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.
Ingredients
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
US Customary - Metric
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.