This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Cinnamon roll cake is a favorite breakfast treat in cake form. With a quick prep and cook time it’s on the table in no time!
Cinnamon roll cake is a cake version of classic Cinnamon Rolls. If you’re looking for a shortcut, this recipe is it! And if you like this, you’ll love our Cinnamon Roll Bites too!
A Family Favorite!
This next breakfast recipe is a family favorite.
Imagine Homemade Cinnamon Rolls in cake form. I can tell you right now that it is AMAZING, and a Family Favorite!
Why you will love it too:
- Delicious. With loads of butter, cinnamon, glaze and flavor, this recipe always gets rave reviews!
- Great for holidays. Make it for parties or for special mornings, like Christmas.
- Simple. Just mix, dollop, swirl and bake. This cake comes together in no time.
It’s pretty much a family favorite dessert (and breakfast) and has become a go-to like our Easy Coffee Cake Recipe.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- sugar
- baking powder
- salt
- milk
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- unsalted butter, melted
Cinnamon Topping
- unsalted butter softened
- brown sugar
- all-purpose flour
- ground cinnamon
Glaze
- powdered sugar, sifted
- milk
- vanilla extract
Just Mix and Bake!
- 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 melted butter and pour batter into the prepared baking dish.
- CINNAMON TOPPING. In a medium bowl, mix softened butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Dollop over the top of the cake mixture evenly.
- SWIRL. 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 all glaze ingredients together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the warm cake.
Recipe Tips
Do not overmix. If you over-mix the cinnamon swirls it may take longer for the cake portion to fully bake.
Flour. If you have self-rising flour, you can use 3 cups of that, but you will also need to omit the baking powder and salt as the self-rising flour already has it mixed in.
Mix-ins. You can add raisins or chopped nuts to the cake.
Storing Info
STORE. Allow homemade cinnamon roll cake to cool before covering it with foil or saran wrap and leaving it on the counter before reheating. If you are making it ahead of time, I recommend serving it within 24 hours but leftovers will keep for 3-4 days.
FREEZE. Let the easy cinnamon roll cake recipe cool and cover it tightly in plastic wrap and again with aluminum foil. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can reheat pieces in the microwave or the whole pan at a low temp in the oven.
For more Cinnamon Roll recipes:
Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe
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 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-x-13-inch baking dish.
- In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, eggs, and vanilla together.
- Slowly stir in melted butter and pour batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Make the 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 cake batter and going up and down the length of the pan.
- Bake for 28–32 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix all glaze ingredients together 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.
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