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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
Cake
- 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
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 cake.
Cinnamon Roll Cake
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.
Video
Notes
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.
More Like This
Cinnamon Roll Recipes
Mini Cinnamon Rolls
1 hr 30 mins
Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe
52 mins
Cinnamon Bites
30 mins
Cinnamon Roll French Toast Casserole
6 hrs 50 mins
Breakfast Cakes
New York-Style Crumb Cake
45 mins
Bisquick Coffee Cake
45 mins
Coffee Cake Muffins
40 mins
Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
30 mins
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This recipe was originally published January 2013.
Dying to try this, but all i have right now is cake flour. do you think it would suffice? a similar question was asked before but i’m afraid it might have been missed. would really appreciate a response~! ♥
I personally have not tried that, but I am sure it would suffice 🙂 Hope you like it!
I made this with half almond flour and half all purpose since I ran out of flour. It had a nutty flavor that made it taste like apple fritter. It was a hit. Thanks for sharing.
Glad to share 🙂 That still sounds good! Thanks for sharing!
I made three changes to the recipe to save some major calories: 1. I used erythritol instead of sugar, 2. I used Greek yogurt instead of butter, and 3. I skipped the glaze. This way, one large slice came out to only 154 kCal.
My low-calorie hacks don’t work all the time, but I gotta tell you, even this way, this cake is TO DIE FOR. It is amazing. It is Chewy and soft, and I really could have eaten the whole thing.
If there is anyone reading the comments who is afraid to use some low/no-cal substitutions in this recipe, I am here to tell you: you can go right ahead. This recipe is bulletproof. I will definitely make this again and again.
Thank you from Hungary. 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing that!! I will definitely need to try that! Sounds perfect!
I made this for my kids a couple weeks ago. They loved It and snacked On it all weekend.
My family loved it! Adding this to the Christmas morning menu!
So making this Christmas morning! My family LOVES it!
what a brilliant idea to combine my two favorite desserts! I just love how fluffy and soft they turned.
Could not print
It should print. Could it be a setting on your computer or printer that needs to get changed?
We love making this on the weekends & for get togethers! Everyone always loves it & asks for the recipe. It’s so soft & has the perfect cinnamon flavor & love the glaze!
This cake is really yummy. I gave it 4 stars because it did take a little longer to bake and the cinnamon part is still a little gooey inside. So it was hard to tell when the cake was actually done. Maybe it’s my fault? I think it’s tasty but my husband wasn’t a huge fan.
Thank you for giving it a try 🙂 All ovens vary, so some may take longer than others..it’s just so hard to know.