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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This recipe was originally published January 2013.
I Like your Recipe it is the bum you hit the nail right on the head with that super recipe keep up the good cooking you have it going on I would to have been sitting right beside your smiling face daughter smiing right along with her my self check this out( got milk)how about that…god bless you and your Family have a bless day
I tired this recipe and it was awesome …..it tasted so good!!!!! thanks for posting .
Hey i was wondering if i could take this recipe and post it on allrecipes.com if thats ok with you
Glad you liked it. 🙂 And I’d prefer the recipe stay here is that’s okay. 🙂
Quick question: if there is no cinnamon in the batter and the swirl does not go far into the bread, how can I get yummy cinnamon towards the bottom (like the picture)? Thanks!
The brown mixture is heavy and usually ends up at the bottom like the picture. 😉
I just wanted to take a minute to comment. First, thank you for sharing the recipe. It looks amazing. However, I was shocked at how sweet it is. If I make this again, I will probably cut the sugar in half across the board. (For the swirl, I will probably cut the entire batch in half). Some of my family (2 adults and 4 kids) wouldn’t even eat it. I also had to leave it in for longer (I don’t think I over-swirled), but that wasn’t a big issue. Seriously, thank you for sharing. I hope I can try again and make it work for us.
You’re welcome. What’s great about recipes is that you can always modify them to your family’s liking. 😉
Is it really 4 tsp baking powder? Just want to make sure. Thanks. Looks delicious!
Yes. 😉
Can you please clarify the amount of butter used in this recipe. Butter is listed twice – 1/2 cup and 3/4 cup. I assume the 1/2 cup is used in the cake and the 3/4 cup is to be put in the topping………but then in the instructions you say add 1 cup butter to topping ingredients………can you please clarify this for me. It looks delicious and I want to make it for a new neighbor that will be moving across the street from me soon. Appreciate a quick response! Thanks!
So sorry about that. There are two amounts… 1/2 cup butter melted for the batter and 3/4 cup softened for the topping. Just fixed the recipe. 😉
Thanks Kristyn for the quick response and clarification…………I look forward to making this next week for my new neighbor………..I love your site……..all your recipes look amazing!!
I made this today and used too much butter in the batter. The directions were not very clear.
I have some butter sitting around the edges so we’ll see if it soaks in.
Definitely going to try this but with cream cheese frosting!
Ooooh – That would be great too!!
Oh my goodness!!! This is wonderful! Made this for breakfast this morning and it was delicious!
Thank you so much for all of the wonderful recipes. Love your website!
Hi Mitzi! SO glad you like the cinnamon roll cake – it’s one we make very often since everyone loves it. Hope you can find more recipes and crafts here you like. 🙂
Love this cake. Have made it just as instructed and the second time I halved the recipe and made muffins. Yum