This Cinnamon Roll Cake is everything you love about cinnamon rolls, but in an easy, no-fuss cake. It is delicious, sweet, and packed with cinnamon flavor, making it perfect for breakfast or dessert.
Since first making this recipe years ago, this cake has become so loved that it’s often requested for birthday breakfasts and holiday gatherings. And what makes it so amazing is the buttery cinnamon swirl baked right into the cake. Then, it’s topped with a delicious glaze that takes it out of this world.
If you’re looking for all of the delicious flavors of cinnamon rolls but in a fraction of the time (only 40 minutes from start to finish!), this is the cake to try. With loads of butter, cinnamon, glaze, and flavor, this recipe always gets rave reviews!
If you love sweet breakfast treats, try our Coffee Cake, Cinnamon Rolls, and French Toast Bake.
Why you’ll love it + Why it works:
- Easy to Make: Simple steps make this perfect for busy mornings or gatherings, plus it’s ready in only 40 minutes.
- Great for Sharing: A 9×13 pan feeds a crowd with ease. Make it for special mornings, like Christmas, or a lazy Sunday morning.
- Swirled Topping: The cinnamon mixture bakes into the cake for flavor in every bite.
- Moist Texture: The butter and milk keep the cake soft and tender.
Cinnamon Roll Cake Ingredients
Cake
- All-purpose flour (3 cups): Gives the cake structure and stability. See How to Measure Flour.
- Sugar (1 cup): Sweetens the cake and helps keep it moist.
- Baking powder (4 teaspoons): Helps the cake rise and stay light.
- Salt (½ teaspoon): Balances the sweetness and enhances flavor.
- Milk (1½ cups): Adds moisture and creates a smooth batter.
- Eggs (2 large): Helps bind the ingredients and adds structure.
- Vanilla extract (2 teaspoons): Enhances the overall flavor.
- Unsalted butter (½ cup, melted): Adds richness and keeps the cake soft.
Cinnamon Topping
- Unsalted butter (¾ cup, softened): Forms the base of the cinnamon topping. See How to Soften Butter Quickly.
- Light brown sugar (1 cup, packed): Adds sweetness and that classic caramel-like flavor.
- All-purpose flour (2 tablespoons): Helps thicken the topping slightly.
- Ground cinnamon (1 tablespoon): Brings that warm cinnamon roll flavor.
Glaze
- Powdered sugar (2 cups, sifted): Creates a smooth and sweet glaze.
- Milk (5 tablespoons): Thins the glaze to the perfect consistency.
- Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon): Adds flavor to the glaze.
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Cake
PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-x-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
BATTER. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, eggs, and vanilla together. Slowly stir in ½ cup melted butter and pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
In a medium bowl, mix ¾ cup softened butter, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon. Dollop the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the cake mixture evenly.
Swirl your topping and cake mixture with a knife, only inserting it halfway into the cake batter and going up and down the length of the pan.
BAKE. Bake for 28–32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
GLAZE. Meanwhile, mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Drizzle over the warm cinnamon roll cake.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Tender Cake: Do not overmix the batter to keep the cake light and soft.
- Cinnamon Swirl: Swirl gently so you keep defined ribbons of cinnamon throughout.
- Glaze: Drizzle glaze while warm so it soaks in slightly.
- Smooth Batter: Use room temperature ingredients for smoother mixing.
- Frosting: This recipe uses a glaze topping, but you can make a cream cheese frosting instead.
Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Cinnamon Topping
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 5 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, eggs, and vanilla.
- Slowly stir in melted butter and pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Cinnamon topping: In another bowl, mix softened butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Dollop over the top of the cake mixture evenly.
- Swirl your topping and cake mixture with a knife, only inserting it halfway into the batter and going up and down the length of the pan.
- Bake for 28–32 minutes.
- Mix all glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle over the cake while it is still warm.
Notes
- Tender Cake: Do not overmix the batter to keep the cake light and soft.
- Cinnamon Swirl: Swirl gently so you keep defined ribbons of cinnamon throughout.
- Glaze: Drizzle glaze while warm so it soaks in slightly.
- Smooth Batter: Use room temperature ingredients for smoother mixing.
- Frosting: This recipe uses a glaze topping, but you can make a cream cheese frosting instead.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Bake it 24 hours in advance and store, unglazed, covered at room temperature. You can also wrap the baked cake with plastic and foil and freeze up to 3 months. Just reheat it in the oven for a few minutes to get warm before drizzling with the glaze.
Cool and cover with foil or saran wrap. Leave it on the counter for 3-4 days or wrap and freeze it for up to 3 months.
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Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe
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Bisquick Coffee Cake
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Coffee Cake Muffins
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Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
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This recipe was originally published January 2013.
I made this cake and used too much butter in the batter. The ingredient list make it a little confusing. We’ll see how it turns out. Smells good!
We made this today and it was delicious. We added cinamon 1 tbsp to the icing and the kids raved about the extra flavor. Thanks for sharing.
I made this and
http://instagram.com/p/t-_0RyGTM6/?modal=true
Didnt get to finish typing. I made this and totally forgot to come back and let you know just how amazing it was! Thank you for sharing…I may go ahead and make it again this weekend! 😉
Very tasty and very easy to make. I had my oven on top and bottom heat and had the cake in for 50 minutes. I also topped it with cream cheese frosting. This recipe makes 12 big pieces and since I don’t eat sugar on a regular basis (I had made this for dinner with friends along with two other sweets) there was a lot left over so I put them in the freezer. 😉
I might have over-swirled also because this took a lot longer to bake than 32 minutes. But it is delicious! It’s definitely difficult to know when to take it out. Hey maybe I under swirled! 🙂
Sorry you had problems with this. Every oven is different so I would just bake for the suggested time and the middle still looks unbaked and jiggles a bit, I would bake for a little longer. 😉
My mom and I have been trying to figure out how to make gluten free cinnamon roles. The results have not been fabulous.
I just made this recipe……. uhm, I really don’t have words to express how I feel, maybe OMG sums it up! I’ve never made cinnamon rolls but I have plenty of recipes pinned because, well, I LOVE THEM! My best friend makes homemade cinnamon rolls, as far as I know they are the only homemade ones I’ve ever had and they are to die for. There is one problem with me making her recipe, no matter how much free time I have I DON’T have the patience or the process, I mean make dough then wait and let it rise and something about an 4 or 8hr process… LOL, yeah right! So I stumbled upon your recipe here yesterday. I had to make it today! It’s a TOTAL & COMPLETE HIT with the entire 4 of us! OMG it’s to die for. Now that I’ve made this I am not sure I will ever attempt the longing process of real cinnamon rolls!
Thank you sooooooooooo much for sharing this! Finding a recipe that will be made on the regular is kind of a challenge. Point for you 🙂 <3
Your comment totally made my day! I, too, have never tried the long process of cinnamon rolls but my mom does it all the time. We LOVE this Cinnamon Roll Cake recipe and make it all the time, though. It’s our favorite and WAY simple. If you like this then you must also try these Cinnamon Roll Bites – https://lilluna.com/cinnamon-roll-bites/. They are delicious!!
ooooh, bite sized pieces :O well I will definitely be making this one next, there are only 3 pieces left of this cake so it won’t be long before the bites hit the oven :P… I will let you know on that recipe how it goes 🙂 Btw, I LOVE you read all your replies!
LOL. I try to read them all, but I do miss a few every once in a while. Let me know what you think of the Cinnamon Bites. They are SOOO good and really quick to make. 😉 Merry Christmas!!
This looks amazing, my family would go crazy over this! We featured this recipe in our Feature Friday blog post last week for Cinnamon and Spice Desserts! http://returntothetable.net/recipes/cinnamon-spice-desserts/
I love this cake. i made it and now my entire family thinks I can cook/bake. I made this on wed and by wed night i had three family members requesting that i make them one ASAP. Thank you soooooo much for this recipe.
I LOVE to hear that – it’s a favorite of ours too. 🙂