Cinnamon Roll Cake

Why You’ll Love This Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe

• Moist and tender. The secret ingredient in this cake is sour cream. It makes the crumb incredibly moist.
• Balanced flavor. The sour cream also adds a slight tanginess to the yellow cake base. This works so well to balance out the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans, as well as the sweet vanilla icing that tops it all off.
• Cinnamon roll flavor, but far easier. While I love classic cinnamon rolls and my easier biscuit cinnamon rolls, this cinnamon roll cake recipe is the easiest of all!

What You’ll Need

Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.

• Ground cinnamon
• All-purpose flour – Measure by weight or spoon and sweep. Learn more: How to Measure Flour
• Granulated sugar
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Vanilla pudding mix
• Unsalted butter – This needs to be softened. Learn more: How to Soften Butter.
• Vegetable oil – Or use canola oil.
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Sour cream – You can also use unsweetened plain yogurt.
• Brown sugar – Packed tightly into the measuring cup or measured by weight.
• Pecans – These need to be chopped.
• Confectioners’ sugar
• Heavy cream – You’ll often see this labeled as heavy whipping cream.
• Vanilla extract – Use 100% pure extract, not the imitation stuff.

How to Make Cinnamon Roll Cake

• Prepare for baking. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 10-cup Bundt pan.
• Make the yellow cake base. Whisk together the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and pudding mix in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter, oil, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Mix everything together well until a thick dough forms.
• Make the cinnamon swirls. Mix the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and the cinnamon in a separate bowl. Gently fold the mixture into the cake batter. Don’t mix it in too thoroughly. You want to leave swirls of cinnamon sugar in the batter.

• Create the first layer. Transfer half of the cake batter to the prepared pan.
• Add the filling. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans all together in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over the batter in the pan. Scoop the remaining cake batter over the filling and smooth out the top.

• Bake. Bake your Bundt cake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Then flip the cake out onto the rack where it can cool completely.
• Make the glaze. Mix the confectioners’ sugar, 3 tablespoons of heavy cream, and vanilla until it turns smooth. Add more cream a little bit at a time as needed to make the glaze pourable.
• Glaze and serve. Drizzle the glaze over the still-warm cake, cut into slices, and serve.

Variation Ideas

This recipe is already a twist on the idea of the cinnamon roll, so it’s the perfect place to let your imagination run free. Here are some ideas to get the ball rolling.

• Swirl the filling. If you want the cinnamon filling spread throughout the cake instead of layered, go ahead and stick a butter knife into the layered batter and give it a quick swirl. Make sure the tip of the knife reaches the bottom of the pan if you want a really cinnamon-infused cake.
• Switch up the nuts. If you’re not a pecan fan, you can swap out the nuts in the cinnamon filling. Try using walnuts or almonds, too! You can also add some chopped toasted nuts as garnish on top of the glaze for a nice crunch.
• Change the glaze. I love how the glaze on this cake tastes exactly like the kind you’ll find on a cinnamon roll, but it tastes just as good with different icing. I particularly like to swap in cream cheese glaze, since its tanginess perfectly balances the sweetness of the cake. See my Italian Cream Bundt Cake for a cream cheese glaze recipe.
• Add a streusel. To really bring this cake to the next level, try adding cinnamon streusel on top. It really ramps up the butteriness and the cinnamon flavor of this cake. Try something like the topping on my Peach Streusel Bread.

Storage Instructions

• Room temperature/refrigerator: You can store this Cinnamon Roll Cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge up to 4 days with an added layer of plastic wrap. Wrapping the cake and keeping it tightly sealed prevents it from drying out in the fridge. If you want, you can warm it in the microwave in 10-second intervals when you’re ready to eat it, until it gets warm and sticky again.
• Freezer: This cake freezes well, although you may want to wait to frost it until after it thaws to keep it from getting soggy. Wrap it tightly in plastic and place it in a double-lock freezer bag to prevent freezer burn. It can stay frozen for up to 3 months. Make sure to let it thaw overnight on the counter or in the refrigerator.

More Moist & Fluffy Bundt Cakes to Try

• Pecan Pie Bundt Cake
• Chai Spice Bundt Cake
• Peanut Butter Bundt Cake
• Lemon Bundt Cake
• Marble Bundt Cake