Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe For Birthdays • A Subtle Revelry (2024)

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For the dough

• 1package2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 3/4cupwhole milkwarmed
• 1/4cupgranulated sugar
• 4large eggs
• 4-1/2cupsflourplus more as needed
• 1-1/2tspkosher salt
• 6tbspunsalted butterat room temperature, cut into chunks

For the caramel

• 6tbspbuttermelted
• 1cupfirmly pack light brown sugar
• 3tbspdark honeypinch of salt
• 1cupcoarsely chopped pecans

For the filling

• 4tbspbutterat room temperature
• 1/2cupfirmly packed light brown sugar
• 1tspground cinnamon

For the cream cheese icing

• 2-1/2ozcream cheesesoftened
• 3tbspmilk
• 1-1/2cupspowdered sugarmore if needed

Start by making the dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the granulated sugar, eggs, flour, and salt. Attach the dough hook and knead on low speed, adding a little more flour if needed, until all your ingredients come together. Toss in the butter and continue to knead until the dough is smooth and springy, about 7 minutes.

3. Lightly oil a large bowl. Form the dough into a ball, put it in the bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature until it is doubled in size, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

4. While the dough is rising butter the pans, we used an 8-inch, 6-inch, and 4-inch round cake pans for the stacked cake and an 8-inch for the single layer cake.

Make the caramel

1. Stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, honey, salt, and pecans. Divide and spread the mixture in each pan.

2. Punch down the dough and dump onto a floured work surface.

3. Cut the dough in half. Roll out each half into a rectangle about 10 by 15 inches. Position the rectangles vertically.

Fill the dough

1. Spread each rectangle with 2 tablespoons of the room temperature butter, then half of the brown sugar and half of the cinnamon. Take a pizza cutter or sharp knife and cut about 8 strips from each rectangle.

To make the center of each "cake" take one strip and starting at the end closest to you, loosely roll up the strip. Place the roll in the center of the pan. Coil the remaining strips around the center roll by joining the strip to the end of the previous one, until the pan is filled. Continue these steps for the other pans. You may have leftover strips of filled dough which you can make into regular cinnamon rolls.

1. Cover the pans loosely with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm, draft-free spot until puffy, about 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake until the cakes are golden brown, 25-30 minutes (watch the smaller pans for doneness sooner). If some parts of the cake start to rise more than others, take a spatula or cake server and lightly press down on the spot.