Light and tender Cinnamon Roll Cake with cream cheese frosting. All of the flavors I love from a cinnamon roll, in a delicious, easy cake recipe.
This Cinnamon Roll Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is lick-your-plate, DELICIOUS. All of the warm, ooey gooey, cinnamon taste you love from a cinnamon roll, without any of the fuss. No rolling, rising, etc.
With just 15 minutes prep time, it’s SOO easy, and the end result is a delicious, moist, cinnamon roll cake that will make the people in your life very, very happy!
This simple cake starts with a basic cake batter recipe. Then you mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and butter and place spoonfuls all over the top of the batter. This delicious layer will act as the cinnamon filling we love inside a cinnamon roll.
Use a butter knife to weave the cinnamon roll filling back and forth down the pan, incorporating it into the batter in fun swirls.
Bake the cake and top the warm cake with cream cheese frosting. HEAVEN.
To apply the cream cheese frosting:
Spoon the frosting into a ziplock bag. Cut a hole in one of the corners of the bag, and squeeze the frosting through it as your drizzle it onto the cake.
To store this cinnamon roll cake:
Just like fresh baked cinnamon rolls, I think this cake is best enjoyed the same day it’s baked. The soft texture will dry out the longer it sits.
Light and tender cinnamon roll cake with cream cheese frosting. layers of cinnamon swirled in a homemade cake with a simple cream cheese frosting.
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup butter , melted
- 1/2 cup butter , softened
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons butter , softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8'' baking dish.
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, egg and vanilla. Stir in melted butter. Pour mixture into prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.
Make the cinnamon swirl topping by combing all ingredients together until smooth.
Drop small spoonfuls of the mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter. Use a knife to swirl through the cake and disperse the mixture throughout the cake batter.
Bake 32-37 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Drizzle cream cheese frosting over warm cake. Serve warm.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to make a smooth, soft frosting. Drizzle frosting over the cake with a spoon (or use a ziplock bag like I did--just snip a hole out of one of the corners and add the frosting).
This cake is best served the same day.
Recipe Video
Adapted from here
Tips for applying the frosting and storing this cake are listed in the post above.
anna says
they all look really good!!!1
Dawn says
Step 5 says to drizzle frosting and then step 6 are the cream cheese frosting directions. Is there another frosting in addition to the cream cheese?
Jupiter says
No
DJ says
Hi,
Wanted to know if the “cinnamon roll cake” can be frozen .
Lauren Allen says
I’ve never tried freezing this so I can’t say for sure! I bet it would work–let me know if you try it 🙂
Kourtney N. says
Could this be baked in a springform pan?
Lauren Allen says
I don’t see why not! 🙂 Enjoy.
Svlnchlady says
for our church is coffee our it was a big hit going to make it again tomorrow.
Svlnchlady says
Made this for our church coffee hour it was a big hit going to make it again tomorrow. Make with coconut or almond flour if so what would the measurements be?no
deborah says
what size pan should i use.
Lauren Allen says
Hi Deborah. I use an 8×8 inch baking dish. You could double the recipe and make it in a 9×13 if you wanted to.
Anna says
Have you tried to make these as cupcakes?
Lauren Allen says
I haven’t but I’m sure they would work great!
Martha Civili says
In a hurry can I use a boxed cake mix in a 9×13 double the cinn. Mixture
Lauren Allen says
Hi Martha, I’m sure that would work fine–the cake will just be the flavor and texture of whatever cake mix you buy, with a cinnamon swirl in it, and not really a “cinnamon roll” type cake.
Amber says
OMIGOSH! Where has this been all my baking life??!! The bread is soft, moist & has the perfect density (not too heavy, not too airy), the cinnamon is the perfect amount of cinnamonyness (is that a word??) & the cream cheese frosting (while not absolutely necessary) is DIVINE! A perfect combination of sweet & smooth. I cut the powdered sugar in 1/2 & added in 2ish tbsp Fage 0% yogurt to the frosting & it was amazing! I am definitely saving this one for my own recipe book to make again in the future. My husband was impressed. Seal of approval! Thanks for sharing some sweetness!
Lauren Allen says
Thanks so much Amanda! Love your adaptions, and your comment made me smile. So happy it got the seal of approval!
Danielle says
Hi Amber! Did you still use cream cheese in your frosting or omit it and only use the yogurt instead?? Love your idea! I must try that! ; )
Karen says
I made this last night. So easy. My husband loved it. It is very delicious
Denise says
Does the cake need to be stored in refrigerator?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Denise,
It depends a bit how warm you keep your house and how long you leave it out. I would recommend storing it in the fridge, because of the cream cheese frosting 🙂
Kathy Wallis says
Was thinking of using this for a three tiered wedding cake. The groom loves cinnamon rolls. My big question is about freezing the layers. I normally freeze wedding cake layers so that I can assemble the cake on the day before (or day of) the wedding. I just made a sample to see how it holds up.
Any advice about freezing it?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Kathy,
What a fun idea! I haven’t tried freezing this recipe, but this cake does dry out a little quicker than regular cake. You could try letting it cool completely, freezing it immediately after and then frosting it the day of the wedding. I hope it works out for you!
Kathy says
Just did a trial layer, threw in freezer, but also refrigerated a part of it already iced. Did that on Monday, and pulled out today for tasting–it was great! Very moist. I double wrapped it with saran wrap. It’s a go at this point. Will take the other piece that was frozen (no frosting) and let you know how it did, but I am pretty happy!
Lauren Allen says
Fantastic!! Hope everyone loves it–I’d love to see a photo!
Marly says
Delicious! Surprised my hubby with this for dessert tonight. He loves cinnamon rolls & this cake was exactly that. It was very easy & I already had everything on hand. I baked it for 35 min & it was perfect. I have a feeling I won’t be making canned cinnamon rolls for breakfast anymore.
Lauren Allen says
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for coming back to comment <3
Mindy E Carroll says
Can I double this and use a 9×13 pan
Lauren Allen says
Absolutely, that would work great!
Dawn says
I’ve made this cake twice now since the family loved it and requested another one. It is now a favorite!
Lauren Allen says
I’m thrilled your family loves it! Thanks Dawn 🙂
Phyllis Dreeka says
This cake is the bomb! It tastes just like a cinnamon roll and is so easy to make. So delicious and tender! I will
definitely make this again. Love the way the frosting looks in the video. I need to practice on that. One tip is
to use a regular ziploc bag for the frosting. Not the bag with the zipper or it will ooze out from the corner. Thanks
so much for this recipe!
Marcy Wiggins says
This is so good!!!! I’ve made it twice, now. I’m gonna make this for Christmas morning. I added pecans and they taste like the Cinnamon and Sugar pecans you get at the fair. It is absolutely delicious!!!
Lauren Allen says
Thanks Marcy! I love the idea of doing this for Christmas morning! So much easier than cinnamon rolls 🙂