slightly warm. Oh my. It is 100% delicious. Oh my gosh. You guys have to make this. Let's think back about the recipe and how easy it was. Just a bowl with the cake mix and we put in what? One egg and a bunch of melted butter. Yeah. Stick of melted butter. pressed that in the bottom of the pan. And then we went over to the KitchenAid and we mixed cream cheese, another stick of melted butter and a couple more eggs and a crap ton of powdered sugar. That took minutes. Poured it over the top and baked it. The longest thing that it took was baking it for 45 minutes and we got on the phone chatting with our mom and overbaked it and it's still delicious. It's fantastic. The longest thing was waiting for it to cool. Let's be honest. That's true. I mean, that was torture cuz the house smelled like vanilla and butter. Oh my gosh, that was a hard wait. But this is like butter to die for. Oh my gosh. Thank you, Elizabeth. St. Louis. And thank you, St. Louis. Yay. You brought us the arch. You murdered a bunch of marathoners. And you gave us this delightful and delicious gooey butter cake. and Elizabeth, we are so glad we met you for a multitude of reasons, but more specifically for the gooey butter cake. And you guys are going to want to tune in next time because we have definitely decided to make the dill pickle soup. Yes. And the Gerber sandwich for dipping. That's right. So, be sure to mark your calendars. That's going to be on April 20th. You're not going to want to miss it. Me either.

Thanks for listening to Mom's Wooden Spoon. If you like what you heard, don't forget to subscribe. If you want a copy of this recipe or to see the pictures and other items from this episode, go to our website, momswoodspoon.com. If you'd rather check us out on Facebook or Instagram, pick your poison. Don't say poison. We're making food. A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter. A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter.