Cinnamon Roll Cake

This Cinnamon Roll Cake takes the familiar flavours of a classic cinnamon roll and turns them into a simple, soft cake that is ideal for the autumn months. Instead of working with a yeasted dough, the recipe uses an easy brown sugar cake batter, with part of the mixture enriched with ground cinnamon before the two are layered together to create a gentle swirl throughout the sponge.

The light brown sugar gives the cake a deeper, slightly caramelised sweetness, while the cinnamon brings the warmth you would expect from a traditional cinnamon roll. The finished cake is soft, tender and full of spice without being too heavy, making it a straightforward alternative when you want those familiar flavours in a quicker format.

A smooth cream cheese icing finishes the cake, adding a little tang to balance the sweetness of the sponge. Spread over the top in a spiral-style finish, it gives the cake the look and flavour profile of a cinnamon roll while still keeping the recipe firmly in easy cake territory.

Anyway, lets get started, shall we?

 

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 320g self-raising flour
• 270g light brown sugar
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt
• 350ml whole milk
• 15ml white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 90ml vegetable oil
• 15–30g ground cinnamon, depending on your taste preference

 

For the Cream Cheese Icing

• 75g soft cheese
• 60g butter
• 200g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Method

Before starting the recipe, take a few minutes to prepare everything you will need. Weigh out all of your ingredients, line an 8-inch cake tin with baking parchment and gather your equipment, including a mixing bowl and silicone spatula. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Begin by making a simple buttermilk-style mixture. Pour the whole milk into a jug, add the white vinegar and whisk briefly to combine. Leave the mixture to stand for 5–10 minutes, until it begins to look slightly separated.

While the milk mixture is resting, place the self-raising flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Mix everything together until evenly combined, breaking up any larger clumps of brown sugar as you go.

Add the prepared milk mixture, vegetable oil and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Mix until everything is just combined and you have a smooth cake batter. Take care not to overmix, as this can affect the texture of the finished cake.

Divide the batter evenly between two bowls. You can use scales for a more precise result, or simply divide it by eye.

Add the ground cinnamon to one half of the batter and mix until fully incorporated.

Spoon alternating amounts of the plain brown sugar batter and cinnamon batter into the prepared cake tin, layering the two mixtures on top of one another. As the cake bakes, this will create a subtle cinnamon swirl running through the sponge.

Transfer the cake to the preheated oven and bake for approximately 25–30 minutes, or until well risen and a cake tester or skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely before adding the icing.

Make the Cream Cheese Icing

While the cake is cooling, prepare the cream cheese icing.

Place the soft cheese, butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl. Beat on a medium-high speed until the ingredients are fully combined and the icing is smooth and creamy.

Set the cream cheese icing aside until the cake is completely cool.

Decorate

Once the cake has cooled, spread or pipe the cream cheese icing over the top. You can finish it in a spiral pattern to give the cake the appearance of a cinnamon roll.

Place the finished cake into the fridge briefly to allow the icing to firm up slightly.

Once set, slice into as many or as few pieces as you like and serve.

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.