Update 9/2/2016: After making my insanely popular chocolate meltaway cake (based on this original version) I have increased the eggs in the recipe from 1 to 2. It makes the cake a bit fluffier and less dense.
It’s been a while since I have shared a recipe with you, but I’m back with a bang. This cinnamon roll cake is amazing! It has all the flavor of a cinnamon roll without all the hassle. This recipe has no yeast; just mix, spread, dollop, swirl, and bake. The cake is sweet and the texture is the perfect balance of dense and light. It’s dairy free-but nobody will believe you.
This recipe is well tested, I made it a few times to make sure it was just right. The first two times I baked this cake, I didn’t even bother to add the icing and we ate just like that. It was simply delicious. The icing is definitely optional, but it does take the deliciousness up a notch.
- 1½ cups flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup dairy-free sour cream or unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup soy milk
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup margarine, melted
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3-5 Tbs. water
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
- Line an 8x8 inch square or round baking pan with parchment paper or grease with baking spray, set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine.
- Add in the egg, sour cream, soy milk, oil, and vanilla and mix on low until smooth and combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and spread out evenly.
- In a heatproof bowl melt the margarine. Mix in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Once combined dollop the cinnamon sugar mix over the prepared batter. Swirl the batter with a knife to combine.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes. The batter will puff up and turn golden brown, but the sugar will be a bit jiggly. It will firm up as it cools. Cool completely before adding the icing.
- To prepare the icing, mix the powdered sugar with the vanilla and a bit of water at a time until it is smooth. I like my icing thick but you can also add enough water to make a thin glaze. Drizzle icing over the cake and enjoy!
Would this work in a bundt pan?
I don’t think there is enough cake batter for a bundt pan. I have not tested this but if you double the batter it may work! Use your judgment on the amount of cinnamon topping, a double batch may be too much.
Delicious! I made this for shabbos, and it was fantastic. (Got the email on Friday and made it Friday afternoon – it just looked perfect.) I like round cakes for serving, so I made it in an 8-inch round, which likely made it a little thicker/higher than yours, so I added about 10 minutes more to the baking time. It slid out of the pan beautifully, the icing settled in some of the dips and valleys so when it all hardened it looked like a streusel topping :). Gorgeous and yummy. Thanks!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear! I’m not sure why I chose a square pan-I usually bake in round, but I’m glad to know it works in a round pan.
I tried the chocolate version, then wanted to try this…but I had run out of white sugar (and I was done shopping for Shabbos!) — so I used brown sugar. And, having some preserved apricots I made last spring, I pulsed some in the processor and swirled it into the batter. Quite a success (although the kids preferred the chocolate). This cake freezes and thaws beautifully; I’m stashing several in the freezer for Tishrei!
i am making a double recipe of the cake and making the chocolate and the cinnamon!
do you mean 3 tsp water for the icing? became very liquid with 3 Tablespoons