Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
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Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
Learn how to make a giant cinnamon roll cake using an 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, Mother’s Day brunch!
Prep time: 3 hours
Cook time: 3 hours
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 2 and 3/4 cups plain flour, plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons yeast (1 standard packet)
- 3/4 cup full cream milk
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Filling:
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar or sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Vanilla Icing:
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 2 Tablespoons milk or cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
- 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. 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 silicone 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.)
- Keep the dough in the stand mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise.
- Form the dough into a ball on your work surface. Cover with a tea towel or cling wrap in a lightly greased mixing bowl.
- After 30 minutes, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 38×30cm rectangle. Evenly spread the softened butter on top. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle it all over the buttered dough.
- Grease a 22cm pie dish or 22cm round cake pan with butter or nonstick spray.
- Using a very sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into six 5cm 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 cling wrap and allow it to rise in a relatively warm, draft-free environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size.
- After the cake’s dough has doubled in size, preheat the oven to 180°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.
- While it’s cooling, whisk the icing ingredients together. If you want a thicker icing, whisk in more icing 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.
Recipe by Sallys Baking Addiction