Learn how to make a giant cinnamon roll cake using my easy 7 ingredient homemade cinnamon roll dough and swirling it into one large cake. Top with vanilla icing for an extra fun and indulgent breakfast, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Christmas brunch. Kids LOVE this! (Ok, adults too.)
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
If you find yourself with a giant cinnamon roll craving, bored and looking for a fun baking project, want an extra special Mother’s Day recipe or Father’s Day recipe, in need of new Easter brunch recipes that WOW, and/or need of a fun family-friendly breakfast, brunch, or dessert—I have just the recipe. I originally published this giant cinnamon roll cake several years ago and after making it 7,938x since then (approximation, of course), I decided to add some updates. It’s even better now!
Discover new pictures, extra recipe notes, and a video tutorial to help guarantee mega cinnamon roll success. Because if you’re going to make cinnamon rolls, you might as well make the best, most giant cinnamon roll ever. It’s impossible not to love this.
Why You’ll Love This Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
- It’s a cinnamon roll the size of your head.
- Only requires 1 short rest and 1 long rise. (Not 2 rises!)
- No special tools required.
- Perfect for yeast beginners.
- Kids love to help roll it up.
- Fun to eat.
- Smothered in vanilla icing.
- I repeat: it’s a cinnamon roll the size of your head.
Perfect for Yeast Beginners
Do you love homemade cinnamon rolls, but are nervous to bake with yeast? I used to be this way too, but my easy cinnamon rolls completely changed that mindset. They only need 1 short rest period and 1 long rise, as opposed to two long rises like my overnight cinnamon rolls. Same fluffy cinnamon roll goodness, but in half the time. We’re using a very similar dough recipe for today’s cinnamon roll cake.
Here’s my #1 tip: I exclusively use Red Star Yeast in my bread baking and always recommend readers do the same. A dependable yeast like Platinum Yeast from Red Star pretty much guarantees dough success. This is an instant yeast, which helps cut down on rise time. Not only this, its careful formula strengthens your dough and makes working with yeast simple. And simple, especially when it comes to bread baking, is always good.
If you are craving cinnamon rolls right now, and just can’t wait for dough to rise, try these no yeast cinnamon rolls!
Video Tutorial: Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
How to Make a Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
- Make the dough: The ingredients are pretty standard: flour, sugar, salt, yeast, milk, butter, and egg. Heat the butter and milk together. Next, stir or beat the milk mixture into the dry ingredients, then add the egg. After mixing, your dough is ready to knead. You’ll notice I use all milk (no water) and *slightly* more butter than my easy cinnamon rolls recipe. I wanted a richer dough for this cinnamon roll cake. Same great results.
- Knead the dough: You can use your mixer or hands to knead the dough. Watch me knead the dough with my hands in the video tutorial above. When you’re finished kneading, cover the dough and let it rest for about 30 minutes. It won’t really rise during this time, but this allows the gluten to relax, which makes shaping much easier.
- Fill & shape the cinnamon roll cake: Here’s where the fun starts! Roll the dough out into a 15×12 inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter on top, then sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, slice the dough into 6 horizontal strips. (Each are 15 inches long.) Roll up 1 strip and place in a greased pan. Coil the remaining 5 strips around the center roll, starting each strip at the end of the previous one to make one large cinnamon roll. Some of the filling may spill out as you pick up the strips, so just sprinkle it on top of the cake when you’re done shaping it.
- Rise: Let the shaped cake rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours. Remember, this is the only rise time required!
- Bake: After the giant cinnamon roll cake is puffy, bake until golden brown.
- Drizzle with vanilla icing: Whisk confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract together until smooth. Drizzle all over the warm cake.
Cinnamon Roll Cake Step-by-Step Pictures
Mix the dry ingredients together. Heat the butter and milk together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the egg, and beat into a slightly soft dough. (If you don’t have a mixer, you can make this dough by hand.)
Knead this dough, then let it rest for about 30 minutes.
Roll out into a large rectangle. Top with softened butter.
Sprinkle a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon on top, then cut into 6 strips. Roll up 1 strip.
Place into your greased pan. Coil remaining strips around it.
Before baking, let the shaped cake rise until puffy:
3 Helpful Tips
- Best pan to use: I recommend a 9-inch round pie dish or 9-inch round cake pan.
- Keep it flat: While the giant cinnamon roll cake is baking, some spots may rise up more than other spots. That’s completely normal and expected from something this large! Simply remove the pan from the oven and, with the back of a spatula, press down the spots that are rising taller than others to help keep them even.
- Don’t have all morning to spend on this dough? Feel free to prep the dough the night before. This is a wonderful way to save time in the morning so you can wake up and eat sooner! See my make-ahead/overnight instructions in the written recipe below.
Let’s Dig In
To serve, cut the giant cinnamon roll like a traditional cake. Alternatively, you could uncoil it and let everyone have a go, sort of like you do with monkey bread. Hey, it’s ok to have fun with your food once in awhile. Now go make some cake!!
Baking with Yeast
Reference this Baking with Yeast Guide whenever you work with baker’s yeast. I include practical answers to all of your common yeast questions.
Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: one 9-inch cake
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Learn how to make a beautiful, fluffy, and fun cinnamon roll cake using my kitchen-tested shortcut dough recipe. Review the video tutorial above and recipe notes below before beginning.
Ingredients
- 2 and 3/4 cups (344g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons Platinum Yeast from Red Star (1 standard packet)*
- 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk
- 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons; 60g) unsalted butter
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Filling
- 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons; 60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Vanilla Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk or heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the dough: Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together. Set aside. Heat the milk and butter together in the microwave until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm to the touch, between 100-110°F, 38-43°C. Pour the warm milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the egg. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment, or using a rubber spatula and mixing by hand, beat/mix the mixture until a soft dough forms. The dough is ready when it gently pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is pretty sticky, beat/mix in 2-4 extra Tablespoons of flour. (Keep in mind that you want the dough to remain on the softer side.)
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 3 minutes (for a visual, watch me knead in the video above). If you’d rather use the mixer to knead it, beat the dough on low speed for 3 minutes instead. After kneading, poke the dough with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, the dough is ready for the next step. If not, keep kneading.
- Form the dough into a ball on your work surface. Cover it with a clean towel, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap, then let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Alternatively, the ball of dough can rest in a covered and lightly greased mixing bowl.
- Make the filling: After 30 minutes, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 15×12 inch rectangle. Evenly spread the softened butter on top. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle it all over the buttered dough.
- Grease a 9-inch round pie dish or 9-inch round cake pan with butter or nonstick spray.
- Shape the cinnamon roll cake: See the video tutorial and my step-by-step photos above for a visual of this shaping step. Using a very sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into six 2-inch wide strips. Roll up one strip and place it in the center of the pan. Coil the remaining 5 strips around the center roll, starting each strip at the end of the previous one to make one large cinnamon roll. Some of the filling may spill out as you pick up the strips, so just sprinkle it on top of the cake when you’re done shaping it.
- Loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a relatively warm, draft-free environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (Tip: Rising at room temperature is usually fine, but on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the shaped cake inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
- Bake: After the cake’s dough has doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. If you notice the top or edges browning too quickly, tent the cake with aluminum foil. While the giant cinnamon roll cake is baking, some spots may rise up more than other spots. That’s completely normal and expected from something this large. Simply remove the pan from the oven and, with the back of a spatula, press down the spots that are rising taller than others to help keep them even. Return to baking.
- Remove the finished cinnamon roll cake from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the icing.
- Make the icing: Whisk the icing ingredients together. If you want a thicker icing, whisk in more confectioners’ sugar. If you want a thinner icing, whisk in more milk or cream. Drizzle all over warm cake and serve.
- The cinnamon roll cake is best enjoyed the same day it’s made, but will remain fresh covered tightly for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Overnight Instructions: The night before serving, prepare the cinnamon roll cake through step 6. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 8-12 hours. The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise on the counter, covered, for 1-2 hours before continuing with step 8.
- Freezing Instructions: Baked cinnamon roll cake can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up before enjoying. You can also freeze the unbaked cinnamon roll cake and here’s how: bake the cake in step 8 for only about 10 minutes. Cool completely, then cover tightly and freeze. To thaw and bake, take the cake out of the freezer and put into the refrigerator a few hours before you wish to serve it. Before serving, finish baking it.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Rolling Pin | 9-Inch Round Pie Dish or 9-Inch Round Cake Pan
- Yeast: Platinum Yeast from Red Star is an instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead. If using active-dry yeast, whisk the yeast into the warm butter/milk mixture instead of into the dry ingredients. (If you forget to do this and add the active-dry yeast to the dry ingredients, the cake will still be fine– trust me!) The rise time will take a little longer if using active dry yeast. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Icing: I originally topped this giant cinnamon roll cake with vanilla maple icing. Simply replace 1 Tablespoon of milk/cream with pure maple syrup. If desired for a coffee flavored icing, replace all of the milk/cream with strong brewed black coffee.
Keywords: cinnamon roll cake, giant cinnamon roll
Have you tried finely chopped nuts added to the top of dough before cutting and rolling so it bakes in between layers? Wondering if it would change bake time.
Hi Melise, Chopped nuts would be a wonderful addition to the filling and should not change the bake time. Enjoy!
I made this for my mom’s birthday and it came out really great! The recipe was so easy to follow and all the ingredients were in my pantry. My entire family loved it and my brother even asked to make it for his birthday
★★★★★
Can you use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose?
You can, but the dough won’t rise as much and the roll cake will taste heavy. I recommend all-purpose or even bread flour.
Can you substitute buttermilk in this recipe like In your giant cinnamon rolls? I’ve never made cinnamon rolls from scratch before and am nervous about using yeast for the first time! So I’m trying to decide which recipe to use. Also during the quarantine I am trying to save my whole milk for making your delicious strawberry cake ❤️
Hi Mary, absolutely! No changes to the recipe needed besides that swap.
I made this over the weekend. My husband loves cinammon rolls, so what could be better than a giant cinnamon roll?!
The dough came together very easily- eventhough I almost forgot the egg and added it after I had already kneaded all of the other ingredients. I was a little disappointed because it didn’t look that “giant” once I had rolled the dough up in the pan (I even went back and loosened the roll a little to make it a bit bigger), but once it rose again and baked it was truly giant and so nice and fluffy!!
I used leftover cream cheese frosting (also your recipe :p) and it was really delicious. My husband and I managed to polish it off in less than 48 hours…
★★★★★
Absolutely loved this recipe! And my friend asked for the recipe so he can make it for his family this weekend.
I was initially concerned about there being enough sugar and sugar filling in the cinnamon rolls – but once you add the icing on top then try the cake as a whole, it just works!
★★★★★
I have tried making cinnamon rolls before & they never turn out, but this cake was perfect the first time!!!! My family is already demanding it for birthday parties & holidays, thank you Sally!!
★★★★★
Hi Sally. Just wondering why the first rise is so short. Is it because of the Platinum yeast?
Simply a shortcut dough and yes, instant yeast helps! If we let the dough rise too long (during the rest or the actual rise), the giant cinnamon roll would easily lose its shape.
The cinnamon roll cake looks impressive and tastes great. The only thing is that I don’t think there’s nearly enough brown sugar cinnamon filling in the middle of the roll. The recipe calls for 1/4 of brown sugar, I put in 1 cup and I could still have had more. But the dough is great and it is very impressive looking.
★★★★
Sally, I don’t have whole milk, would fat free milk work?
Hi Patty! You can use fat-free milk in a pinch. The cake won’t taste as soft and rich without the fat though.
Made this today with my kids and it turned out great! We are in Colorado so sometimes have challenges baking at altitude but no problem with this recipe!
★★★★★
Sally on my google assistant i pulled up this recipe, but it is different in some measurements than this one u posted. I followed the one u posted but, it took a long time to pull away and form a ball and my cinnamon bun was dry. I think maybe i beat the dough too long. I would like to try again any suggestions.
★★★★
Made this tonight just because and it was amazing! Used your cream cheese icing instead just because I love cream cheese icing with cinnamon rolls!
★★★★★
This was fantastic and foolproof! I’m a novice baker and this turned out perfectly, even with 3 extra sets of tiny hands pitching in to help mama. Thank you! My husband even said it was the best cinnamon roll he’s ever had! I’d call this recipe a huge win!
★★★★★
Sally, I had a question before. I really want to try this cinnamon roll but I am person who doesn’t like using yeast. Is there a good substitute you would recommend?
Thank you! Can NOT wait to try these 🙂
Hi Christina! Unfortunately you can’t make this dough without yeast. Here are all of my quick bread recipes.
Hi Sally! Have you ever used gluten free 1:1 flour blend or think it would work in place of the all purpose flour blend?
Thanks!
Hi Sarah, I have not tested this recipe with gluten free flour but let me know if you try it!
has anyone tried making a vegan version using flax seed for eggs, almond/ oat milk, and vegan butter?
I haven’t tried making this vegan, Coco, but let me know if you try!
I veganized this and it turned out amazing :):) I used flax seed as an egg replacement and oat milk.
★★★★★
Made this for dessert last night and it was a huge hit. House smelled amazing, kids said it was the best cinnamon role they’d ever had. They are all learning how to bake. Lesson one is “look for Sally’s recipe for this first.” Everything I make from here bumps out whatever recipe I was using before.
★★★★★
My daughter made this for Sunday Family Brunch. There were no leftovers.
★★★★★
Hi Sally
Can this stay out longer than the 1-2 hours before baking like 3-4 hours? Want to take it out of the fridge and leave it out while I’m out of the house so it’s ready when I return!
Hi Caitlin, the longer it rises at room temperature, the more likely the dough will collapse in the oven or have an “off” yeast taste.
This was phenomenal! Tender, flavorful, delicious. I *may* have had thirds. teehee.
I did like someone suggested (sorry, forgot who) and mixed the butter/brown sugar/ cinnamon together and then spread it on the dough- Easy & breezy. During this whole shelter-in-place, it was wonderful to have something so delicious and homey.
★★★★★
At home because of the and I decided to give the recipe a try. Very easy very delicious !
★★★★★
I made this during 2020 and it was fabulous! My whole family was in love. I did double the brown sugar cinnamon filling and used a different cream cheese icing recipe. But the dough was perfect, moist and not too sweet. I had to push down the dough as it baked, tented with foil towards the end and added icing to the hot cake so it would soak down in the cracks. Recipe saved!
★★★★★
It looks delicious Sally! Definitely trying it soon.
Thank you for all your great recipes!
★★★★★
This recipe is amazing! I just made it with my 3 year old. She had so much fun helping, and it was easy to make. Thank you for this delicious recipe! I will be making it again and can’t wait to share it with my family.
★★★★★
I would rate this “fool-proof.” I didn’t have the type of yeast you recommend. I only had 1% milk. The egg was not completely room temp and I messed up the filling while talking on the phone. I mixed all the stuff together and then spread it on. And I baked it for 10 minutes and then did the rest in the morning—who knew?! It all worked. The entire cake was devoured in less than 30 minutes at work. Sally, you make me look good. Thanks.
★★★★★
Hi Sally
I want to make make the dough one day, but by wouldn’t be able to bake it for at least 24 hours. Is it ok to keep in the refrigerator that long?
You can stretch it to that long, but I would continue with the recipe as soon as you can!
Hi Sally, We love cinnamon rolls so I was anxious to try this recipe. It is delicious, we had it for dessert at lunch, and super easy to make compared to making cinnamon rolls. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. I live in the Midwest, it is cold and damp here today and cold in my house so it takes my dough forever to rise. Now I put a heating pad under my bowls/pans. It really helps create a warm environment for the rising process.
★★★★★
Do you think 2% milk could work? Thanks!
Definitely. I wouldn’t use a lower fat than 2% though.
This is a message to other users here. If you cannot find the Sally’s videos on her pages, TURN OFF AD BLOCK!
It was driving me nuts, because every time Sally would mention a video of a how-to-do, I could never find the video. Tonight, a little lightbulb went off. I turned off my ad block, and I watched the video.
And thank you, Sally. I really enjoy your recipes.
★★★★★
I just made this absolutely delicious Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake for my wife. She hasn’t been feeling well which doesn’t happen very often in our 30 year marriage. She loved it! Thanks for the brownie points, I mean cinnamon roll points! I think I have baked something about 3 times in 30 years. Even I could make this recipe! Thanks a million!
★★★★★