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Warm cinnamon roll cake with thick melting cream cheese glaze cascading over caramelized cinnamon brown sugar swirls

Cinnamon Roll Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

All the gooey, buttery, caramelized magic of warm bakery-style cinnamon rolls baked into an effortless, ultra-moist vanilla sheet cake swirled with rich brown sugar cinnamon ribbons and draped in luscious cream cheese glaze. Zero yeast, zero kneading, and ready in under an hour!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 12 servings (large cake squares)
Calories: 440
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

Moist Vanilla Cake Batter
  • 3 cups 375g all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup 200g granulated white sugar
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 1/2 cups 360ml whole milk, room temperature
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup 1 stick / 115g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Caramelized Cinnamon Swirl Ribbon
  • 1 cup 2 sticks / 230g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup 200g packed dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour to suspend the swirl
  • 2 tbsp ground Saigon cinnamon
Velvety Cream Cheese Glaze
  • 4 oz 115g full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1/4 cup 1/2 stick / 60g unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups 240g powdered confectioners' sugar, sifted
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3 to 4 tbsp whole milk for pouring consistency
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon for dusting

Method
 

Step-by-Step Baking Walkthrough
  1. Preheat & Prepare Pan: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Generously grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with nonstick baking spray or butter, lining the bottom with parchment paper for easy slicing.
  2. Mix the Vanilla Cake Batter: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk milk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently just until combined (do not overmix; a few small lumps are fine). Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
  3. Prepare the Cinnamon Butter Swirl: In a medium bowl, beat softened butter, dark brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon with a fork or spatula until thoroughly blended into a smooth, spreadable paste.
  4. Swirl the Ribbon: Drop large spoonfuls of the cinnamon butter mixture evenly over the surface of the cake batter. Take a butter knife or small offset spatula and gently swirl in figure-eight patterns to marble the cinnamon butter deep into the batter.
  5. Bake to Golden Perfection: Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 32 to 38 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with clean, moist crumbs and the cinnamon pockets are bubbling.
  6. Whip the Cream Cheese Glaze: While the cake bakes, beat the cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk in a medium bowl with a hand mixer until completely smooth, silky, and pourable.
  7. Glaze Warm & Serve: Remove cake from oven. Let cool for 10 minutes, then drizzle the velvety cream cheese glaze all over the warm cake so it seeps into every buttery cinnamon crevice. Dust lightly with cinnamon, slice into warm squares, and serve immediately!

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 440kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 5gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 260mgPotassium: 180mgFiber: 1.5gSugar: 42gVitamin A: 620IUCalcium: 120mgIron: 1.8mg

Notes

Chef Secret: Whisking 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour directly into the cinnamon brown sugar butter topping creates a stable emulsion that suspends the ribbon throughout the cake batter during baking, preventing it from sinking straight to the bottom of the pan!

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