Easy Chess Cake

My mother used to make these all the time. She would press the cake batter into a large cookie sheet to thin out the cake part and then pour the cream cheese topping on top. It lessens the cooking time a bit, but they come out super moist and more like bars or brownies. Great recipe!

I LOVE this recipe. I have made this three times in the last month and always get rave reviews. One helpful hint - I find the cake part of this hard to stir, so the last time I made it I used a potato masher to mix it up and it made the stirring a lot easier! Thanks for a great recipe.

This cake is unbelieveable! My grandmother used to buy pies from the grocery bakery. She called them Chess pies, I would die for them. I never got the recipe because they were "fattening" Once in a while I'd buy them when I got older, but always thought they would be hard to make. When I saw this recipe I thought how easy, and mabe it'll taste like the pie. OMG!, it's lovely tastes like the pies my Gma used to buy. I took it out of the oven, and only let it cool 10 min before I tasted it. My hubby and son couldn't beleive their taste buds! I will be making this, and I've already thought of other cake mixes to use in it. (I like experimenting)

Best with red velvet cake mix!

This is a great cake. I have made a variation of this recipe many times. One tip to mix the cake more easily is to mix with your hands. Use gloves. You may want to try a cup of pecans in the cake mix. You may also try a differnt flavor cake mix. (german chocolate cake mix with pecans and coconut drizzle with melted german chocolate bar).

This is really good! The only change I made was to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cream cheese part. It turned out very, very sweet- probably the sweetest dessert I've ever made. You could cut back on the sugar to 3 or even 2 cups. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect with this recipe and was expecting something more cakey. It ended up like a bar. The texture of the crust part and the filling part is actually very reminescent of lemon bars. The crust part is kind of chewy (particularly the edges and if it's cold) and the filling part (which does not taste like cream cheese to us) is gooey. So if you like chewy and gooey, make these for sure, but if you don't, stay away!

This is the very best Chess Cake recipe. My kids loved it when they were small and now I have too make it for my grandkids at Christmas every year. I sprinkle some chocolate chips before baking and that dresses it up some. My son doesn't like pecans so I only add those to half of it before baking. I'm sure you could add othr flavors of chips and other types of nuts or whatever your imagination could come up with.

This recipe is great.. my husband tried to eat it straight from the oven. It doesnt make it very long at my house. I add some vanilla to the cream cheese mix..just a special little touch.

I have made this recipe for years and years.. people at work named them "Oh, God!" Bars, because they're absolutely heavenly!

I baked this recipe for 45 minutes and it still didn't get done, it was really gooey. I don't know what I did wrong, but I will try it again, but bake it in a jelly roll pan. I am open to any suggestions, as this recipe is simple and sounded very good.

I bake at 325 for 50 minutes.

This is a combo rating: 5 for how easy and quick it is, 3 for how overly sweet it is. We all enjoyed it, but WOW is it sweet. I'd definitely cut back on the sugar next time. Followed the recipe exactly and baked as stated and I loved the way it came out, texture was great. The custard consistency reminded my husband of lemon bars, so he felt some flavor was missing, but he still had seconds and couldn't stop nibbling :)

The whole family loved this dessert! I used a lemon cake mix rather then yellow and it added a great summery flavor. I will be making this again and trying different flavors. I am glad I cut the bars small as they are very rich - but you can always have two!

This cake is awesome. My husband, who usually just eats a little dessert after dinner, enjoyed some later in the evening and awoke to have some for breakfast the next morning.

I made cupcakes instead of a cake as I only have a toaster oven. I used 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of the cake mix in the paper cup and topped with 1 heaping tablespoon of the topping. I used just 1 box of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract with the cream cheese and eggs for the topping. Baked for 20 minutes. Ssssoooo good.

This cake is really great! Will be making this again. I made no changes to the recipe.

I received this recipe from a friend years ago and gets many many compliments and recipe requests when I make it. The base layer is very stiff, not at all like cake batter. I've found it's easier to dive in with my hands to mix it than to try and use a spoon. I cut it into small (small because it's very rich) squares...great for parties!

VERYYY GOOD!! made this for a crosscountry pre-meet dinner and everyone loved it! one said it was the best thing she ever ate! thankyou soo much!

I made the red velvet version-crazy good! I mixed the base with my hands like someone suggested and it was easy!

Yummy, simple and all gone:) I used a red velvet cake mix and most guests had more than one piece.

OMG! This is the best! My husband is raving! I made it with choc. cake and sprinkled it with powdered sugar when it was done baking. Also, it took about 45 min. to cook. Give it a try, you'll LOVE it!

This cake is sooo rich but it is really good. I have a crazy sweet tooth and even I questioned if it was too sweet. I only did about 3 and 1/2 cups of sugar and it turned out fine. My oven cooks uneven and it seemed like one side was more done than the other and I preferred the "crispier" side, so I will probably cook it just a little longer next time. Also, I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese. All in all a good recipe that can be prepared quickly and feed a lot.

Turned out really well, will make again!

i dont understand the rave reviews. i made the yellow cake "mix" from scratch... and followed the rest of the directions as written. (used 3.75 cups confectioner's sugar instead of 4... just because thats what 1 box equals) in any case, it was a pain to stir the base layer, and even worse to try and keep it down without it sticking to your hands. the top layer is way too eggy and there's not enough of it if its supposed to be like cheesecake. ugh, this was not what i was expecting at all and im far from pleasantly surprised. (35 mins at 350 seemed fine for mine tho - it looks the same as the 2 pics posted)

My friends love when I make this.

used 3 cups of powdered sugar, and that was enough. wonderful recipe to bring to pot luck cut up in lil squares..

such a great treat.... be patient while pressing out the cake mixture ..... favorite treat during the holidays or anytime !!

Made this for Thanksgiving, everyone loved it. Beware it is very rich.

This recipe initially worried me for two reasons before going into the oven: 1) The cake "batter" was very dry and 2) the batter and topping nearly filled my pan.----After it came out, it settled a bit while cooling to a fairly level surface and was simply amazing. This will be my new standard chess cake recipe.

My mom used to make this all the time and I do now. You can use any flavor cake mix. Lemon is a good one and my fave is butter pecan!

Good, rich comforting stuff. The tips about using hands or potato masher were good ones! I thought this was easy-peasy to make for as yummy as it is.

I've used this recipe for years and my family loves it.

My family loves the recipe - I have made it 3 times now...my end result looks different than Kathy's pic but great!!!

I'm surprised about all the reviews; this cake was so sweet that my grandkids (ages 9, 10 and 11) couldn't eat it. Jan

This is an easy to make cake, very tasty, and it is impossible to taste the cake mix. One of the very few cakes in my recipe box that are not made from scratch - and nobody can tell! However - I reduce the confectioners' sugar from 4 cups down to only 1 1/2 cups and the cake is still borderlined too sweet for most people I had taste it - and even for me. Since I really like sweet (sugar does not get old in my house!) I can not imagine how "normal" people can enjoy this cake with the full load of sugar!

I have a major sweet tooth but this is so overwhelmingly sweet that even I can't stomach it. If you're determined to make this, I suggest cutting it into one inch squares and holding off until you have a very large bbq to attend. It went to waste at my house.

I made this recipe exactly as written and found way too much sugar. My whole family agreed it was too sweet to enjoy. I may try making it with one cup of confectioners' sugar - not four!

A friend of mine gave me this exact recipe last year. I had one similar to it years ago but it was called sugar cream cake. Every time I make this everyone asks for the recipe. Now other people are making to bring to our pitch ins! We love it & if you have a sweet tooth you will too!

This cake is very easy to make, but it's like drinking over-sweetened coffee. It was way too sweet.

I was really looking forward to this recipe. It was good, but took much longer than 35 minutes to bake. It was closer to an hour. But other than that, yummy!

I used a marble cake mix and it turned out great! This was an easy recipe and the kids loved to help!

My mother gave me this recipe and she called it Sticky Cake. I made it for my family and friends at work and everyone love it. I made it with a lemon cake mix and it was wonderful. I am going to try it with Red Velvet cake mix for Christmas.

try using lemon or cherry chip cake mix just about any flavor will work some better than others.

This was an easy fast and good cake to make. It was a big hit at the family get together.

I loved this recipe. It is so easy to put together and it does not last long. Thanks.

This recipe was awesome! It didn't require a long list of ingredients and it was super simple. I used fat-free egg substitute since that's all I had on hand and I used about 3-3/4 cup confectioners sugar because I figured it was really sweet anyways and I was right. My boyfriend said it's the best thing I've made :) I only got rave reviews, everyone liked it a lot. It really was delicious.

The first time I made this with carrot cake mix...Awesome! The next time I made it with chocolate cake mix and I invited the same people to taste test. Guests ranged in ages from 11 years to 69 years old. Hands down the carrot cake won! By the way, they are both better the next day. The only thing I do different is I add vanilla to the cream cheese mixture and add 10 more minutes to the baking time. I shake the pan to make sure the middle of the cake does not jiggle before removing from the oven. Thanks for the great recipe. I going to make it again today with a different flavor cake mix. Can't wait!!!!

I liked this recipe. I did reduce the sugar to 1 cup of 10x, powdered, confectioners sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract...More of a cheesecake flavor. 4 cups of sugar is insanity! I also tried a variation that we loved...choc choc chip cake mix, added one cup of chocolate chips to the cream cheese topping layer...was like a black bottom cupcake/bar cookie...excellent! Also have added a little coconut and chopped pecans to topping with chocolate base..have fun with the variations...good base recipe! flavor and texture better on second day too...great make ahead!

I love this cake, its better then blondie brownies. Its great for bake sales, and A big hit at school. But beware they are addictive and if your watching calories, you might want to look away.

first timer on the Chess Cake, I just can't pin it but it needs something; kind of taste like cheesecake, kind of reminds me of tapioca pudding on a crust. I would make it again if someone gives me an idea of what it is supposed to taste like or some pointers

Taste is great...it was eaten up in no time. Very sloppy in the middle, but good to put over vanilla ice cream!

Pretty tasty. I used fat free cream cheese and only half of the powdered sugar and it still tasted great.

I don't know which came first, but this is almost the same thing as a gooey butter cake, which I prefer over this. I used only 3 cups of sugar and thought it was waaaayyy too sweet...(Although my offspring appreciated the sugar overload, as did my guests). Btw, this cake tasted even better the next day.

All I can say is HOLY S***! The possibilities are endless with this gem! Key lime, lemon, pumpkin spice for the fall, red velvet! My new favorite and EASY desert recipe!

The cream cheese layer didn't set right. It's extremely sweet. If I make this again there will be some major revisions.

I did like this a lot and so did my brother and family, but my own family did not rave about it. We put it in the fridge so it wouldn't be so gooey and the next day...yummy. It was so much better the next day. I also added a cream cheese frosting to the top so that the cake part wouldn't be as dry and that seem to go over really well. I would try it again.

Sickening sweet. Can taste the powdered sugar. We thought it was way way too sweet.

Very good, family enjoyed. I added the vanilla as suggested by reviewers. I used my food processor to combine cake mix, egg and butter. Quick and easy!

This is from the viewpoint of someone branching out and trying a recipe for something completely unfamiliar to me (chess cake). I'm giving it 3 stars because I think it's somewhat deceptive. Had the look and ingredients of a cheesecake like bar, but nothing like cheesecake. You really can't even taste the cream cheese. Good if you're looking for an easy and SUPER sweet treat.

Very sweet! I would cut back the sugar by a full cup next time. Good for a quick and easy dessert.

Yummy!!!

This was just ok. Decreased powdered sugar to 3 1/2 C and added 1 tsp vanilla to top layer based on other reviews. The crust layer had consistency of a soft cookie dough before baking but was kind of dry and crumbly after baking. Flavor was ok, texture was what I didn’t like.

Delicious I dont like cake but when I made it was like a dream whole family loves it hope to make again

This recipe is great!! Just made it for mothers day..hope it makes it to mothers before its all gone!! Only change I made was cut sugar down to 3 cups.

Baked a little longer and addEd a touch of vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture to taste came out amazing! My nephew who's father passed away used to make this cake and he says it's the closest thing to it so yay ! Thank you! Now I can give him a little bit of his dads baking.

I love this cake. I make it several times a year. I do it with yellow cake base and chocolate base. Both are very good.

I used the reduced sugar yellow cake mix.

This was easy to make and looked perfect. I thought it was too sweet. I took it to a family gathering and everyone raved. I think that if I make this again, I’ll double the cream cheese and eggs, but not the powdered sugar. This one is worth tweaking.