Gooey Cinnamon Roll Caramel Cake

Think of this cake as a gooey cinnamon roll turned cake. This gooey Cinnamon Roll Caramel Cake has a light cinnamon flavor in each cake layer with a heavy buttery cinnamon swirl throughout. It’s filled with a brown sugar cream cheese buttercream and a cinnamon sugar topping, and finally, it’s enriched with a caramel drizzle throughout the cake. Does that sound cinnamony enough for you? 

You should definitely put this cinnamon roll caramel cake first on your “to bake” list. It is inspired from my favorite ice cream company Jeni’s Splendid Ice. They do ship nationwide and their ice cream is simply the best I have ever had. This cake is inspired by their limited edition flavor Gooey Cinnamon Roll Skillet Ice cream. 

If you like this cake, try out these other recipes below:

Graham Cracker S’mores Cake, Cinnamon Roll Bars, Biscoff Banana Cake

Why you need to make this cake:

If I haven’t convinced you yet, here are a few more reasons you need to make this cake: 

• Light cinnamon cake layers- I use my vanilla cake as a base, add some cinnamon, and then do a brown sugar cinnamon swirl. It’s light, silky smooth, and tastes just like a cinnamon roll. 
• Crunchy cinnamon filling- After you make the batter, and before you put it in the oven, you add a melted sugar cinnamon butter swirl into the cake batter. As it bakes, it crystalizes and gives it a slight crunchy texture. 
• Caramel sauce- Now this is where magic meets food. In my opinion, the caramel is the best element of this cake. It’s a rich caramel sauce made with sugar, cream, vanilla and butter. Honestly, it’s pretty much a collection of the best ingredients in baking.
• Brown sugar buttercream- Have you ever had brown sugar buttercream? A few weeks ago was the first time I had ever tried it, and can I just say that it is good! It seriously tastes like the filling of a cinnamon roll. 

Ingredients you will need:

• Butter- I always use unsalted butter. It makes it so much easier to control the amount of salt in your baked goods. 
• Egg whites- Room temperature is a must to make a smooth cake batter. I pull my eggs out about two hours before I want to start baking.
• Brown sugar- I always use light brown sugar, but you can, for sure, use dark, if that’s all you have.
• Ground cinnamon- I mean it’s in the title of the cake. You will use a lot of this!
• Sour cream- I use sour cream in the cake batter. It doesn’t call for much, but I make sure to pull it out 2 hours before baking so it’s at room temperature. 
• Buttermilk- This also needs to be room temperature. Pull it out two hours before baking. 
• Cake flour- This is what makes the cake silky smooth. You don’t want to skip out on this one, trust me. I like to use Swan Silk brand cake flour.
• Corn syrup- This is for the homemade caramel.
• Cream cheese- This is for the buttercream. I always make sure that mine is at room temperature.
• Powdered sugar- This is for the buttercream. I always measure and then sift. It makes life a little easier. 

Step by step instructions

Make the cake 

STEP 1: Cream the butter and sugars. Cream the butter and sugars on high for 5 minutes. Halfway through, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. 

STEP 2: Add the egg whites. Start adding the egg whites one at a time, mixing on medium high speed for 30 seconds after each addition. 

STEP 3: Add the sour cream and vanilla. Mix on low. It may look a little curdled, but once you add the flour, it will start to even out. 

STEP 4: Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk. Alternate between the dry ingredients and the buttermilk. Start and end with the dry ingredients.

STEP 5: Pour the batter into the cake pans. Using a kitchen scale, add about 17 ounces in each of the 8 inch cake pans. 

STEP 6: Make the buttery cinnamon sugar filling. Melt your butter and add it to a small bowl with the flour, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Mix with a fork. Add three dollops of the cinnamon sugar mixture on to the top of the cake batter and swirl with a knife. 

STEP 7: Bake the cakes. Bake the cake layers for about 30 minutes, depending on your oven. After they are done baking, let them cool for 15 minutes in the pans and then transfer them out of the cake pans and onto a cooling rack. Let them come to room temperature. 

How to make the caramel sauce. 

Step 1: Mix the water, sugar, and corn syrup. In a medium sized sauce pan, stir together the water, sugar, and the corn syrup.

Step 2: Cook the mixture. On medium heat, bring the sugar to a boil. The bubbles will start off fast and small, but once it starts caramelizing, the bubbles will slow down and become a little bigger. Do not touch or stir the mixture. That will cause crystallization.

Step 3: Let it boil. Let it boil until the mixture becomes caramelized and looks golden brown/auburn color. This does take a few minutes, but once it starts turning brown, it’s easy to burn it, so keep an eye on it.

Step 4: Heat the cream. Put the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.

Step 5: Add the cream. Once the caramel is ready for the cream, turn off the heat on the sugar mixture and add the warm cream. Mix the caramel mixture until evenly combined.

Step 6: Add the rest of the ingredients. Add the vanilla, salt, and butter and let it sit until the butter melts. Stir once the butter is melted.

How to make the Brown Sugar buttercream

Step 1: Beat the butter and cream cheese. In the bowl of a stand size mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes.

Step 2: Add the brown sugar. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. 

Step 3: Add the remaining ingredients. Add the cinnamon, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Turn the mixer on low speed and mix just until combined, for about 30 seconds, then turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat until completely combined and creamy.

Step 4: Beat out the air pockets. With a rubber spatula, beat out the air pockets by hand until smooth and creamy.

Assemble the cake 

• Level the cakes, if needed, with a cake leveler or a serrated knife. 
• In the middle of a cake board, place a small dollop of buttercream to act as a glue. Place your first cake layer, top side up, on the cake board. Spread about a cup of buttercream and then half of the cinnamon sugar filling, followed by a drizzle of the caramel sauce.
• Place your next cake layer top side down onto the caramel sauce and repeat the last step.
• Repeat the last step again, with the cake layer top side down.
• Crumb coat the cake with the brown sugar frosting and chill for 15 minutes.
• Frost the cake with the remaining brown sugar buttercream. 
• Serve at room temperature.

Storing your Cake

If I am dividing my Gooey Cinnamon Roll Caramel Cake into multiple days, I bake my cake layers, cool them, and wrap them with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge or the freezer. This help reduce crumbs and makes it so the layers don’t slide around when decorating. They can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days. 

Freezing

If you want to make the entire cake ahead of time, you can freeze the decorated cake by simply chilling it and then wrapping it with plastic wrap. If you want to store it for longer than a few days, put a layer of aluminum foil over the plastic wrap. It can be stored like this in the freezer for up to 6 months. Once you are ready to serve the cake, pull it out of the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw to help decrease condensation.

If you need some other recipes to try, here are some great ones:

Cinnamon Dulce De Leche Cake, Lemon Blueberry Cake

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Recipe

Cinnamon Roll Caramel Cake

Molly Murphy

Think of this cake as a gooey cinnamon roll turned cake. This gooey Cinnamon Roll Caramel Cake has a light cinnamon flavor in each cake layer with a heavy buttery cinnamon swirl throughout. It’s filled with a brown sugar cream cheese buttercream and a cinnamon sugar topping, and finally, it’s enriched with a caramel drizzle throughout the cake.

5 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the cake

• 1 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
• 6 egg whites at room temperature
• ¼ cup sour cream room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 ½ Tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk room temperature

For the cinnamon swirl

• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup unsalted butter melted

For the cinnamon Filling

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup cinnamon
• ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature

For the caramel sauce

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons butter

For the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream

• 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 6 ½ cups powdered sugar measured and sifted
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Instructions

 

For the cake

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8 inch round cake pans with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed. Cream until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• With the mixer on low, add the egg whites, one at a time, scraping the bowl between each addition and mixing well after each addition (at least 30 seconds).
• Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix on low, just until combined. It may look a little curdled, don’t stress! Once you add the flour, it will even out.
• With the mixer on low, add one third of your dry ingredients and mix just until combined, followed by half of the buttermilk. Add another ⅓ of the dry ingredients mix just until combined. Add the rest of buttermilk, mix for 10 seconds, and then add the rest of dry ingredients. Don’t over mix, just mix until it’s all incorporated.
• Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. I used a kitchen scale and got about 17 ounces in each pan. With an offset spatula, evenly spread the cake batter throughout the pan.
• Before putting the cake into the oven, make the cinnamon swirl. Mix the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together until combined. Add in the melted butter and mix just until combined. Add immediately to the cake batter because the longer it sits out, the harder it will get as a result of the butter solidifying.
• Drop small spoonfuls of the cinnamon mixture on each of the cake layers. Use a knife or toothpick to gently swirl the spoonfuls into the batter. It’s normal to have some pieces remain as chunks and some that swirl into the batter.
• Bake 28-32 minutes. Check the cake by inserting a toothpick. It’s done when it comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.
• Cool 10-20 minutes before transferring the cakes out of the pans and onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before wrapping with plastic wrap and then refrigerate, if not using until the next day.

For the filling

• In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients until evenly combined.

For the brown sugar cinnamon buttercream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Once the cream cheese is combined, add the brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute.
• Add the cinnamon, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Turn the mixer on low speed and mix just until combined, about 30 seconds. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat until completely combined and creamy. If you crave extra flavor, add a little more cinnamon and/or vanilla extract.
• With a rubber spatula, beat out the air pockets by hand until smooth and creamy.

For the caramel sauce.

• In a medium sized sauce pan, stir together the water, sugar, and corn syrup.
• On medium heat, bring the sugar to a boil. The bubbles will start off fast and small, but once it starts caramelizing, the bubbles will slow down and become a little bigger. Do not touch or stir the mixture. That will cause crystallization.
• Let the mixture boil until it becomes caramelized and looks golden brown. This does take a few minutes, but once it starts turning brown, it’s easy to burn it, so keep an eye on it.
• Put the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.
• Once the caramel is ready for the cream, turn off the heat on the sugar mixture and add the warm cream. Mix the caramel mixture until evenly combined.
• Pour the mixture into a bowl. Add the vanilla, salt, and butter and let it sit until the butter melts. Stir once the butter is melted.

Assembly

• In a middle of the cake board, place a small dollop of buttercream to act as glue. Place your first cake layer, top side up, on the cake board. Spread about a cup of buttercream and then half of the cinnamon sugar filling, followed by a drizzle of the caramel sauce.
• Place your next cake layer top side down onto the caramel and repeat the last step.
• Repeat the last step again, with the cake layer top side down.
• Crumb coat the cake with the brown sugar frosting and chill for 15 minutes.
• Frost the cake with the remaining brown sugar buttercream. The cake is BEST served at room temperature. I highly recommend it.

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