Easy Cinnamon Roll Cake is absolute perfection. It’s simple to make, crazy delicious loaded with cinnamon sugar and covered in sweet icing!
This cinnamon roll cake recipe is easily a favorite in my house. I actually thought I had shared the recipe for this cake a long time ago…turns out I didn’t. You see when you bake as often as I do things get jumbled. Maybe it’s all the sugar? Nah…
Anyhow, this is the world’s easiest cake. My kids even request it for their birthday cake which seems so weird to me…hello no buttercream…but we all know kids are weird. Or maybe they aren’t…this cake is that good.
Yes, my cake mix-phobic friends I short-cutted this. I know, I know, you are all probably so disappointed in me. I am always looking for doctored up yellow cake mix recipes, and this cinnamon roll cake is the perfect example of when it’s RIGHT to use a cake mix. But yes please, if you would like to use your own cake recipe please do so. Just start the recipe when you add cinnamon sugar…I’ll explain that in a minute.
But first let’s take a look…the gooey cake, the drippy icing, the swirly cinnamon.
Hold me.
How to make Easy Cinnamon Roll Cake
Like I said the cinnamon roll cake itself it super duper easy. You’re basically doctoring up a cake mix a little bit.
THEN you make a little (a lot) of cinnamon sugar.
You sprinkle that all over the top of the batter…
And gently swirl that in with a knife…
Don’t over swirl it though. You don’t want to mix it all in, you want gorgeous ribbons of cinnamon throughout.
Bake it up and it behold…
And then make a quick icing and behold again…
Your cake will be drowning in icing and loving every minute.
And if you can, wait until the icing sets up to cut it…
Or don’t. I get you.
Make it. Eat it. Love it.
This Easy Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe will quickly become a favorite in your house!
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Easy Cinnamon Roll Cake
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: serves 10 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
This recipe is one of the most requested cake recipes in my house. My family loves it!
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25- ounce) box yellow cake mix
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sour cream (not light)
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Coat a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the cake mix, eggs, oil, vanilla and sour cream. Mix on low for 30 seconds and then raise the speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Spread the cake batter into your prepared pan. In a medium bowl whisk together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this evenly on top of your cake.
- Using a butter knife gently swirl the cinnamon sugar into the cake batter. Don’t over-swirl, as you want ribbons of the mixture throughout the cake.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick entered into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool cake for 15-20 minutes.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. Pour this over the slightly warm cake. Allow the icing to set, or eat right away!
Notes
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 367
- Sugar: 36 g
- Sodium: 79.9 mg
- Fat: 21.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.3 g
- Protein: 4.5 g
- Cholesterol: 82.5 mg
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Helpful tip… Out of sour cream? Here’s a sour cream substitute!
How would you translate this into using three 6 in cake pans? How much would you use? would you still split it into 3?
Yes, I would just split it into thirds 🙂
Could i use cream cheese in icing
sure!
I have made this cake several times and everyone loved it
This is absolutely amazing! I mostly came to comment to let you and anyone else know that I made this today with a gluten free boxed yellow cake mix (I used King Arthur brand) and it worked beautifully.
I hand mixed, using a whisk, and just made sure it was incorporated well. Since you aren’t building up the gluten strands or air in the cake the same way, making sure it is well mixed and somewhat aerated was enough.
I was too gentle when I swirled unfortunately so a lot of the cinnamon sugar stayed on the top but it is still amazing. First time I’ve made a cake with a swirl through like that so I will do better next time!
Super quick, Super easy and Super delicious. A definite add to my favorite recipes.
Looks awesome! If making the night before for an even, how/where would you store this? Should I ice if first? TIA!
This is the second year in a row that my son has requested this cake for his birthday. His friend, himself, and I love this cake as it does not have a traditional icing!
We’re having it Christmas morning!!
My family loved this cake. I baked for my in-laws and my side of family heard about the cake and begged for me to bake. It was a huge hit and easy to bake.
I just made it for breakfast this morning. OH MY GOODNESS! It is so amazing.
So glad you liked it!!
I do not have a standing mixer, an I use a hand mixer instead.
I used a hand mixer this morning, it worked out just fine.