Cinnabon Cinnamon Cake

It was a Sunday afternoon. Since I had the next day off, I had planned to do some baking and already knew exactly which recipes I was going to make. Then, I saw THIS cake on Shugary Sweets. And then, to semi-quote a part from the book, Eclipse (p. 176):

"It's like . . . gravity moves. When you see [this cake], suddenly it's not the earth holding you here anymore. [This cake] does. And nothing matters more than [this cake]."


Okay, maybe not really, but all those other recipes did fly out of my head. Plus, I had every single one of the ingredients to make it. If that's not a sign, I don't know what is.

The only issue I ran into was with regards to the cinnamon-sugar-butter filling in this cake. The recipe has you whip the butter with the sugar and cinnamon until it's light and fluffy. Then, you dollop it on and swirl it in. Whip it up - fine. Dollop it on - done. Swirl it in - "Houston, we have a problem." Usually, when I have to swirl something in, the thing that I'm swirling is the consistency of say, a cake batter. But, this was thick, more like a cake frosting. I grabbed my butterknife and just started to push and mix it into the cake batter a little here and there, breaking it up as I went along. I had no idea if I was doing it right, but I'd soon find out after it was baked.


Turns out, it all worked out in the end. As the cake bakes, that buttery-sugary filling melts up, becomes gooey-er, and turns an ordinary cake into something totally extraordinary. As for the glaze on top, well, it's the icing on the cake, so to speak. It was truly delicious. I still intend to make those other recipes, but I'm very glad I bumped this one up in line. It was worth it.


Cinnabon Cinnamon Cake (from Shugary Sweets and Lady with the Red Rocker)

3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk (I used skim milk)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. butter, melted (I used margarine)

1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour (I totally forgot to add this in)
2 Tbsp. cinnamon

2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. milk (I used 5-6 Tbsp. skim milk)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the cake, preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 8" round cake pans, lining the bottom with parchment paper.

Blend the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, milk, eggs, vanilla, and 1/4 cup melted butter. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans.

Beat the 1 cup butter with brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. flour, and cinnamon. Continue to beat until fully blended and fluffy (about 3 min.). Using a tablespoon, drop butter mixture onto cake batter. Use a knife to swirl.

Bake cakes for about 25-30 min. (my oven needed 40-45 min.). Remove from oven and cool in pans 10 min. Turn cakes out onto serving plates.

For icing, whisk the powdered sugar with 1/4 cup milk (or more as needed for desired consistency) and vanilla. Drizzle over warmed cakes.