Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe - aka Reddit's Big Mama's Secret Cinnamon Roll Cake - moist and tender cake swirled with brown sugar cinnamon and topped with a vanilla glaze. This is hands down the BEST coffee cake EVER! Sugar, shortening, self-rising flour, buttermilk, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, powdered sugar, and butter. Great for breakfast or served as a dessert with vanilla ice cream.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch pan.
In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and shortening with a mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Add self-rising flour, buttermilk, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Mix on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.
Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the cake. Top with the remaining cake batter. Using a butter knife, make swirly, marble-effect patterns all around the cake. Drag the knife through both the cinnamon and cake batter.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove cake from the oven and use a fork to poke holes all over the top.
Icing
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to the melted butter. Whisk and continue cooking for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the glaze is smooth.
Pour glaze over warm cake and cool.
Notes:
How to make self-rising flour: for every 1 cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon fine salt. Whisk the ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl.
You can make this cake batter in a stand mixer or with a hand-held mixer.
Feel free to add some chopped pecans or walnuts to the cake. I would sprinkle them over the cinnamon sugar layer.
I use Crisco shortening. One of the benefits of using Crisco is that it has a high melting point than butter, so the cookies don’t spread much while baking. They also have an interior texture that is softer or lighter.
Can I use butter? Yes, but it will change the texture of the cake.
For a richer cake, use a cream cheese frosting instead of vanilla glaze.