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Our easy Cinnamon Roll Cake recipe has all of the flavors of a cinnamon roll but without all the work! It's a crowd pleaser and great for lunch or dessert.
Any occasion is worthy of Cinnamon Roll Cake
Any occasion is worthy of Cinnamon Roll Cake It's easy enough to make anytime, and as much as I love traditional cinnamon rolls, these have that great flavor without the rising, rolling and overall time commitment. It's appropriate for breakfast or a mouthwatering dessert. I love making it for holidays, baby showers, or any special occasion.
Check out all of my cake recipes like Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Orange Olive Oil Cake, or Fresh Apple Cake!
Ingredients Needed:
How to make a Cinnamon Roll Cake:
Make Batter: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the melted butter then pour into greased 8×8 baking dish.
Cinnamon Swirl Topping: Mix butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together. Drop small spoonfuls of the cinnamon swirl topping evenly over the top of the batter. Using a knife, swirl through the cake to disperse it throughout the batter.
Bake: Place in oven at 350°F for 32-37 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Make cream cheese frosting and drizzle on top of warm cake. Enjoy this homemade cinnamon roll cake with a fresh fruit salad or strawberry banana smoothie.
Storing and Freezing Instructions:
To store: Cinnamon roll cake is best served the day it's made. It will dry out the longer it sits, just like regular cinnamon rolls. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
To Freeze: Cover frosted cake with a double layer of aluminum foil or lid, and freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving. If desired, rewarm slices in the microwave on half power.
More Cinnamon Roll Recipes:
Cinnamon Roll Cake
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Cake:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, , or cake 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
Cinnamon Swirl:
- 1/2 cup butter, , softened
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons butter, , softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8'' baking dish.
- Cake Batter: 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.
- Cinnamon Swirl: Combine ½ cup butter, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon flour, and 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon, mixing until smooth.
- Swirl into cake: 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 30-37 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Drizzle cream cheese frosting over warm cake. Serve warm.
- 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 and snip a hole out of one of the corners to pipe the frosting on.
- Serve: This cake is best served warm from the oven, the same day it's made.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe October 2017. Updated August 2020 and December 2024.
Hi Lauren,
I wanted to let you know that for a vegan cinnamon roll cake. You can use to replace a egg: 1/2 mashed banana or 1/4 c yogurt, or 1/3c applesauce.
For the cinnamon roll cake I used yogurt and it turned out awesome!
Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes.
This is crazy good. Quick and delicious! Tastes amazing! I made the frosting in the same bowl as the brown sugar / butter / cinnamon bowl and so I transferred a bit of that flavor 😉
I’m so glad you liked the recipe! Thanks for commenting!
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!!!
Thanks Marcy! I love the idea of doing this for Christmas morning! So much easier than cinnamon rolls 🙂
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!
I’ve made this cake twice now since the family loved it and requested another one. It is now a favorite!
I’m thrilled your family loves it! Thanks Dawn 🙂
Can I double this and use a 9×13 pan
Absolutely, that would work great!
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.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for coming back to comment <3
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?
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!
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!
Fantastic!! Hope everyone loves it–I’d love to see a photo!
Does the cake need to be stored in refrigerator?
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 🙂
I made this last night. So easy. My husband loved it. It is very delicious