Cinnamon Roll Cake

I woke up early yesterday and suddenly wanted to make a Cinnamon Roll Cake. And since I had a couple of hours before church, I did it. 

Cinnamon Roll Cake is a quick substitute for yeast-based cinnamon rolls, and it tastes FABULOUS. The basic cake recipe is nearly identical to the one we use for the Peach Right-Side-Up Cake, but the addition of a cinnamon swirl turns it from a plain vanilla cake to a much more enjoyable breakfast dessert. (Is that a thing? It should be a thing, right?) 

Cinnamon Roll Cake

2 1/2 c. EGF all purpose flour mix

1 tsp. xanthan gum
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 (3.4 oz.) pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
3/4 c. butter, softened but still cool
3 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 c. buttermilk (I usually combine 1 1/8 c. whole milk and 1/8 c. lemon juice and let it sit for about 5 minutes while I combine the rest of the ingredients) 

Cinnamon Swirl

3/4 c butter, slightly melted

1 c brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

Cream Cheese Icing

2 oz cream cheese 

2 c powdered sugar

4-5 Tbs milk

1 tsp vanilla 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x18 sheet cake pan with cooking spray. Remove the eggs and buttermilk from the fridge and let them sit at room temp for about half an hour. (In a hurry? Place your fridge-cold eggs in a bowl of warm water for five minutes or so and they’ll be much closer to room temp.) 

Combine all the dry cake ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the butter and mix on low to medium speed until the mixture resembles a cake mix (the butter will be in very small crumbs. 

Add eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk to the dry ingredients. Mix on medium-low speed until mixture is smooth.

Spread cake batter evenly in the prepared pan. 

Combine all cinnamon swirl ingredients. Pour (or, if your mixture is too thick to pour, drop in small spoonfuls) on top of the cake batter. Use a knife to swirl the cinnamon mixture through the cake batter, leaving the batter as evenly spread as you can. 

Bake at 350 for 23-28 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden brown. Remove from oven. 

To make the glaze, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add vanilla. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time, pausing to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl every once in a while. (Adding the milk slowly allows you to ensure that the glaze will be smooth and without lumps of cream cheese.)

Spoon the glaze over the top of the warm cake. Serve warm or cold.