Using my vanilla cake recipe as the base, you can create an absolutely mouthwatering snickerdoodle cake filled with buttery cinnamon swirls and topped with creamy brown sugar cinnamon buttercream frosting. This cinnamon cake goes down in history as one of my best cake masterpieces. Everyone raved about it!
Earlier this month, I asked the Sally’s Baking Addiction Facebook group community if they wanted a snickerdoodle cake recipe this fall season. The response was an overwhelming yes. In fact, the general response was HECK YES HECK YES HEEEEEEEECK YES.
Your wish is my cake command.
This Snickerdoodle Cake Is:
- for cinnamon lovers
- special occasion worthy
- equal parts vanilla cake and snickerdoodles
- totally reminding me of brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts
- basically impossible not to love
3 Parts to Snickerdoodle Cake
- Buttery Vanilla Cake
- Pockets of Cinnamon Swirls
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream
Snickerdoodle Cake Power Ingredients
The ingredient list below looks long. Thankfully, the ingredients are mostly repeated in each section. If you’ve made or read about my best vanilla cake recipe before, you know that I use a few “power ingredients” that promise the perfect cake texture:
- Butter: Use room temperature butter for the cake and frosting. Remember that room temperature butter is cooler than you think. Use melted butter for the cinnamon swirl.
- Cake Flour: If you want a soft bakery-style cake, cake flour is the secret. The cake will be heavy if you use all-purpose flour. If needed, you can use a cake flour substitute.
- Eggs & 2 additional egg whites: 3 whole eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness. 2 extra egg whites keep the cake light and airy.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Remember the differences in baking powder vs baking soda and why it’s important to use both in some recipes? We’ll use enough baking powder to give the cake height without leaving a bitter aftertaste. Baking soda allows us to use less baking powder.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is an acidic ingredient and baking soda requires an acid to work. Plus, buttermilk yields an EXTRA moist cake crumb. See recipe note about using a buttermilk substitute.
- Brown Sugar: We’ll use brown sugar in the cinnamon swirl and again in the frosting. You can use light brown or dark brown sugar, but I recommend dark brown sugar for bolder flavor.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon is the main flavor, so make sure you’re using a quality product. I adore McCormick and Penzeys brands. (Not sponsored, just a super fan!)
How to Make Snickerdoodle Cake
- Make the cake batter: Use the basic creaming method. If desired, see my vanilla cake recipe for more detail. I reduced the sugar in the cake batter since we’re adding a cinnamon sugar swirl.
- Make the cinnamon swirl: Combine brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Gently mix in melted butter. Drop small spoonfuls over each unbaked cake layer, then swirl with a knife. The cinnamon swirl will slightly sink as the cake bakes, but that’s ok. When you eat the cake, the bits of cinnamon swirl are sticky, chewy, and massively flavorful.
- Bake & cool the cakes: Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, then cool completely before assembling and frosting.
- Make the brown sugar cinnamon frosting: More on that next!
- Decorate the cake: I love a semi-naked cake decoration for this snickerdoodle cake.
- Chill before serving: For beautiful slices, chill the decorated cake for at least 30-60 minutes prior to serving. This tightens up the layers, so slicing is much neater and easier.
This cake batter is moderately thick and fits perfectly in 3 9-inch cake pans. Always line your round pans with parchment paper rounds before adding the batter.
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream
Simply put, this frosting is nothing short of a dream. Brown sugar isn’t a common ingredient in snickerdoodle cookies, but I really wanted to impart its flavor into the cake. Brown sugar weighed down the cake crumb, so I added some to the frosting. Thus, brown sugar cinnamon buttercream was born. (There’s no need for any other frosting flavor again, ever.)
You know what I love about snickerdoodle cookies? Their creamy texture and slightly tangy flavorโboth make snickerdoodles uniquely delicious! Cream of tartar supplies those favorable components, but it didn’t really fit into this cake. So I compromised and added cream cheese to the buttercream frosting. Now we have a wonderfully tangy/sweet flavor, plus an ultra creamy texture.
To avoid a gritty texture from the brown sugar, cream it with the butter and cream cheese until relatively smooth. (Once you add the remaining ingredients, you won’t be able to detect its texture anyway.) If you find the buttercream too sweet, add extra salt. If you crave more flavor, add more cinnamon and/or vanilla extract. This brown sugar cinnamon buttercream would be outstanding with banana layer cake or carrot cake, too.
Look at all those cinnamon swirl specks on the bottom of a cake layer! โ โ
Semi-Naked Cake Style
Remember when I taught you how to make a vanilla naked cake? I recreated the look for this snickerdoodle cake. Perfect as a rustic chic autumn cake, no? If you need a visual for this semi-naked look (pretty much a crumb coat), see my naked cake video tutorial.
If you skip the piping detail, there’s enough frosting to cover the whole cake with a generous layer of frosting. ๐
Need to freeze the cake layers? See how to freeze cakes for detailed instructions.
Love Cinnamon? More Recipes for You:
- Spice Cake
- Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cupcakes or Snickerdoodle Blondies
- Banana Cupcakes (with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting!)
- Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
And if you need more inspiration, here is a list of 30+ fall cake recipes.
Print
Snickerdoodle Cake
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 10 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 servings
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Using my vanilla cake recipe as the base, create an absolutely mouthwatering snickerdoodle cake filled with buttery cinnamon swirls and topped with creamy brown sugar cinnamon buttercream frosting. Review recipe notes before beginning.
Ingredients
- 3 and 2/3 cups (433g) cake flour*ย (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoonย salt
- 2 teaspoonsย baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoonย baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 2/3 cups (330g) granulated sugar
- 3ย largeย eggsย +ย 2ย additionalย egg whites, at room temperature*
- 1 Tablespoonย pure vanilla extractย (yes, Tbsp!)
- 1ย and 1/2 cups (360ml)ย buttermilk, at room temperature*
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (41g) or cake flourย (38g) (spooned & leveled)
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon*
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream
- 1 and 1/4 cups (282g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, room temperature and sliced into 4 pieces*
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon*
- 5 and 1/2 cups (660g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
- optional for garnish: snickerdoodle cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Grease three 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake:ย Whisk the cake flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Beat in the 3 eggs, 2 egg whites, and vanilla extract on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. (Mixture will look curdled as a result of the egg liquid and solid butter combining.) Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients. With the mixer still running on low speed, slowly pour in the buttermilk then mix just until combined. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour batter evenly into cake pans. If desired, weigh them with a kitchen scale to ensure accuracy. Set aside for a few minutes as you make the cinnamon swirl.
- For the cinnamon swirl: With a fork, mix the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together until combined. Pour the melted butter on top and mix just until combined. Use immediately in the cake batter (next step) because the longer it sits out, the harder it will get as a result of the butter solidifying.
- Drop small spoonfuls of the cinnamon swirl on each of the unbaked cakes. Use a knife to gently swirl the spoonfuls into the batter. Some pieces will remain as chunks (that’s fine!) and some will swirl into the batter.
- Bake for around 23-26 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, itโs done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting:ย In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Switch the mixer up to medium-high speed and add the cream cheese one piece at a time, mixing until each has combined before adding the next. Once the cream cheese is combined, add the brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and add the cinnamon, confectionersโ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Turn the mixer on low speed and beat for 30 seconds, then turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat until completely combined and creamy. Add more confectionersโ sugar if frosting seems too thinโI usually add another 1/4 cup (30g) of confectioners’ sugar. You can add more heavy cream if frosting seems too thick or an extra pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. (I usually add another pinch of salt.) If you crave extra flavor, add a little more cinnamon and/or vanilla extract.
- Level the cakes & add the crumb coat:ย Using a large serrated knife, slice the domes off the cooled cakes (a semi-thin layer) to create a flat surface. Discard domes (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly spread about 1 and 1/2 cups of frosting on top. Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly spread another 1 and 1/2 cups of frosting on top. Top with the third cake layer. I decorated my snickerdoodle cake with a crumb coat, which makes it a semi-naked style cake. To recreate this, spread a thin layer of frosting around the sides and top of the cake (save extra frosting for the top in the next step). An icing spatula and bench scraper are helpful for creating this look. (If you need a visual, see my Naked Cake video tutorial.) Chill the crumb coated cake uncovered in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 30 minutes to help set the crumb coat.
- Spread a little extra frosting on top of the cake and use any leftover frosting to pipe detail around the edges, if desired. I used Wilton 8B piping tip. Garnish with snickerdoodles if desired.
- Refrigerate cake for at least 30-60 minutes before slicing and serving. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.
- Cover leftover cakeย tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Let the frosting sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 20 minutes before assembling and frosting. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving. See how to freeze cakes for detailed instructions.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Cake Turntable | Icing Spatula | Bench Scraper | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 8B Piping Tip | Cake Carrier (for storage)
- Cupcakes:ย Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. Drop small spoonfuls of cinnamon swirl onto each, then gently swirl with a knife. Bake at 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) for 19-21 minutes. Yields about 3 dozen. Or try my snickerdoodle cupcakes recipe.
- 9×13-inch Cake: This recipe yields too much batter for a 9×13-inch pan. Instead, you can use my white cake batter and swirl in the cinnamon swirl. (See those recipe notes for baking instructions for a quarter sheet pan.) I recommend cutting this frosting recipe in half so you don’t have too much leftover.
- Cake Flour:ย To prevent a dry-tasting cake, make sure you are spooning and leveling the flour or weighing it.ย For the best results, I strongly recommend cake flour. You can find it in the baking aisle and I haveย many more recipesย using it. If you canโt get your hands on cake flour, you can make a homemadeย cake flour substitute.
- Eggs:ย 3 whole eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness. 2 extra egg whites keep the cake light and airy. I donโt recommend using 4 whole eggs; stick to the 3 egg & 2 egg white combination. Here are recipes using leftoverย egg yolks.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk (an acid) is required for this cake recipe. If you donโt have any, you can make a DIY buttermilk substitute. Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 and 1/2 cups. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake wonโt taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade โbuttermilkโ will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Cinnamon: Yes, the cinnamon swirl and frosting both call for 1 Tablespoon (not teaspoon) of ground cinnamon. We need that flavor to stand out!
- Brown Sugar: You can use light brown or dark brown sugar, but I recommend dark brown sugar for bolder flavor.
- Cream Cheese: Use brick cream cheese, not cream cheese spread. Slice the brick into four 2-ounce pieces. If desired, you can skip the cream cheese and add another 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) softened unsalted butter instead.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read more about the importance of room temperature ingredients.ย
Reader Comments and Reviews
This cake is delicious! I wouldn’t change anything about it and will definitely be making it again.
Hi Sally, can I color the buttercream a pink or purple color with gel?
Hi Donna, yes, you can do that. Enjoy the cake!
I have a question. Is there a way to substitute some of the butter for oil? Maybe half and half?
Hi Naomi, butter is necessary to cream together with the sugar in step 3. You could try with solid coconut oil, but taste will be a bit different. We don’t recommend vegetable or canola oil. Let us know if you give it a try!
This is the most incredible cake I’ve ever made. It tastes absolutely amazing!!!!
Just a question- snickerdoodle cookies need cream of tartar. Why do the snickerdoodle cakes not call for it – even just a small bit to make it a true snickerdoodle?
Hi Lydia, we havenโt tried adding any to the cake recipe, but you can certainly test it out!
delish! made a third of the cake bc i didnโt feel like an entire three layer cake. even with the iffy measurements, turned out great! I def messed up like twice making it a little denser but still delicious and if you follow Sally itโll be good ๐ if anyone else does just one layer, I put it in an 8 inch square pan and baked for around 25 mins, was perfect. Then I cut it in half and layered it per instructions. Delicious cake !
This cake is perfection! It is so moist and the combination of flavors is perfect!! I have never had cake layers bake up so flat, which is what you want. I only had to slightly level one layer. I did use baking strips, but even with baking strips, I usually have to level my cake layers quite a bit. I used the gram measurements. I did not use the cream cheese frosting. I had planned to, but I accidentally bought low fat cream cheese, so I made a regular cinnamon, brown sugar buttercream. I had thought about using 8 inch cake pans, but I used the recommended 9 inch. I am so happy I did. It is the perfect height and is a big cake. An 8 inch would have been too tall. Also, it baked in the shortest recommended time on 350F in my gas oven. I highly recommend this cake. It is one of the best tasting cakes I have ever eaten. This is the first recipe I have made of Sally’s and it won’t be the last.
I have a question about your Soft & Thick Snickerdoodle Cookies. I could not find a comment box, under the recipe, so I hope it is okay to put the question here. In the notes for the Snickerdoodle cookies, it says to add an extra egg and an extra large egg yolk to make them less crumbly. Is that in addition to the egg and egg yolk that are already listed in the recipe? Thanks.
P.S. I just made the Snickerdoodle Cake and am waiting for it to cool. It smells and looks so good!!!
Hi Rachel! For the snickerdoodle cookies recipe, just add 1 egg + 1 egg yolk total. The recipe used to just include 1 egg, but the extra yolk makes them extra soft. Hope you love this cake!
Thank you so much!
Could you tell me how many cups of batter this recipe makes? I am just wondering if it would be fine to use 8-inch cake pans. Thank you.
Hi Rachel, you can use three 8 inch pans. The layers will be slightly thicker and take a bit longer to bake so keep an eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness!
Thank you so much.
Can I make this cake and a Bundt pan and what would I need to do that would be extra
Hi Carol, a Bundt pan should work great, but weโre unsure of the exact bake time. Make sure you use a large Bundt pan with at least 10-12 cups capacity. The larger the better. Enjoy!
This looks amazing!! Iโm wondering if it might be possible to mix some pumpkin puree in with the cinnamon swirl? Looking for something different for a pumpkin lover that isnโt a traditional pumpkin spice cake base.
Made this cake for my husbands birthday. It was AMAZING!!!! Everyone raved over it and the restaurant help loved it too!!
This is a keeper
Im obsessed!!! This turned out absolutely incredible. I will be making this every fall it is to die for!
I combined the snickerdoodle cupcake recipe with the filling and frosting from the cake recipe and they FABULOUS!!!I will definitely be making these again.
Recipe is fine but I followed it completely and it still came out dry. Looked beautiful. No problem with the filling . . Frosting was perfect..
Been baking cakes forever .batter looked great. Was very disappointed.. . Even bought cake flour and buttermilk Just for this recipe.. takes a lot of butter , too costly to make for the result even though it tasted fine. Dry cake a no, no .
Did you happen to bake it for too long or a the wrong temp.?
Snickerdoodle cake is absolutely delicious and worth making!!
Do you need to sift the powdered sugar in frosting?
Hi Bee, no need to!
Hi! Could you half the recipe for a 9 x 13 cake pan?
Hi Laura, For a 9×13 you can use our white cake batter and swirl in the cinnamon swirl. We would cut the frosting recipe in half just so you donโt have too much leftover.
Hi, Iโd like to make this cake and have Hersheyโs Cinnamon Chips to use up. Do you think I could replace the brown sugar mixture with these chips?
Hi Lisa, we don’t recommend leaving out the swirl in this cake, but if you wanted you could use our vanilla cake recipe instead and add a cup of the cinnamon chips in that batter.
I wonder if it makes a difference if you use all purpose or cake flour for the cinnamon swirl. The cake flour having corn starch would thicken the mixture more.
I made this for my sonโs birthday and it was amazing! Thank you! I love the icing and would like to use it for cupcakes. Any idea about how many cups of icing this makes?
Hi Kelly, this recipe yields about 4 cups of frosting. We’re so glad it was a hit!
I donโt regularly use heavy cream, so I donโt want to buy a whole pint just to use 1/4 for the frosting. Would 2% milk or oat milk just as well? Or hot water to help the sugar be less grainy?
Hi Heather, whole milk would be the best!
Iโve read through the comments and no one else seems to have my problem. When I made the โswirlโ it hardened, and I mean hardened, immediately upon the introduction of the butter. There was no swirling. It was like putting a blobby cinnamon hard candy on top. I wished I had used it like coffee cake and put it in the middle. It was not at all like hardened butter or even cookie dough.
I must have done something horribly wrong.
By the way, all my colleagues loved it! They told me to make it again! So I think itโs time for another try!
Hi Marcy, how strange! Were any of the swirl ingredients over-measured by chance? Or was your butter not completely melted? It should come together almost like a paste and will harden as it sits, but shouldn’t be immediately. Let us know if we can help troubleshoot further!
I loved this recipe soooo much holy moly!! So rich and immersed with the brown sugar cinnamon pop tart vibesโฆBut I had the same swirl issue, and I made this recipe twice. On night 1 I accidentally underbaked one of the layers, so I remade one the next morning- noticed the same thing about the swirl mixture. I even tried to add more butter to loosen it up the second go-round. With both cakes, I ended up globbing about 1/2tb of โswirlโ around the top of the cake and then pushing the globs in slighting and breaking them apart a bit so they made a steak.
Made for my husbandโs birthday and it was amazing!!
I feel bad to write this but I did not like the flavor combo for the cake with the icing. I made it for a friends birthday everyone seemed to enjoy it but not one of my bests.