Table of Contents

This extra sweet breakfast recipe is a family FAVORITE!!

Imagine Homemade Cinnamon Rolls in cake form. Sounds amazing, right? It really is. Our kids clean the pan every time we whip this up.

If you’re looking for a shortcut, this recipe is it! It has all of the delicious flavors of cinnamon rolls but in a fraction of the time (only 40 minutes from start to finish!). It is pretty much on repeat at our house as a go-to breakfast – and dessert.

And if you like this, you’ll love our Cinnamon Roll Bites and Easy Coffee Cake Recipe.

Why we think you’ll love it:

  • Next level delicious. With loads of butter, cinnamon, glaze, and flavor, this recipe always gets rave reviews!
  • Great for holidays. Make it for special mornings, like Christmas, or a lazy Sunday morning.
  • Extra simple. Just mix, dollop, swirl, and bake. This easy cake comes together in no time – it’s ready in only 40 minutes.

Cinnamon Roll Cake Ingredients and Substitutions

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour – see How to Measure Flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt omit if using salted butter
  • 1½ cups milk
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted or salted butter
  • optional mix-ins – raisins or chopped nuts

Cinnamon Topping

  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened – see How to Soften Butter Quickly
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar or dark brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Glaze

  • 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • 5 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Save This Recipe!
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from us every week!

How to Make Cinnamon Roll Cake

  1. PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-x-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. 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.
  3. BAKE. Bake for 28–32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  4. GLAZE. Meanwhile, mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Drizzle over the warm cake.
A slice of cinnamon roll cake served on a white plate.
5 from 218 votes

Cinnamon Roll Cake

By: Lil’ Luna
Cinnamon roll cake is a favorite breakfast treat in cake form. With a quick prep and cook time it's on the table in only 40 minutes!
Servings: 12
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients 

Cake

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 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.

Video

Notes

Frosting. This recipe uses a glaze topping, but you can make a cream cheese frosting instead. 
Make ahead of time. 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 for up to 3 months. Just reheat it in the oven for a few minutes to get warm before drizzling with the glaze.
Store leftovers, covered, on the counter for 3-4 days or wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 538kcal, Carbohydrates: 82g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 83mg, Sodium: 132mg, Potassium: 270mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 56g, Vitamin A: 692IU, Vitamin C: 0.02mg, Calcium: 140mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Recipe FAQ

Make ahead of time?

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.

How to store?

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.

This recipe was originally published January 2013.

About Kristyn

Kristyn Merkley is a published cookbook author, wife, mom of six, and major food enthusiast! For the past 15 years, she has been sharing foolproof, family-friendly recipes—each one tested in her kitchen—that anyone can master. As a seasoned recipe creator, she loves making cooking simple, stress-free, and totally doable for everyone!

Get my cookbook!

My cookbook is the ultimate resource for feeding your friends and family with 200+ simple recipes with videos, tips & more!

5 from 218 votes (78 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




382 Comments

  1. Dawn says:

    I have some cream cheese frosting left over from a cake I made the other day. Do you think it would taste ok if I used that as frosting on top of this cake? 🙂

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      I am sure it would, though I have not tried myself, since the glaze gives it a nice touch. Cream cheese frosting is an added bonus! Hope you like it!

  2. Alisa says:

    5 stars
    I really liked your article, I just tried it at home and i made it perfect. Thank you

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      That’s great! I’m glad you liked it 🙂 Thank you!

  3. Kristen says:

    I’d love to know if anyone has tried with GF flour… I’m new to that kind of baking.

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      I haven’t 🙁 But, I hope you find someone who has!

  4. Ganesh 108 names says:

    5 stars
    Looks so good definitely making this!

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      It is!! Let me know what you think. Thank you!!

  5. Roxs says:

    5 stars
    OMG! MAKE IT SO OOOOOH GOOD I ADDED WALNUTS. I DID ADD 15MIN TO COOK TIME YUM

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      So glad you liked it 🙂 Thank you so much for letting me know!

  6. Saritasultan says:

    I would lyk to know in cinnamon roll cake how three cups flour with only half cup of butter thank u reply me as soon as possible

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      I’m not sure what exactly you are wanting to know?

  7. Sarah says:

    How much flour do i use for the cake and how much for the topping

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      3 cups for the cake and 2 tablespoons for the topping 🙂 Enjoy!!

  8. Anita says:

    Hi Kristyn,
    I wonder on the Cinnamon Roll Cake recipe how to adjust the baking time or even temperature to do loaf pans or smaller cakes for gift giving?? Any advice?

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      I haven’t tried making this in smaller pans, so I don’t know an exact amount. I’m guessing the temp would stay the same, as long as they are the same type of pan as your 9×13 and I would say that they’ll cook a little longer, since it is in smaller pans. I would just keep checking once you’ve hit that 32 minutes and add a couple every time? I’m sorry, I wish I knew better. Let me know how long they end up baking for and we’ll pass that along. Thanks!!

  9. Brenda says:

    5 stars
    I have made this before…it is awesome….guys at work want more more more…can’t go wrong..Thank-you..

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      Haha…i bet!! Thanks so much for letting me know! That makes me happy to hear!

  10. Amanda says:

    I’m attempting this today. You might Want to add powdered sugar to the ingredient list if it’s not there I almost didn’t buy any and then decided to read recipe too nonjudt the ingredient list when I was in the store. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      Glad you saw it. I’ll have to maybe add the glaze recipe at the top. Thanks so much and hope you enjoy!!