Buttery Cinnabun Cake

I made a huge mess this afternoon in my oven making these cakes! Learn from my mistake and make this cake in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan rather than little cakes. The buttery cinnamon swirl ooozed out all over my oven making a huge smoky mess, so use the pan!!

This recipe is from my brother in law’s very talented mother (Mrs. Adams). I always hear about the great food that she makes, so I finally bummed the recipe from my sister. I tasted this cake last year and loved it! It is a real treat. I’m just not going to try the cute little individual cakes next time!! Enjoy, this is a great recipe!

Buttery Cinnabun Cake

3 Cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 Cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ Cups milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 Stick real butter, melted

2 sticks real butter, softened
1 Cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2/3 Cups nuts, optional

2 Cups powdered sugar
5 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

1.In an electric or stand mixer mix the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs and vanilla.Once combined well, slowly stir in melted butter.Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix the 2 sticks of softened butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nuts until well combined. Drop evenly over cake batter by the tablespoonfuls and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake.

3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out nearly clean from center.

4. Place powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Gooey Cinnabun Cake with Vanilla Icing Drizzled on top

Buttery Cinnabun Cake

An ultra-moist cinnamon cake with a gooey cinnamon swirl and drizzled with a sweet vanilla icing.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Print Pin

Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • 3 Cups Flour
  • ¼ Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1 ½ Cups Milk
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
  • 1 Stick Real Butter Melted

For the Cinnamon Swirl:

  • 2 sticks real butter softened
  • 1 Cup brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons flour
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
  • 2/3 Cups nuts optional

For the Vanilla Icing:

  • 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 5 Tablespoons Milk
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Instructions

  • 1. In an electric or stand mixer mix the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs and vanilla. Once combined well, slowly stir in melted butter. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
  • In a large bowl, mix the 2 sticks of softened butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nuts until well combined. Drop evenly over cake batter by the tablespoonfuls and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out nearly clean from center.
  • Place powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Keywords: cinnamon cake

Related Posts

52 Responses
  1. April

    Thank you Mrs. Adams! I just made this and wow is it good! The hubby says “that’s freaking good” so I’ll be making this one again. Most of my filling sank to the bottom but it didn’t keep me from eating it. A little slice of heaven. Thank you for posting.

  2. ValHallaGirl

    I made these this morning on my day off and just ran them up to work..they loved them! I did make mine in cupcakes but put a cookie sheet underneath!

  3. shannon

    Thanks for answering! I do like nuts, but this recipe seems like it would just be delicious without them…buttery cake melting in your mouth! Thanks for all of your recipes. I lover every single one of them!

  4. shannon

    There are too many posts to read to see if there is an answer to my question. Did you use the nuts in this recipe?

  5. are all uggs fake online

    strongzz Wow, fantastic blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your web site is fantastic, as well as the content!

  6. Michele

    I made this yesterday for my son’s hockey team, oh my goodness! this was awesome, it got gobbled up in minutes. I did halve the topping and icing because I didn’t want it to sweet and added 1 tsp of cinnamon to the cake batter.

  7. Rene'

    I made this today and it’s so delicious and easy, not to mention my house smells divine, thank you! I especially appreciate the caveat about the bubbling overflow. I wanted badly to turn these into cupcakes so I protected my oven with foil and made both cupcakes and small mini cakes that I baked in individual spring form pans. The plus side of the overflowing buttery sugar is that it made for delicious nibbling as I peeled it off of the foil 😉 I posted photos on my blog but they don’t look nearly as lovely as yours!

  8. pandora charms

    Great website. Plenty of helpful info here. I am sending it to several friends ans also sharing in delicious. And certainly, thank you for your sweat!

  9. Mona

    Oh my oh my.. As soon as I read this recipe, I rushed to the kitchen and……….. Le voila !!!
    Very delightful buns..I used the pan as u mentioned… U have always been my #1 food bloger .. Thank you for sharing it with us..

  10. hiba

    I was looking for a good cinnabun recipe and this is the one! I’m so going to try it!
    THANKS!

  11. sherry

    Can’t wait to make these…but I have one questions…I am assuming all purpose flour since you put baking powder but wanted to make sure…Thanks

  12. Kensi

    I made this cake and it was yum-o! Thanks for an awesome recipe! I just love your blog! I can’t wait to make your rainbow cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday!!!

  13. Hillary Crump

    Seriously this was to die for. Loved it. Thanks for sharing. Throw your calorie counter out the door on this one. But worth every calorie.

  14. Tanya

    If you do want to try the individual cakes, are you using regular muffin tins? If so, how many small cakes does this recipe make?

    Thanks! Looks great

  15. Sereh

    I tried this a little while ago and forgot to come back and leave a comment.
    It was REALLY yummy, although, I decided to reduce the milk and throw in some chopped apples. It was delicious! Also, I stupidly almost forgot to put the cinnamon in, so ended up just sprinkling and twirling a bit on top just before baking. And then I threw some extra cinnamon in the icing.
    HAHAHA and I also thought “might as well make it a full pound of butter and melted some into the frosting too. So it ended up being “Apple Cinnamon Cake with buttery cinnamon frosting”
    Thanks for the recipe!

  16. Evie Roberts

    i really love Cakes and i am always looking for some new cake recipes on the internet..;;

  17. Annette W

    Oh, Jenny! I think I am going to try this one too. It looks too good! I totally get your desire to try individual cakes, but won’t! 3/4 pound of butter. WOW!

    What’s the temperature for the oven? Also, I saw someone recommended bread pans. Have you tried that yet?

  18. Cat

    Mmmm, this is baking in my oven right now! It smells awesome! I’m finding the cooking time to be a bit longer, I’m at 30 min and it’s not done yet. It’s smells so good it’s hard to be patient, lol.

  19. Brenda Penrod

    Hi Jenny,
    My family loves this yummy Buttery Cinnabun Cake but the recipe doesn’t tell the temperature to bake it on. Please let us know so it doesn’t turn out too doughy or dry anymore.

    Thanks,

    Brenda

  20. Roz Gorski

    Hey Jenny, I tried this using a loaf pan and got 3 loaves out of the recipe. The crumb topping swirled into the batter was heavenly. They make awesome gifts when we go visiting.

  21. Aubrey

    These look so amazing! I already made the caramel cream cheese things you have in you’re recipes and while mine weren’t quite so pretty they were a hit with my family and friends. Keep up the yummy recipes!

  22. Jen

    Holy cow; amazing! Even in a cake pan it was nearly bubbling out at the corners. My kids were burning their mouth just because they couldn’t wait for it to cool!

  23. Jenny

    Anonomous,
    Thanks for catching that. Yes, the temp should be set at 350. My boys love these!

  24. Anonymous

    Did I miss the oven temp. on this? I’m guessing 350? They look so good my son BEGGED me to make them!

  25. Jenny

    Hi Emiline,
    These are definately more cakey (if that’s a word), but they have that cinnabun taste which is heavenly.

    My oven survived, I ruined a bath towel cleaning all the burn bits off of the bottom, oh well! That certainly wasn’t the first or probably the last time that will happen to me either. You’d think I’d learn not to fill the tins so full.

  26. Emiline

    Are these kind of like Cinnabons? I love those. I always have to get a Cinnabon at the airport.
    I’m sorry about the oven.
    I do that all of the time; I’m notorious for it.
    Our oven is constantly smoking.

Welcome to Picky Palate!

Picky PalateWelcome to my online kitchen! Picky Palate is where you’ll find family friendly recipes along with the best Disney eats, tips and copycat recipes! Read More...

Recipe Categories

Picky Palate Disney Hungry

Never Miss an Update!

Sign up to get easy recipes or Disney tips delivered to your inbox for FREE!