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 an alternative.
- 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 flavor—both 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! ↑ ↑
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. 🙂
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
- Banana Cupcakes (with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting!)
- Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
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* (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 2/3 cups (330g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs + 2 additional egg whites, at room temperature*
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, Tbsp!)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) 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 flour (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 350°F (177°C). 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: 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 rubber 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, it’s 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: In a large bowl using a hand-held 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, confectioners’ 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 confectioners’ sugar if frosting seems too thin– I 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: 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 cake 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): KitchenAid Stand Mixer | Egg Separator | 9-inch Cake Pans | Kitchen Scale | Wilton 8B Piping Tip | Piping Bags (disposable or reusable) | Cake Turntable | Large Icing Spatula | Bench Scraper
- Cupcakes: Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. Drop small spoonfuls of cinnamon swirl onto each, then gently swirl with a knife. Bake at 350°F (177°C) 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: To prevent a dry-tasting cake, make sure you are spooning and leveling the flour or weighing it. For the best results, I strongly recommend cake flour. You can find it in the baking aisle and I have many more recipes using it. If you can’t get your hands on cake flour, you can make a homemade cake flour substitute.
- Eggs: 3 whole eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness. 2 extra egg whites keep the cake light and airy. I don’t recommend using 4 whole eggs; stick to the 3 egg & 2 egg white combination. Here are recipes using leftover egg yolks.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk (an acid) is required for this cake recipe. If you don’t have any, you can make a DIY sour milk 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 won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” 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.
Keywords: snickerdoodle cookies, cake, cinnamon
Made this cake recently and it was delicious! The cinnamon was perfect and not overpowering .
Hi. Delicious recipe, thank you for sharing. Maybe it’s silly, but my favorite part of the snickerdoodle cookie is the tang from a teaspoon or two of cream of tartar. Is there a way to use that in your cake recipe? Thank you for your time and effort.
I haven’t tried adding any to the cake recipe, but you can certainly test it out!
This cake was absolutely phenomenal! The flavor and textures were spot on and it came together beautifully. I didn’t have cream cheese for the frosting, so I just added more butter as suggested and it turned out nicely.
I consider myself a beginner baker and always find the detailed instructions in your recipes extremely helpful. It has turned my baking apprehension into boosted confidence as I know the chances of it turning out are high.
★★★★★
I love all of your recipes and have followed you for years. My question is this: I like to make 6″ cakes, as I’m usually just baking for two. Do you have suggestions for proportions to make this cake in a 6″ version?
Hi Melissa, For a three layer 6 inch cake, either use this snickerdoodle cupcakes recipe (more on using cupcake recipes for 6 inch cakes) OR use this vanilla cupcakes recipe and halve the cinnamon swirl and frosting from this cake recipe. Let us know what you try!
This recipe was so easy to follow and I absolutely loved making it! It turned out so beautiful with mini snickerdoodles as garnish on top of the cake. The birthday boy and his family said it was amazing! Highly recommend
★★★★★
I am a cinnamon lover, and this cake is divine! I don’t normally like frosting that much, but I can eat this one by the spoonful. I’ve made it a couple of times to take to work, and it’s always a hit. I love your recipes!
★★★★★
I made this cake for the people o work with. Everyone rave about how delicious it was . Will certainly make it again.
Can you tell me how to make the cake less light and fluffy and more on the dense side? I tried the modifications to the chocolate cake to make it more dense (less coffee and buttermilk, more sour cream) and it was fantastic. I’d like that same texture in these other cakes. Any thoughts?
Hi Wendy, This cake should be lighter than the chocolate cake. You can try substituting part of the flour (not all) with all purpose instead of cake flour for more of a dense texture. Let us know how it goes.
Thank you for taking the time to reply and giving such careful detailed instructions in your recipes. I did this with 2 cups cake flour and 1 and 2/3 cups all purpose and I was really happy with the texture. The cake was beautiful and delicious.
I made a different brown sugar buttercream recipe once before, and found it turned out gritty, even though the recipe claimed it wouldn’t. Any reason why one couldn’t just use molasses instead of the brown sugar in your icing recipe? I think 3/4 cup of dark brown sugar should have ~1.5 tbsp molasses. Thoughts?
Hi Andrea, to ensure the frosting isn’t gritty, be sure to use room temperature butter and cream cheese and throughly beat with the sugar until nice and smooth. Swapping for molasses would take some recipe testing, since it’s not a 1:1 swap with the brown sugar, and the brown sugar also helps with the structure of this frosting, too. It may be best to find a frosting recipe specifically formulated to use molasses instead. Let us know if you try anything!
Amazing cake. I cut the baking soda and baking powder in 1/2 for altitude baking (8,500 ft). The icing was so smooth and creamy and iced perfectly. It was a total hit
★★★★★
Hi! I used the frosting recipe for another cake and it was way to much. Do you know how long I can store the extra frosting? And maybe ideas on how to use it? The frosting was great though. Thanks!
You can store in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze for up to 3 months (thaw overnight in the refrigerator). It would be fantastic on snickerdoodle cupcakes or even a batch of vanilla cupcakes! Or how about sandwiched between two snickerdoodle cookies?
I used this frosting on cinnamon rolls, and everyone loved them.
Hi! Can you use whole-wheat flour to sub for the cake flour? Thanks!
We don’t recommend it. Cake flour guarantees a supremely light and soft cake. Whole wheat flour would make the cake quite dense and even a bit dry. Best to stick with cake flour for best results!
Hello, Do you have a variation for this cake in 13×9 version?
It looks delicious and want to make “bars”.
Thanks!
Hi Alison, This recipe yields too much batter for a 9×13 inch pan. Instead, you can use our white cake batter and swirl in the cinnamon swirl. (See those recipe notes for baking instructions for a quarter sheet pan.) We recommend cutting this frosting recipe in half so you don’t have too much leftover.
would this cake be good with chocolate butter cream
ps huge fan of you!
Hi Gemma! The brown sugar cinnamon sugar frosting really adds to the cinnamon flavor in this cake, but you can certainly use chocolate buttercream instead if you would like!
There are so many great things about this recipe. The icing is TO DIE FOR. Seriously, so good. I also loved the cinnamon swirl through the cake. The actual cake itself though I found a bit dry. Next time I will try my go to vanilla cake recipe and just keep the swirl and icing from this recipe.
★★★★
Hi Bethany, we’re so glad you enjoyed the cake! Is it possible the cakes were slightly over baked? Even just an extra minute or two in the oven can dry it out. Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to measure your flour, too. If it’s over measured, that can also dry out the cake. Hope these tips help for next time!
I made this for a coworker’s birthday, it was a great hit
★★★★★
Do you think it would be ok to sub the butter with oil? I planned on making the cakes ahead and am worried about them being dry.
Hi Bronwen, 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. Let us know if you give it a try!
I’ve actually made this cake a few times now, and it is always a hit… especially because I make it gluten and dairy free. I don’t make it as a layered cake, but as a 10×16 cake so that it serves more since I bring it to church. My daughter has gone as far as to request it for her birthday in November. I did have to tweak it a bit with the egg whites and I added almond extract for extra flavor.
Thanks so much for this recipe.
★★★★★
I haven’t made this cake yet, but am looking forward to it! It sounds amazing! I was wondering how you arrange the cake pans in the oven. With three nine inch pans, I can’t fit them all on one rack. How do you arrange it? Which position should the racks be in, since I will need to use two racks. Thanks so much!
Hi Nabeela! If you can’t fit them all one rack, use two racks and rotate once during baking.
Simply amazing cake!
★★★★★
I love ALL of your recipes!! This was my second cake I’ve tried from your site and I followed the recipe to a T, room temp ingredients.. weighed everything etc, but my cake turned out a bit heavy and dense and not very moist. I think I may have dried them out from not letting them cool in the pans completely and also leveling them before completely cool.. refrigerating the cake (well wrapped) seemed to make it 5x drier on day two. Any thoughts?
★★★★
Hi Christina! Thanks so much for giving this one a try. We’re happy to help troubleshoot. Over mixing and/or over measuring your flour can often be the culprits for dry and dense cakes. This post on how to prevent dry and dense cakes will be helpful to review. Hope this helps for next time!
I made this for a celebration and it turned out amazing!! My first time making a cake and the recipe was simple to follow and easy to understand! I don’t even like cake (trust me I’ve tried) but I like this one! I added my own touch to it by adding cinnamon sugar on top and on the sides with some piped icing designs and snickerdoodle cookies on top!! Everything turned out amazing and everyone loved it!
I also didn’t have cream cheese for the icing, but I added 8 ounces of heavy cream instead to substitute it and the consistency and taste was still perfect! (Might be too sweet for some but amazing to me!)
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! Definitely recommend giving it a try! The time written is pretty accurate too – took me a bit more than 4 hours and I am a first time cake maker so pretty reasonable!
★★★★★