Go Back

Butter Cake Mastro’s Recipe

Mastro’s Butter Cake is a rich, indulgent dessert known for its golden crust and ultra-moist, buttery center. This classic steakhouse favorite combines simple ingredients like butter, cream cheese, and sugar to create a dense, melt-in-your-mouth texture. It's baked until the edges are crisp and the center stays soft, then served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh berries. Perfect for special occasions, this cake delivers that iconic restaurant-style experience right at home.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 600
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cake Batter
  • 2  cups unsalted butter room temp
  • 4  oz cream cheese room temp
  • 2  cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs room temp
  • 2  tsp vanilla extract
  • ½  tsp salt
  • 1½  cups all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Layer
  • 4  oz cream cheese room temp
  • 1 large egg
  • ⅓  cup granulated sugar
  • ½  tsp vanilla extract
Finish & Serving
  • Turbinado raw sugar for coating
  • Vanilla ice cream
  • Raspberry sauce or fresh berries

Equipment

  • Stand mixer (or electric beaters)
  • Ramekins or mini springform pans (6–8 oz each)
  • Kitchen torch (optional, for crunchy sugar crust)
  • Mixing bowls
  • Baking sheet
  • Spatula​

Method
 

Prepare Ramekins
  1. Preheat oven to 325 °F. Grease ramekins, then dust with turbinado sugar so it sticks all over the interior.
  2. (That crunch is everything.)
Make Cake Batter
  1. Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy (about 1–2 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Scrape bowl.
  2. Add flour and salt; mix just until combined to keep it tender.
Make Cream Cheese Layer
  1. In a bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
Assemble
  1. Spoon cake batter into ramekins, filling about ¾ full. Top with a dollop of cream cheese mix.
  2. Place on a baking sheet.
Bake
  1. Bake for 60–75 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and centers are slightly springy.
  2. Cool 10 minutes before turning out.
Optional Brûlée
  1. Sprinkle tops with raw sugar and torch to caramelize for extra crunch. Totally worth it.
Serve
  1. Invert cakes onto plates. Top each with vanilla ice cream and warm raspberry sauce or fresh berries.

Notes

  1. Portion Control: These are rich—stick to individual servings.
  2. Storage: In fridge up to 3 days. Warm in oven (325 °F for 10 min).
  3. Freezing: Freeze cakes (unfrosted) and sauce separately. Thaw overnight in fridge.