January can be a bit of a downer. I’m here to make it brighter though. With cake and cookbooks. Sounds like a win to me.
Let’s start with the cake. It’s my New Year’s Day tradition to make cinnamon rolls, but this year, I wanted something a little different. So I made a cake.
It starts with an unassuming vanilla cake. What really makes this shine is the gooey swirl of brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. It makes the whole cake moist and practically melt in your mouth, whether hot out of the oven or cooled to room temperature. In fact, this is one of the few things I’ve made that I actually like better cool.
Then it gets topped with a simple vanilla glaze, some of which soaks into the cake. I pretty much wanted to grab a fork and eat this straight from the pan. It’s perfect for breakfast or dessert … or even a snack. I may have even eaten it for lunch. Move over cinnamon rolls – this cake taking over!
Now onto the giveaway. I’ve teamed up with some of my favorite bloggers – The Cooking Actress, The Spiffy Cookie, and Wishes and Dishes to giveaway some cookbooks. Eleven cookbooks to be exact. They cover appetizers to dessert and everything in between. They are from famous chefs like Tyler Florence and Mary Berry and bloggers like Sally McKinney and Averie Sunshine.
I know they will inspire you to get in the kitchen! Use the widget below to enter the giveaway. Good luck!
Cinnamon Roll Cake + Giveaway!
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 18-24 pieces 1x
Ingredients
- Cake
- 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- 1 ½ cups milk (I used almond, use what you love)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- ½ stick unsalted butter, melted
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- Icing
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Make the cake. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13 inch pan. Line the bottom with parchment. Butter the parchment.
- In a large bowl, stir together 3 cups flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking powder, milk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter. Once well combined, pour into the prepared pan.
- In another bowl, beat 2 sticks softened butter with brown sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon until light and fluffy. I did this by hand but a hand or stand mixer will work as well.
- Dollop the brown sugar mixture onto the cake batter. Use it all. Swirl it in using a knife. Bake cake about 30 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out of the center clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Make the icing. In a bowl, stir together sugar, water, and vanilla bean paste, adding more sugar or water as necessary until a pourable icing is formed. Pour over the cake. Serve warm or cool completely in pan. Cake may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or frozen in pieces wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the microwave about 1 minute.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Shugary Sweets
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
I am sorry, I can’t find the widget!
So sorry, Tracey, I was having issues, but it is all good now!
Thank you Laura!!!
Mmmm what a lovely cake. I’ll take a slice while reading through these books.
Cinnamon roll in a cake form – amazing! Looks so delicious!
January can be a bit of a downer, can’t it? After all the excitement of the holidays? Anyway, this is the perfect antidote! Love cinnamon, and this cake looks so flavorful. Thanks!
Yeah, January is always a bummer, but not any more 🙂 Thanks, John!
LOVE, gal! I’m sure this is an auspicious start to the new year indeed. Happy new year, Laura!
Happy New Year, Ala!
What a fabulous cake! I think I can eat it for breakfast, too, since it’s practically a cinnamon roll, right???
Definitely breakfast appropriate, Liz 🙂
Cinnamon roll cake sounds amazing! What a perfect pick-me-up for January.
This looks fantastic!! One of my favorite breakfast treats 🙂
Thanks, Aimee, and thanks for visiting!
Thank you so much for including me in this giveaway Laura!!! This cinnamon roll cake looks totally divine!!
Thanks for joining the giveaway, Kayle! It was a lot of fun.
For those of us new to baking, how many cups/tablespoons are in a “stick” of butter?
8 tablespoons are in one stick of butter. Enjoy the recipe, Melissa 🙂