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I’ve been sharing a lot of cinnamon-sugar type recipes lately, and while I want to provide a good variety of recipe on this blog, I just love cinnamon so much lol. To me it’s just warm and comforting and totally what I crave during these cold and gray days. Honestly, I’d say chocolate desserts probably used to be my favorite, and it has definitely shifted to cinnamon in recent years.

I’m absolutely obsessed with this cinnamon roll cake. I have two other on this blog! The pumpkin cinnamon roll cake, which I included in my cookbook, and an apple butter version. I’m hoping to revamp the apple one because looking back on that recipe, it really wasn’t as flavorful as I wanted. So you can expect a new version of that in fall 2021.

Those cakes turned out so well that I figured it’s time for a classic version!

ABOUT THIS RECIPE

Springform pan: this cake is made in a 9-inch springform pan. You can definitely use a regular 9-inch pan if that’s what you have, but the springform pan just makes it easier to remove without messing up the top!

Cake batter: this cake batter is super easy to whip together! It’s one-bowl and I used my hand-held mixer. It’s flavored with regular sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and ground cinnamon!

Topping: the topping is super easy to make, but it can be a little tricky to pipe. I’d suggest pouring the topping into a piping bag and THEN cutting a snip off the end and letting any super liquidy part drip out. You also really want to make sure the brown sugar is broken up enough or clumps will get stuck in the opening of your piping bag. If you cut the opening to small, you can always trim a little bit off so it will come out easily!

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cinnamon roll cake

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 1 15

Ingredients

Topping

3 tbsp butter melted
¼ cup light or dark brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Cinnamon roll cake

½ cup butter softened
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light or dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup milk I used whole milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp milk I used whole milk

Instructions

First, prepare the topping. Combine melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon; whisk until completely incorporated. Make sure to break up any clumps of brown sugar so it will be easy to pipe the topping onto the cake batter before it goes into the oven. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray with flour. Wrap a aluminum foil around the bottom of the pan to prevent leaks. (This cake batter didn’t leak through the pan for me, but I like a little extra security!)
In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars with a mixer on medium speed until combined and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add milk and half of flour. Mix until just combined. Add remaining half of flour, the baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Mix until completely combined.
Pour the prepared batter into the prepared springform pan. Give the topping a good stir and transfer to a piping bag or ziptop bag. Cut a small opening in the bag and pipe the filling in a large spiral over the top of the cake batter. (It’s ok if it’s messy or isn’t perfect! It will be covered with glaze later on. 😋)
Transfer cake to the oven and bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until center is set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (A few crumbs are ok!) Let cake cool significantly before glazing. (This cake is best served warm, but you don’t want the glaze to melt off!)
To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of milk. The glaze should be thick, but if it’s too thick to drizzle, add ½ tablespoon of milk at a time until you can easily drizzle with a spoon. Drizzle glaze over the cake and serve!