Simple Easy Cinnamon Cake
This Easy Cinnamon Cake, is one of the best cakes. It’s fast, easy and delicious. A soft full of cinnamon cake recipe. The scent of cinnamon baking in the oven has to be one of the most amazing aromas! The perfect anytime cake, from breakfast, to snack to dessert.
This cinnamon cake was one of my mother’s recipes, my mother is probably my main source for my non-Italian dessert recipes, because holy cow could my mother bake! From her shortbread cookies, to lemon bread to one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes, and of course this amazing cinnamon cake!
Recipe Ingredients
- Brown sugar – light or golden brown sugar
- Cinnamon – ground cinnamon
- Butter – softened
- Sugar – granulated sugar
- Eggs – large eggs room temperature
- Flour – all purpose flour or cake/pastry flour
- Baking powder – for leavening
- Baking soda – for leavening
- Salt (2 grams)
- Sour milk – homemade sour milk
- Vanilla – vanilla extract
How To Make Homemade Cake/Pastry Flour
For every cup of all purpose flour, remove two tablespoons and replace with two tablespoons of corn starch. Be sure to sift the flour and cornstarch together a couple of times, this way it is sure to be properly combined and lump free. Cake flour in cakes will give you a very tender texture and fine crumb, it will also help the cake to rise.
How To Make A Cinnamon Cake Recipe
In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon, set aside. In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs, and beat until fluffy. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the sour milk, ending with the sour milk to the creamed mixture. Add the vanilla and mix well.
Spoon a third of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Spoon another third of the batter on top.
Add the remaining cinnamon mixture and then the remaining batter. Bake until done or a toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Remove from oven, let cool in the pan then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Why Use Room Temperature Ingredients?
When at room temperature, eggs, butter, and other dairy ingredients form an emulsion which traps air. While baking in the oven, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy baked good. So be sure to remove the ingredients from the fridge 45-60 minutes before baking.
Why Cinnamon Cake?
Cinnamon, with its sweet, woody aroma, has been cherished in culinary traditions around the world for centuries. It’s versatile enough to enhance both savory dishes and sweet treats, but it truly shines in desserts. A cinnamon cake combines the spice’s bold flavor with the tender crumb of a classic cake, creating a dessert that’s both comforting and irresistibly delicious.
If there was one cake that I could eat all by myself this would be the one, Cinnamon Cake. I can’t tell you how delicious this cake really is, it’s so good it needs no glaze, frosting or streusel topping. A light dusting of powdered sugar if desired is all it needs!
Why Does My Cake Fall?
- There are a lot a reasons a cake may fall, but the most common ones are, your oven temperature is off, you can always check it with an oven thermometer to check this.
- You open the oven door too early. Never open the oven door before 25-30 minutes of baking.
- Once the batter is mixed it should be baked, letting a cake batter sit too long can cause it to fall. The baking powder or baking soda usually start acting immediately and will only last for a very short period of time, therefore if the cake batter is left to stand before baking then there is always a risk that the baking powder or soda will have expired by the time that the cake goes into the oven.
- Your baking powder or soda has expired and is no long active.
- Use room temperature ingredients.
- The pan size might not be the correct size, sometimes using a bundt pan will help.
Recipe FAQs
To make sour milk add one tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar to one cup measure, top off with milk, let sit for about 10 – 15 minutes.
Baking soda reacts with acids in a recipe, neutralizing them and, in the process, creating carbon dioxide. Examples of acids include: sour milk, brown sugar, lemon juice, or yogurt.
How to store the cake
As long as the cake is unfrosted it should be kept at room temperature. Keep it in a cake container or well wrapped. It will keep for up to 3 days. If you store it in the fridge, wrap tightly to keep it from drying out. It will keep for up to 5-6 days in the fridge.
How to freeze the cake
Be sure to cool the cake completely then wrap it tightly in either plastic wrap or foil, place it in a freeze safe bag. The cake will keep for up to 2 months. When ready to thaw place the wrapped cake in the refrigerator to thaw before serving.
More Cinnamon Recipes To Enjoy!
- Homemade Cinnamon Apple Strudel
- Cinnamon Apple Puff Pastry Squares
- Cinnamon Cake Donuts
- Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake
Easy and fast to put together and that amazing smell wafting through the house. Soft, moist and cinnamony and so totally perfect with a cup of tea or coffee, one slice, two or three slices, who cares, who’s counting? Enjoy!
The Best Easy Cinnamon Cake
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ¾ cup butter softened*
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 2 cups all purpose flour or cake/pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour milk (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
*If using unsalted butter then add ½ teaspoon of salt.
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 325F (160C). Grease and flour or spray an 8 inch / 20cm springform or regular cake pan.
- In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon, set aside.
- In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar, approximately 2-3 minutes, then add the eggs, beat until fluffy.
- Add the dry ingredients alternately with the sour milk, ending with the sour milk to the creamed mixture. Add the vanilla and mix well.
- Spoon 1/3 of the batter into prepared cake pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cinnamon mixture. Spoon another 1/3 of the batter on top, then remaining cinnamon mixture, then top with the remaining batter. Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Remove from oven and let cool 15-20 minutes in the pan then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Updated from October 5, 2014.
Absolutely amazing!! Loved it. I used 3 Indian sized eggs and thick curd instead of sour milk, though. The fluffiness and the cinnamon swirls in between are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. God bless you!
Hi Prahrithi, thanks so much glad you enjoyed it.
Hi Rosemary, This is the most awesome non chocolate cake I have eaten!! Thank you so so much for sharing it here and I can’t thank my stars enough that I found your page!
I am from India , I used three eggs instead of 2 as the eggs available are smaller here, and I replaced sour milk with thick yogurt, but the cake looks perfect!
The cinnamon with brown sugar sprinkle HAS to be the best touch to this simple, subtle and awesome recipe!
Again, thank you tons and God bless!
Definitely making this for the kids when they get home from school. Thanks for another great recipe.
Thanks Ann hope you all enjoy it.
Hello,
What type of flour should you use? Plain flour or self raising flour?
Thanks
Hi Shamima, just regular all purpose flour. Hope you enjoy it. Have a great weekend.
I was really worried that the batter was too slack, and I couldn’t make sour milk and used regular, but I shouldn’t have doubted – it’s come out of the oven looking perfect!
Hi Chrissy, so glad you enjoyed it. Have a great weekend.
Please would you explain step 5. I don’t understand it and don’t want to make a mistake thanks. Are you stating to add sour cream to the flour ingredients and then add all to creamed mixture?
Hi Nas, what you have to do is starting with the sour milk, had a little to the creamed mixture, then add a little of the dry mixture to the creamed mixture and continue for 3 times (ending with the sour milk), then add the vanilla and combine all together. Hope that helps.
delicious! i made this today, and it really is so soft and yummy. followed the recipe pretty closely, except that it took only 45 minutes. great cake!
Hi Alison, thanks so glad you enjoyed it. Happy New Year.
Thank you for sharing these recipes, I am so looking foward to trying them.
Thank you to your Mom????????????
Hi Josie, thank you, my Mom would have been so happy to hear that. Have a great day!
Hello! I saw your cake on Pinterest and had to check it out. This cake looks so tender. I can’t wait to give it a try.
Hi Rhea, I hope you like the cake as much as I do, it really is soft and delicious. Thanks
Hi . How can I make sour milk using regular milk?
Hi Alizay, in the ingredients for the cake it says 1 cup sour milk and beside it in brackets I wrote how to make sour milk. (add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to a 1 cup measure and top off with milk, let sit for about 10-15 minutes). Really easy, hope you enjoy the cake. Thanks.
I can almost smell how good this cake is from these pix!! I love cinnamon flavoring in baked goods. I’m so pinning this for reference! Thank you for joining in our #PinUP Pin Party… Hope to see you again, there’s a new one every Friday 🙂
HI Dawn, thank you, this is my absolute favorite cake ever! I love cinnamon! Hope you like it too.
This cake looks amazing! I remember baking with my mom around the holidays too… such good memories 🙂 Thank you for linking up to Creative K Kids Tasty Tuesdays. I’ll be pinning this to the Tasty Tuesdays Pinterest Board. Hope you are having a great weekend!
Thank you for the pin and great memories they are! Have a great Sunday!
This looks delicious. Pinned to try!
Hi Holly, thank you very much. Have a great day!
This looks totally AWESOME and i can’t wait to make this cake, just wondering, does it have to be a spring form cake pan ? Love and hugs
Hello Mary, no actually I have made it in various pans, just make sure it is at least a 9″ pan and it is from 2-3 inches deep. I’m sure a loaf pan would work too. Have a great day.
Thanks for this recipe. Can I use buttermilk instead if sour milk?
Hi Alma, to be honest I really don’t know since I can’t get buttermilk here in Italy, so I have never baked with buttermilk, but I did google it and it seems you can substitute buttermilk for sour milk. So if you do try it let me know how it turned out. Have a great day!