Copycat Mastro’s Warm Butter Cake [Personal Size]
Mastro’s Steakhouse is a Houston, Texas scenic staple. The guests are incredibly well dressed, business meetings at their finest, live music, scenic instagram backdrops, and delicious food. In fact, Tristan and I had our rehearsal dinner there, one of my favorite memories.
Besides their steaks and incredible seafood selection, they are known for their warm butter cake, and it is as delicious as everyone says, it never disappoints and is the perfect ending to dinner (or any meal in my opinion). The dessert costs about $20.00, and can feed about 2-3 people, it is a size-able dessert that is made to be shared.
Let’s be honest, sometimes I just want this cake, a small cake, for me and only me. I started making the butter cake at home and to be honest, I am much happier eating my personal size butter cake in the comfort of my own home and not spending $200+ on a dinner to get one. This dessert has become a much requested treat from guests, and I am always happy to make it.
Batter 1: Cake Batter
Make sure your butter, cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature, YES it makes a difference because I tried them cold and then I tried throwing the butter and cream cheese in the microwave to “speed up” the process, Trust me, patience is a virtue.
Just take your butter, eggs, and cream cheese out the fridge an hour (and a half-ish, your house maybe a different temperature than mine so use your best judgement) before you are going to start baking.
Do not over mix this batter – you want to mix it just till all the ingredients are mixed in together and the batter is smooth.
Batter 2: Cream Cheese Batter
Again, make sure your cream cheese is room temperature this also makes a difference with this cream batter because if the cream cheese is too cold, it will be lumpy. If done right, the batter will be very “liquid-y” so don’t be worried about that – in the end it will make so much sense.
Baking + Prepping
Spray your pan with some canola oil for clean pop out – they will look so much prettier and you will be glad you did. Cake batter goes into your mold first, then cream cheese batter on top as show in the picture above.
This batter cooks in about 60 minutes – it is low and slow but very much worth it in the end. Allow them to cool for about 5-10 minutes before you pop them out their pans. I normally go around the edges with a knife to separate the pan from cake and just flip it over onto a drying rack.
A Final *Torch*
The last step is not required, but if you want a fully “authentic” warm butter cake, you don’t want to skip this step. Allow your cakes to cool a bit outside the pan (but don’t have to be super cool, just enough to allow them to set).
Cover your cakes all around with a thin layer of turbinado sugar [you can also use granulated sugar – which I did in the picture taken above], take your torch, and lightly torch the sugar till it melts but does not burn [keep the flame about 2-3 inches away from the cake].
This gives the cake that caramelized sugar taste and that extra crunch on the outside you taste when you bite into the warm butter cake. It is a small detail, but in my opinion, it makes this cake a true authentic copycat. But trust me, it will taste just as delicious if you skip this step, because I have done both.
Copycat Mastro’s Warm Butter Cake [Personal Size]
Description
A personal sized copycat of the favorite, Mastro's Steakhouse Warm Butter Cake. A crowd please that will have your family, friends, and guests asking for it again and again.
Ingredients
Cake Batter
Cream Cheese Batter
Instructions
Prepping the Cakes
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Pre-heat the oven to 325F
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Spray the cake pans down with canola oil and set aside.
Prepare the Cake Batter
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In a stand mixer cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar for 1-2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat on low for 30 seconds after each addition.
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Add vanilla, and mix just until combined.
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Whisk flour and salt together in a small bowl, then add to creamed cake mixture. Beat on low until incorporated, do not over beat.
Prepare Cream Cheese Batter
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In a small bowl whip, together cream cheese and granulated sugar until creamed, add egg and vanilla extract.
Prep and Bake the Cakes
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Pour cake batter into prepared pans then top with a layer of the cream cheese mixture. Roughly 1/2 cup of cake batter and 1/4 cup of cream cheese layer in each pan. Be sure not to overfill. [Leave a tiny bit of space at the top of your pan for it to expand]
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Bake for 60 – 75 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cakes.
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Allow your cakes to cool about 15 minutes before removing them from the pans. I usually flip them onto a cooling rack.
Brûlée + Garnish
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Coat each cake in a thin layer of sugar and brûlée the outside of each cake just enough to melt the sugar [but do not over brûlée because the burn flavor will not be a pleasant taste]
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Top with a generous scoop of ice cream. Garnish plate with preferred fruit and enjoy!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’ve seen other versions of this recipe that coat the baking pans in butter & then with sugar before adding the batter which replace the step of your brulee method. Have you tried doing it that way? I’m taking them for a family dinner & would like to have them already made so that I can warm them for dessert. Thanks so much!