My mom has always made nearly everything she cooks from scratch, including her famous cinnamon rolls. And really, there are few things in this world that are better than fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls. Warm, gooey, yeasty cinnamon rolls… oh man, now I’m hungry! :-)
Unfortunately, the “amazing cinnamon rolls” gene appears to have skipped a generation. No matter how hard I try, I just cannot seem to master the art of the cinnamon roll. The yeast, the rolling and cutting… all of it just escapes me. I’ve accepted this shortcoming of mine, but occasionally I get an unshakeable craving for a warm, cinnamon-y treat. It used to be a conundrum, but I’ve found the perfect solution: cinnamon roll CAKE.
That’s right! This cinnamon roll cake has all the warm, gooey goodness of cinnamon rolls, but it’s SO MUCH EASIER to make! If you can stir things together, you can make this cake. And I highly recommend that you do! :-)
Short on time? Try the canned cinnamon roll hack in my video at the end of this post!
Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe
Cake Ingredients:
- 3 cups flour (regular or gluten-free)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup melted butter
Cinnamon Swirl Ingredients:
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
Glaze Ingredients:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 5 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
In your stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl,) combine all of the cake ingredients.
When the batter is ready, pour it into a greased 9″ x 13″ baking pan.
Next, you’ll make the cinnamon swirl. Mix all of the swirl ingredients together in your mixer or a mixing bowl. Add the cinnamon swirl to the batter by dropping spoonfuls at a time around the pan.
Use a butter knife to swirl the cinnamon filling and batter together, until the filling is evenly distributed. Put the pan in the oven to bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.)
While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze. Combine all glaze ingredients in a bowl and whisk until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
When the cake is done, pull it out of the oven and drizzle the glaze over the top. You can eat it as soon as you want, but be warned, if you pull a piece out when the cake is still warm, it will be somewhat of a crumbly mess. A delicious mess, though! :-) Let the cake cool for a half hour or so if you want a more sturdy piece.
More Ideas You'll Love
Don’t have time for homemade cinnamon rolls? The tip featured in this video is the next best thing:
Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe
Equipment
- Greased oven-safe baking dish 9×13"
- Mixing Bowl or stand mixer
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup butter melted
Cinnamon Swirl Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
Glaze Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 5 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine all cake ingredients in a mixing bowl or stand mixer, then pour the batter into a greased 9×13" baking dish.
- Next, make the cinnamon swirl by combining the butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.
- Add one spoonful of cinnamon swirl to the batter at a time, distributing them evenly throughout, then swirl the cinnamon mixture and batter together using a butter knife.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together until thoroughly combined. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the finished cake, then let it cool for 30 minutes before serving.
Is there a print friendly button when using a phone? I cannot locate one. I was going to email this after deleting areas.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jane, are you actually printing the recipe out or are you just sending her a text or email? If it’s in a text or email, she (and you) could use the “Print Recipe” tab at the top of the recipe to print only what you want without any waste.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I ,Iove the video. I actually tried this. They turned out great but were messy from the cream. They were still good.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Want to make this recipe, but am “old school” and need to print it out. The print out option has all the pictures, etc. (uses to much ink & paper). How do I get just the recipe ingredients and instructions. Thanks.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m with you, Nancy. I’d like a real recipe in printable form.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Nancy and Marsha, click on the link below to see how to use our “Print Friendly” feature, to print out just the recipe without waste.
Print Friendly Feature
Made it during some cool and damp weather here in the south, boy this cake is yummy! Going in my recipe binder. Thanks so much for posting it!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am searching an easy raspy for Cinnamon Rolls, now I have got it. Thanks Jillee for this one. But I think we need to cut the cake with a sharp knife for perfect shape while we will serve it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made this but put them in muffin tins. A little more work but really needed the individual servings. They are amazing and were such a hit with the group I took them for. And they are great reheated in the morn. :) Thanks Jillee!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.can I use white sugar instead of brown as I have no brown sugar…also what is powdered sugar
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Powdered sugar is just white sugar that has been powdered. You can just run some sugar through a blender or food processor to make your own powdered sugar! I would definitely suggest brown sugar, but you can make brown sugar at home, too! I have a post about making brown sugar here: http://jillee.co/2mQ6qp3
Icing sugar…is the same as powdered sugar
Did you have to bake them for a different time? This sounds like such a great idea!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love your blog. I read it every day. Thank you for all the great tips!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made the Cinnamon Roll Cake Sunday morning for church breakfast and it was easy and delicious . Everyone loved it and I will definitely make it again. Cream cheese icing is a great idea and I will definitely try it that way. Thanks, Jillee, for another good thing. This one is a keeper.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Made this cake yesterday and had a piece this morning for breakfast. I made a cream cheese frosting instead of a simple glaze. This simple little cake was excellent. Thank you so much for the recipe. PERFECT!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jillee!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My family loves Cinnamon Rolls so I am
excited to make your Cinnamon Roll Cake as soon as possible !! Could you please tell me what 11 / 2 means in your ingredients
(Amount of milk ) ????
Thank you so much..
Sharon
It’s one and one-half cups (1.5). :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.11/2 means one and half cups
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jillee.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I came across a tip completely by accident. I needed to press some slacks and didn’t want to get out ironing board. I had just put away some dishes from the cloth dish drip dryer pad. Then it hit me, why not use the pad as an ironing board. Presto, instant ironing board with the steam built right into it. I hope you can use this tip, I haven’t heard of it before, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot.
Keep the tips coming. I use most of them you print.
Juanita Beck
Springfield, Illinois
I made the cinammon roll cake a few days ago and WOW is it good! My Fiancee LOVED it! Will be saving this recipe to make again. Thanks Julie!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just made this for my family yesterday as a Valentines Day treat! It was super easy to make! This cake is amazing Jillee! Everyone loved it, particularly my son-in-law who says it may have just replaced his previous childhood favourite Hot Milk cake!
If you’re looking for something a little less fussy than Cinnamon Buns but packing the same wonderful flavours give this cake a try – you won’t be disappointed!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.So glad you liked it, Patricia!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hubby is always asking for cinnamon rolls. But it is a bit of a production to make them. Though to make the dough I use my bread maker. If he likes this maybe he will get them a little more often.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love cinnamon rols but I’m always too scared to make them, so this cake looks perfect to start with!
x Annabelle
Please log in or create a free account to comment.travelsandtea.com
Greetings from Canada’s east coast, we are presently in the middle of a winter blizzard (brrr!!) and I made this cinnamon roll cake this afternoon, and I must say I am very pleased at how it turned out! My husband can’t stop eating it!! LOL I just love your website, great recipies, great ideas from a great person!! Keep up the good work Jillee! A faithful fan from Canada! Janice
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Karen and maria, totally agree!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.And thank you jillee for an awesome recipe…as always!
Well said, Karen/Maria … I agree that readers can easily make any changes if we personally need them. I’m sure that Jillee doesn’t have time to cater to all the various requests her many readers could have! I’m gluten free myself, so I know the majority of recipes I see or receive will require substitutions.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Since I’m not *paying* for these wonderful recipes, tips and ideas (teehee!), I’m just happy to have this ongoing wealth of information. Over the time I’ve been following her, Jillee’s Blog has become one of my top faves (out of many!) … Thanks for your continued generosity, Jillee!
Thank you, Kathleen :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m new to Gluten Free baking. What changes would you make? Thank you.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I also struggled with cinnamon rolls. They give me life, but I can’t ever get the dough right. So I started buying frozen bread dough and viola! Awesome cinnamon rolls with half the work (and frustration).
Love all of the great tips you bring us!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made this recipe today and it is delicious! My husband and I love it! Thank you for the recipe.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This sounds like a great recipe! I would want to try this out. Thank you.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.hey there young lady,
you come up with all theses interesting good recipes, but…………….where are the other good “sugar-free” recipes as well!!!!!
keep in mind probably over half of your readers (like myself) are diabetics.
thank you very much for your recipes for all the things you do come up with.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.cliff
Clifton, You can freely substitute with splenda, monkfruit or palm sugar to get a great tasting cinnamon roll-personally, I prefer monkfruit, but that is up to you. Easy to do without having to have Jillee come up with different recipes.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Agreed. Jillee does a tremendous amount of work to bring us tips and ideas to help make our lives easier. If we need to alter anything to suit our specific needs, we should do our due diligence and our own legwork.
Post your findings so that Jillee can benefit along with anyone else in the same position as yourself. That’s teamwork. And in my opinion, a way of giving back to Jillee for all that she does for us.
not so print friendly, it printed 13 pages. that is a lot of ink, and the whole thing is not needed.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The print friendly button just brings up a preview. From the preview, you can remove the images and any unnecessary text. That way, you only get the information you need!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love it. Thanks so much. Gonna try this today.. Your the best.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I used to knock myself out making cinnamon rolls from scratch for the holidays. Then we started doing frozen. This looks good. As far as subbing for the sugar, I d use a stevia blend instead of the xylitol as it’s not easy to digest and can give people GI problems.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I LOVE cinnamon rolls so I’ll definitely give this a go!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Aleeha xXx
http://www.halesaaw.com/
I love this recipe but “print friendly” is not 20 pages. Can you condense the final recipes to one page without the pictures, hints, etc?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Carol, after you hit “Printer Friendly”, you have the option to scroll through the pages that will be printed and delete the parts you don’t want. You can delete images and whole paragraphs.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The print friendly button just brings up a preview. From the preview, you can remove the images and any unnecessary text. That way, you only get the information you need!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Looks great, but on to important issues…where did you get the colored mixing bowls?!?!?!?!?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve just collected the colored bowls from my favorite stores! Most of them are from TJ Maxx or World Market :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am going to try this it looks so yummy
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It looks great, but 4 cups of sugar??!!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Try xylitol, stevia or any other healthy alternative sweetener.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Annie, Maria is right there are many alternatives available to use in place of the sugar or part of the sugar in this recipe and many others. It may take you a time or two to perfect it but I would think it would be worth your effort to have something this delicious without the worry of all the sugar since the sugar seems to be an issue for you.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It’s a HUGE cake! And you can always omit the icing to cut the sugar in half. :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.How very clever! Thank you so very much, Jillee.
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