How to Make Cinnamon Roll Cake

There are two things in life that are perfect, in my opinion: cake and cinnamon rolls. I can't get enough of either. So when I saw Chef-in-Training put together this recipe for cinnamon roll cake, I thought it would make an ideal breakfast option for an out-of-town guest. Before you start gathering your ingredients, though, I must warn you of two things:

#1) This is baked in a 9x13 pan, which will make more than enough! The three of us could barely tackle a third of it so if you're planning on making it, make sure enough people are there to enjoy it (or be prepared for leftovers!)

#2) When it's right out of the oven, it tastes exactly like nirvana. Absolute bliss and perfection. You have been warned.

To get started, here what you'll need for...

The cake
3 cups of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of sugar
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of melted butter

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The cinnamon swirl topping
1 cup of softened butter
1 cup of brown sugar
2 Tablespoons of flour
1 Tablespoon of cinnamon

The glaze (totally optional but I recommend it!)
2 cups of powdered sugar
5 Tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Start by preheating your oven to 350 and spraying the inside of your 9x13 pan with PAM or some other cooking spray. In your mixer combine all of the cake ingredients, leaving the melted butter for last.

Once everything is combined, add it to your pan.

 

Next comes the topping. In the same bowl (unless you like doing dishes, you can use a separate bowl), mix all of the topping ingredients until it's creamy. Take your Tablespoon and drop spoonfuls of the topping into the cake batter.

Take a knife and start swirling it around until the topping is evenly distributed. Bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean).

While the cake is baking, you can make your glaze. In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract with a whisk until thoroughly combined.

Once the cake is out of the oven, evenly distribute the glaze over the top of the cake.

Cut the cake (be careful if you can't wait - it'll be quite warm!) and devour. It is so fantastically good while warm but if you refrigerate it and eat it cold, it's just as yummy! It's still moist and not dried out!

Right out of the oven with the cinnamon oogy-gooeyness

After being in the fridge overnight - just as delicious!

TOTAL COSTS: About $22 (if you don't have any of the ingredients - prices from Vons)
$3.29 for flour
$.99 for salt
$2.69 for sugar
$1.99 for baking powder
$2.29 for milk
$2.79 for eggs
$.99 for butter
$4.79 for cinnamon
$2.49 for powdered sugar
Vanilla extract and brown sugar made from scratch

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 50 minutes

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
The "hardest" thing might be just making sure it doesn't burn but really, 35-40 minutes should do the trick. Other than that, it's just a matter of following direction (thought I doubt you need instructions for the "enjoying" part!

Waffled Cinnamon Rolls

This idea has been floating around Pinterest for a few weeks and on this Sunday morning, I decided to give it a shot. The idea? A waffle iron + Pillsbury Doughboy Cinnamon Rolls = ooey gooey heaven. Now I was very skeptical of this idea, mainly because it sounded too good to be true. I only wish I had been with that hungover college kid who thought of this (because really, who else would have first put the two together?) -

It's simple enough, just grab your waffle iron and your favorite container of cinnamon rolls (mine had Cinnabon frosting included... mmmmm.... Cinnabon....)

One thing I highly recommend is using Pam, otherwise you're going to have quite the mess down the road. It really helped separate the cinnamon rolls from the iron.

Next, place your cinnamon rolls on the pre-heated waffle iron.

Note that your waffle iron might not close completely and that's ok!

Now every waffle iron is different so I can't tell you how long it'll take but I can tell you it's quite fast. 2-3 minutes at most. Use your best judgement and keep an eye on them!

Smother with your favorite frosting (my husband used frosting and syrup and loved it) and quickly devour before someone else tries to steal them!

TOTAL COSTS: $5 at most
Canister of 8 cinnamon rolls were 2 for $5 at Vons
Pam and waffle iron already on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 10 minutes
Depends on how many you make but I made all 8

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
There's a reason why I say a college kid probably made this up... it's very easy to do, doesn't require much effort, and it's much faster than putting them in the oven! A great Sunday morning breakfast treat!