Cinnamon Roll Cake

This is a short-cut recipe to my favorite cinnamon roll flavors. I have repeatedly asked for this cake to be made each year for my birthday. It all began a few years ago…

…when I had low confidence in my somewhat still new hobby for baking. When it came around to my birthday, I realized, hey, I bake pretty often so it seems only fair that I not be the one baking my birthday cake, right? Luckily, my Mom happily offered her services. She doesn’t bake for pleasure, she really bakes for purpose. So when she stepped in, I knew I wanted to give her a recipe that I was too scared to attempt myself. Sorry, Mom!

I’d had this recipe on the back burner for quite a while. All those years ago, I was still fearful to work with yeast doughs. And when I skimmed over the recipe, I just saw lots of different, and what seemed at the time, overwhelming steps. Cake, topping, and frosting. Yum, but yikes! What happened to the easy one bowl mixes?!

Had I taken the time to actually read the recipe though, I would have realized, hey, wait, there is no yeast in this recipe. And hey wait, again, I could minimize the bowls by reusing a few without dirtying any new ones. And hey wait, just one last time, this cake bakes more quickly than most! Had a read it myself, before recruiting my Mom, I’d have learned that it’s simply a cake version of a cinnamon roll. No yeast at all. And because of that, it’s a super quick way to reach all those cinnamon roll flavors. I vowed to dig up a more challenging recipe in the future for my Mom (what can I say, I just love watching her bake. And the longer the recipe, the longer I get to watch her for!) Except the problem is, this cake is so good, I request it for my birthday each year now. Alas.

The recipe below creates the softest sponge cake. It’s light and moist for two reasons. The first, it uses buttermilk, which makes any dessert, soft and fluffy. The second, it uses oil instead of butter, which helps lighten it up and make it extra moist. It’s then swirled with a layer of cinnamon mixture that melts into the sponge. It all gets topped with a cream cheese frosting and an optional dusting of cinnamon. It’s heavenly.

Obsessed with cinnamon roll ANYTHING, I have a few options if you’re in the same boat. Cake wise, you may want to check out: Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake, Cinnamon Roll Loaf Cake or Cinnamon Cake Bars. And for the yeasted options: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls and Monkey Bread.