Cinnabon Cinnamon Cake
Cinnamon bun flavor without the cinnamon bun hassle.
All of the flavor of a cinnamon roll without the fuss of a yeasted dough—that’s what you get when you make this recipe for Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Cake. In homage to the famous cinnamon roll brand, this cake is soft, tender, and packed full of cinnamon filling to satisfy cinnamon roll lovers anywhere.
What Is Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Cake Composed Of?
Cake — A from-scratch cake base is super soft, thanks to the proper creaming cake creamy method and the use of buttermilk.
Cinnamon Sugar Butter — Just like cinnamon rolls, this cake has a cinnamon filling- a lot of it! A little goes a long way, adding that cinnamon-y buttery goodness into every possible inch of the cake.
Glaze — A simple milk-based glaze whips up in a flash and is poured over the still-warm cake.
Once the batter is prepped and poured into the pan, the cinnamon butter is dolloped onto the batter. Use a butter knife to swirl the cinnamon filling into the cake batter.
While the cake is baking, go ahead and make the glaze. Milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla are the only three ingredients you need to get a creamy, smooth, and flavorful glaze.
Wait for fifteen minutes before drizzling the glaze over the cake; that way, it doesn’t completely absorb into the cake, and it is still visible on top.
Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Cake is a cake you want to serve warm. The filling is a molten mix of butter, sugar, and cinnamon—making for the ultimate cinnamon bun simulation.
The cake is light and tender, which makes it a great pairing with the rich filling swirled throughout. That glaze adds the perfect amount of cinnamon roll sweetness that completes the whole cinnamon-y, buttery experience.
The richness of this cake is on par with the decadence of Cinnabon products. This cake doesn’t cut corners in the cinnamon roll filling and glaze factor, creating a cake that eats like our favorite cinnamon-y breakfast treats.
Cinnabon Cinnamon Cake
For the cinnamon filling:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
For the cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
For the glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 5 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the cinnamon filling:
- Beat butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together, set aside.
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 cake pan or a deep 9x9 pan with baking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Whisk in eggs and buttermilk.
- Slowly whisk in melted butter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Drop large spoonfuls of the cinnamon butter on top of the cake batter. Use a butter knife to swirl the cinnamon and cake batter together.
- Bake cake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with a few moist, not wet, crumbs, about 30 minutes.
To make the glaze:
- In a bowl whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.
- Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before drizzling the glaze over the cake. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from The Salty Cook and Allrecipes.