Gooey Toffee Cake Bars

In honor of Mother's Day this weekend my wife decided to make something using one of her mom's favorite sweets: toffee.  

Last weekend our friend Julie brought over a dessert she made called Chess Bars which neither of us have had before. Needless to say, it was so good that we had to hide the dessert until after dinner, otherwise it would have been gone before our meal even started!  So we took Julie's recipe for Chess Bars and incorporated one of my Mother in-law's favorite sweets: toffee.

This recipe is very easy to make and will definitely be a crowd pleaser.

Gooey Toffee Cake Bars

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Level: Easy

Yield: 24 servings

Ingredients

Cake:

- Vegetable oil cooking spray

- 1 package yellow cake mix

- 1 large egg

- 1 stick butter, melted

Filling:

- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

- 2 large eggs

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1 box (1 lb) confectioners' sugar

- 1 stick butter, melted

- 1 cup toffee bits

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the yellow cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract, confectioners' sugar and butter. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Fold in the toffee bits with a spatula.

Pour the filling over the cake mixture and spread it evenly. Bake until the center is just a little bit gooey, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into pieces and serve.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen.