Prepare to fall in love with this Cinnamon Roll Cake! Light and fluffy sour cream cake with a thick cinnamon swirl and cream cheese frosting. All the flavors of a cinnamon roll in a delicious homemade cake.
This is one of my favorite recipes ever, because it is a CAKE that TASTES LIKE A CINNAMON ROLL! All the flavor with a fraction of the work. If you like cinnamon rolls (that’s everyone, right?), then you will go crazy for this recipe. Try our Cinnamon Roll Cookies, Cinnamon Roll Blondies or Churro Cheesecake, too!
This cake is
- Soft and tender
- Filled with a thick cinnamon swirl
- Topped with cream cheese frosting
- Easier than making cinnamon rolls
- Delicious served for breakfast or dessert
- Perfect for feeding a crowd
Recipe overview
Here are the three components of this recipe:
Sour cream cake: The base of the cake is a moist and fluffy sour cream cake. The cake itself is soft and sweet with a tender crumb, and a bit of tang from the sour cream. The easy homemade batter comes together in minutes. Love sour cream cake? Try our White Cake Recipe, too.
Brown sugar cinnamon swirl: This is the star of the cake! A simple mixture of softened butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon is added to the top of the cake batter. It gets swirled into the cake batter, creating little pockets of brown sugar-cinnamon flavor all throughout the cake.
Cream cheese frosting: After baking, we spread a generous layer of cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake. This adds the finishing touch to make this cake taste exactly like a cinnamon roll!
Recipe tips
Don’t have sour cream? Try one of our Sour Cream Substitutes.
When swirling the cinnamon into the cake batter swirl it down into the cake as well as around the top.
Allow plenty of time for the cake to cool before adding the frosting.
Is your frosting too soft? Pop it in the refrigerator for 20 or 30 minutes.
Store this cake in the refrigerator and bring to cool room temp before serving.
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Recipe
Cinnamon Roll Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup full fat sour cream
- 3 tablespoons milk
Cinnamon filling:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, very soft but not melted
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar, light or dark
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 heaping tablespoon ground cinnamon
- couple pinches salt
Cream cheese frosting:
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and butter until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then vanilla extract, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the flour in three additions and the sour cream in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Once combined, add milk and beat until incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Spread batter in prepared pan (it will be thick).
Cinnamon filling:
- Mix together all ingredients until well combined (I use a fork or a rubber spatula). Drop small spoonfuls of filling all around on the top of the cake batter.
- Use a thin knife to swirl the filling around and down into the batter.
- Bake the cake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. When checking for doneness make sure you're checking the cake portion, don't worry about the cinnamon swirls. Peek at the cake around 25 minutes. If it begins to get dark, place a piece of foil loosely over the top. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until combined. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. Increase speed to high and beat for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy. If desired, you can make the frosting thicker by adding more powdered sugar, or thinner by adding a splash of milk. I like it thicker than a glaze but slightly thinner than a traditional frosting (like what you would see on a cinnamon roll). Spread the frosting evenly over the top of the cooled cake.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!** Recipe updated February 2019 to make the cake a bit less thick (so it bakes faster). Cake will be thickness pictured.**
Kate
I made this cake and the first piece was good. Then I put it in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting. The next pieces were good, but nothing special, kind of dense. Then, after we were about 3/4 of the way through (hey, it’s still cake), my mom was over and microwaved her slice. And holy crap it was AMAZING. We were kicking ourselves that we didn’t even think to warm it (again, because of the cream cheese). Generally I try not to have too many baked goods readily available since my husband and I both have massive sweet tooths, but we both agreed that I need to make this again asap. This recipe is SO good, just make sure you have it warm.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. 🙂
Kate
I made it again last night. I kept it warm in the oven and frosted right before serving. There were 4 of us and we ate more than half of it in one sitting! This is definitely a “keeper” recipe for future gatherings! Thanks!
Blimey
An Buttermilk be used instead ?
Allison
In place of the sour cream? That should be fine, although I have never tried it. I would reduce the amount just a bit (maybe to 3/4 cup) since the buttermilk is much thinner than sour cream. Enjoy!
Donna L
This was easy to make, had a nice crumb and a very good taste. I thought it would be more cinnamon than cake and didn’t add all of ithe cinnamon filling. It was still really good, but I will definitely be using all the cinnamon next time!😊. Perfect amount of cream cheese frosting, although I added another 2ounces of cream cheese..just because we love the taste of cream cheese!😁😁
Justine
OMG this was incredible. I think I’ve just found my new favorite treat.
Brandy
This was such a fantastic treat! Love cinnamon rolls so it was fun to switch it up and make it in cake form! We all really enjoyed it!
Kenda King
Does this cake freeze well? If so, how do you suggest I freeze 1/2 of cake? ( It’s just me and I’d like to freeze part of cake for later, otherwise it will dry out and ruin before I could eat the whole thing. It Is a delicious cake and I like how I can control amount of cinnamon and frosting. Thank you and have a blessed afternoon. 🌻
Allison
Hi! You could try halving the recipe and baking it in an 8×8 or 9×9 square pan. If you’ve already made it you should be able to freeze it. I would put slices in freezer safe food storage containers and then place the container(s) in freezer safe ziploc bags.
Taylor
Could I make this in 2 round pans instead? How long should I bake them?
Allison
You can try two 9-inch pans. I’d start checking them for doneness around 15-20 minutes.
Grace
Amazing!!! Very moist and absolutely delicious- the cream cheese topping is perfect ( I did add much less icing sugar though) I’ve made this cake twice in 10 days and have been asked for the recipe several times. I had someone say to me that this cake creates addiction😁
Allison
Ha! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by!
Traci Gianfrancesco
Can the cake part be made ahead and warmed and frosted the morning of your brunch?
Allison
That should be ok. Just make sure you’re not putting frosting on hot cake or else it will melt. Enjoy!
Jaimie
Could this be made in a Bundt pan?
Allison
I haven’t tried it. If you do, I recommend layering the cinnamon layer in the cake batter (rather than adding on top) and swirling it in. You’ll have to play around with the bake time depending on what size pan you use.
Denise Callahan
Hello,
I want to make this for Easter brunch but would like to make it the night before. What are your suggestions? I was thinking about using store bought cream cheese frosting…..would that be okay? Should I warm cake slightly and then frost on Easter morning? Thank you very much! God Bless
Allison
Yes, that would work. If the cake is warm the frosting will melt a bit but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. 🙂 Enjoy!
Renee Sutton
I baked this cake for a brunch gathering and it received some rave reviews. It is fairly easy to assemble, and the directions are clear. I didn’t watch a video or see a photo of the cinnamon topping being spread, so I think next time I will make certain each slice has more topping. The cream cheese and butter icing was thick, which I like. It is a crowd pleaser !!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Tarana
I feel like you used 3 eggs in the video and the recipe card says 2. Because my batter was very thick, almost like bread. Please clarify.
Allison
I modified this recipe (mentioned under the recipe card) and the newer version uses only 2 eggs. Sorry for any confusion. That batter should be quite thick.