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    Home » Recipes » Desserts

    CPK Butter Cake (California Pizza Kitchen)

    Published: Jan 4, 2023 by Susan Petracco
    This post may contain affiliate links · 11 Comments

    Jump Print
    4.86 from 83 votes

    Sure, many people go to California Pizza Kitchen for their pizza, but the CPK butter cake is perhaps even more delicious! If you've ever wanted to make this amazing dessert from home, this recipe will satisfy your cravings!

    A slice of CPK Butter Cake served with vanilla ice cream

    California Pizza Kitchen butter cake is delicious any time of year. It's rich and sweet, and the perfect way to end any meal. Not to worry; it's also super easy to make! Just mix up two bowls of ingredients you probably have on hand, layer them in a pan, and bake. Then serve with ice cream or whipped cream and wait for your family (and your tummy) to thank you.

    I love copycat recipes, because I have gotten more and more where I don't like to eat out all the time. Plus, we're an hour away from the nearest California Pizza Kitchen, so this isn't an easy craving to fill at their restaurant! (I have the same issue with Lupe Tortilla's fajitas, except they are half a country away, which is why I made my version of their recipe.)

    Jump to:
    • 🥘 Ingredients
    • 🔪 Instructions
    • 📖 Variations
    • 🍽 Equipment
    • 🥡 Storage
    • ❓ FAQ
    • Recipe

    🥘 Ingredients

    Most of these ingredients you probably already have on hand; they're all fairly standard items for baking!

    CPK Butter Cake in pan after baking
    • butter
    • cream cheese
    • eggs
    • all-purpose flour
    • sugar
    • salt
    • vanilla extract

    See recipe card for quantities.

    🔪 Instructions

    Making the cake is also pretty simple! Just mix up ingredients in two bowls with a hand mixer or stand mixer, layer them in ramekins or a cake pan, and bake!

    CPK Butter Cake step 1

    1. For the cake layer: Cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and salt, and beat to mix.

    CPK Butter Cake step 2

    2. Slowly add flour to mixture, continuing to beat as you go. Use a slow speed to avoid spraying flour all over your kitchen ;) Set aside.

    CPK Butter Cake step 3

    3. For topping: In another bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar. Add half an egg (see tips below) and vanilla extract, and beat to combine.

    4. Prepare a 9-inch cake pan by greasing it with vegetable shortening or butter and then coating with flour. (See tips below)

    CPK Butter Cake step 5

    5. Spread first mixture into pan and smooth to make a flat layer.

    CPK Butter Cake step 6

    6. Spread the second mixture on top, and smooth again as needed. Bake in 325 degree (Fahrenheit) oven for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

    After cooking, allow the cake to cool completely, then serve with vanilla ice cream and/or dollops of whipped cream.

    Tip 1: To use half an egg, crack it into a separate bowl, and scramble it with a whisk or fork. Use some kind of scoop - a small measuring cup works well - to take about half of the egg out. It doesn't have to be exact!

    Tip 2: To prepare a pan, you first need to grease it. You can use butter or vegetable shortening (like Crisco), and apply it with a wadded-up paper towel to the bottom and sides. It doesn't need to be very thick, but try to not leave any dry spots. Then put a small amount of flour - maybe half a tablespoon - into the pan. Turn and tilt the pan while tapping the side, so that the flour is distributed and covers the previously-greased areas. If any loose flour remains, tap it into the garbage!

    📖 Variations

    If you order the butter cake at California Pizza Kitchen, you will see it's baked in individual portions. You can do this yourself by using ramekins and dividing the cake batter and topping among each one. The cooking time may be less, depending on the size of your ramekins, so be sure to use the toothpick test earlier than 45 minutes!

    If you use ramekins, you can serve the cake still in the ramekin, or remove it to a plate to better copy what CPK does in their restaurants.

    🍽 Equipment

    To make the CPK Butter cake, you will need:

    • 2 medium mixing bowls
    • 1 small bowl to scramble and divide the egg for the topping
    • hand mixer (a stand mixer works but may be overkill!)
    • 9-inch cake pan (or ramekins)
    • measuring spoons and measuring cups
    • a whisk and a spatula

    🥡 Storage

    Store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

    ❓ FAQ

    How do you reheat a CPK butter cake?

    Reheat in the microwave for 30-40 seconds. Then add ice cream or whipped cream before serving.

    Where can I find California Pizza Kitchen restaurants?

    If you want to find a CPK restaurant in person, use the location finder on their website.

    Recipe

    CPK Butter Cake

    CPK Butter Cake

    4.86 from 83 votes
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 37 minutes minutes
    Author: Susan
    Calories: 447kcal
    Servings: 8
    Print Pin Rate
    Save yourself a trip to the California Pizza Kitchen by making this delicious CPK Butter Cake at home! It's sweet, rich, and amazingly good!

    Equipment

    • 2 mixing bowls
    • 1 small bowl to whisk an egg
    • 1 hand mixer
    • 1 9-inch cake pan only one pan is needed; either works fine!
    • 1 set of measuring cups
    • 1 set of measuring spoons
    • 1 whisk
    • 1 spatula
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    Cake Layer

    • 1 cup butter softened
    • 2 ounces cream cheese softened
    • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
    • 1 egg room temperature
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ¾ cup all-purpose flour

    Topping Layer

    • 2 ounces cream cheese softened
    • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
    • ½ egg room temperature
    • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

    Instructions

    • Set out 2 eggs, 2 sticks of butter, and cream cheese to soften and come to room temperature
    • Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit / 163° Celsius
    • Begin with the cake layer. Place butter, cream cheese, and sugar into one of the mixing bowls. Use a hand mixer to cream these ingredients together.
    • Add the egg, vanilla extract, and salt, and use hand mixer to beat until combined.
    • Keeping the hand mixer on low, slowly add flour and mix until all of the flour is incorporated. Set first mixing bowl aside.
    • Moving on to the topping layer, cream together sugar and cream cheese with your hand mixer. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat to combine. Set second mixing bowl aside.
    • Prepare 9-inch round pan or ramekins by greasing with butter or vegetable shortening, then dusting with flour.
    • Spread the contents of the first mixing bowl into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
    • Spread the contents of the second mixing bowl on top of the first layer, but do not stir. If necessary, smooth this layer as well.
    • Bake in a 325° Fahrenheit oven for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
    • Allow cake to cool before carefully removing from the pan. Slice and serve alone, with ice cream, or with dollops of whipped cream.

    Notes

    Oven temperatures vary, so check your cake along the way to make sure it doesn't burn. If you use ramekins instead of a single pan, your cooking time may be less.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 447kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 312mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 944IU | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg

    Filed Under: Copycat Recipes, Desserts January 4, 2023 by Susan Petracco 11 Comments

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Iram

      February 20, 2023 at 10:01 pm

      I tried this recipe and am not sure what happened but after 60 mins of cooking i took it out of the oven and the cake is swimming in a pool of bubbling liquid butter. I have already poured out almost half cup and theres still more!! Where did i go wrong??

      Reply
      • Susan Petracco

        February 21, 2023 at 6:41 pm

        Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that. I don't know what went wrong, unless maybe you didn't measure something properly. I'll test again soon and make sure I don't have any errors in my write-up, too.

        Reply
      • Susan Petracco

        February 27, 2023 at 1:36 pm

        5 stars
        Iram,
        I tested this recipe again this weekend and didn't have any problems with the measurements, but I did notice a couple of typos in my instructions. Step 4 said sugar instead of salt, but the sugar had been used in Step 3. Maybe that caused your issue, if you doubled up on sugar in the cake layer and did not use salt? Step 6 also left out the vanilla listed in the ingredients for the topping. I hope the recipe is better now with those errors corrected. If you try again, please let me know if it works better the second time!

        Reply
    2. Shanita

      July 05, 2023 at 2:30 am

      What size ramekins would you use? 8 or 4 ounce?

      Reply
      • Susan Petracco

        July 07, 2023 at 1:29 pm

        Shanita, I haven't tried it, so I'm not absolutely sure. Mine are 4 ounce (or closer to that than 8 ounce) and I think they would work great. I suspect both would work, you'd just have twice as many 4-ounce cakes as you would 8-ounce ones. I'll try it soon, if I can find time, and report back. Gives me an excuse to bake and eat this again!

        Reply
    3. Bj reeves

      December 06, 2023 at 8:43 pm

      I didn’t have a 9” pan. So I used a spring form pan.
      Butter liquid filled the bottom of my oven and set off 3 smoke detectors.
      Haven’t tasted it yet because the birthday party is tomorrow.
      Will let you know how final product tastes

      Reply
      • Susan Petracco

        December 07, 2023 at 1:48 pm

        Oh no! I did something similar many years ago with potatoes. It was a Martha Stewart recipe and didn't call for a springform pan, but it was what I had. I also set off smoke detectors because the inside of my oven actually caught on fire. And my extended family was visiting for Christmas. They've never let me live it down! I hope your oven is ok!

        Reply
    4. Dr. Keima

      January 31, 2024 at 12:56 am

      5 stars
      Amazing recipe and my family and friends absolutely love it. I am having a problem with it rising in the middle though. It's always done, but the middle is flat and the rest of the cake is fluffy. The first time I cooked it, I used a 9 inch pan as instructed and it cooked outside of the pan and messed up my oven. I took a small portion out the 2nd time and cooked it in a small round pan and it worked much better. I'm trying a larger and deeper heart shaped pan this time so I'll let you know how it turns out. Pair it with Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream for that CPK taste.

      Reply
      • Susan Petracco

        April 05, 2024 at 10:14 pm

        Dr. Keima, is your pan non-stick? You might try switching up and using whichever one you didn't already try. Non-stick pans bake a little quicker, I think, and maybe less evenly. That said, I use a non-stick pan myself. And when I do it, the middle might be SLIGHTLY flatter but nothing that would be really noticeable.

        Reply
    5. Michelle

      April 17, 2025 at 1:08 am

      I too had the swimming in butter issue. Everything was room temperature and I'm an avid Baker so I creamed butter and sugar together till it was nice and fluffy then added the egg Incorporated well moved on to the cheesecake topping which that part seemed to turn out fine. I also used a glass bottom springform pan since I don't have ramekins. I don't know if the pan Style would have anything to do with it but I'm frustrated because I know it's not supposed to be like this. You could pinch a cut piece and pull butter out of it

      Reply
      • Susan Petracco

        April 17, 2025 at 2:48 pm

        This is baffling to me, because I haven't been able to recreate it. Did you use 1 cup of butter (2 sticks)? Since you said you're an avid baker, I assume that measurements weren't the issue, but I had to ask.

        I wonder if it's altitude causing it? I'm almost at sea level.

        Reply
    4.86 from 83 votes (81 ratings without comment)

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    Hi! I'm Susan and I love to create things, including fantastic meals at home! Here you'll find some of my favorite recipes for myself and my family, as well as global recipes inspired by my travels. Read More…

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