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.
This cake is so enjoyable with a cup of coffee or tea. It’s perfect. Moist and not overly sweet. This is my third time making it. Thank you for the wonderful recipe:)
Hi Robby, thanks so much, so glad you like it. Have a great weekend.
Greeting all the way from Indonesia,
I love love love the cake, it tastes soo good I can not stop eating it. I replaced the sour milk with milk+lemon juice as sour milk is not a very common ingridient that you can find in any store in my country. Is it also possible to change the sour milk with yogurt? Please advise. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Happy baking.
Hi Tannia, thank you so much for finding! Yes you can replace the milk with yogurt, just make sure it’s plain regular yogurt and not greek yogurt (too thick). Glad you like the cake. Take care.
I’ve been making this cake at least once a month for a little more than a year. My family loves it. Sometimes I add three diced apples and a dash of nutmeg. So good! Might need to bake a little longer on account of the apples.
Hi Kate, thanks so much, great idea using the diced apples. Happy New Year.
I have chosen this cake for my birthday this Sunday. Can you use store bought buttermilk for the liquid? The cake looks delicious.
Hi Pete, yes you can use store bought. Happy Birthday and I hope you like it. 🙂
I baked this in a cake pan and it was delicious! Just curious, can I bake this in muffin trays?
Hi Monica, thanks so much, yes you probably can, they will be more cupcake than muffin. Be sure to bake them for less time, about 15-20 minutes, check for doneness with a toothpick. Let me know how it goes.
I messed up and just mixed all of the ingredients together and put them in the oven for the recommended amount of time and temp and it turned out amazing.
Hi Cory, glad to hear it, it’s so easy and foolproof. Glad you enjoyed it. Have a great weekend.
The cake is tasty but honestly seems like it could use more sugar. I enjoy the sweetness when I encounter the cinnamon swirls, but there are many places where it tastes more like a sweet cinnamon-y bread and not a cake. I plan to frost it with a buttercream so hopefully that helps accommodate my sweet tooth.
I did like how quick and easy this was though, and I was thrilled to find someone who had a cinnamon swirl in the cake!
IT was very good. Thank you. Next time I will use more sugar and cinnamon inside.
Hi Mariela, thanks so much glad you liked it. Have a great weekend.
Hi Rosemary, I hope you are doing ok during this difficult time. I have a question, on the recipe says
0ne (1) tablespoon of cinnamon, but when I look at the video it seems like you are using more then one tablespoon per layer. Also, I don’t know what a cinnamon mixture is? is the cinnamon mixture the combination of the cinnamon and the 3 table spoon of brown sugar? thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
regards
Angie
Miami Beach FL U.S
Hi Angela, yes the cinnamon and brown sugar (mixed in a bowl and set aside) is the cinnamon mixture for the cake. Thanks I hope you are doing well too. Let me know how it goes.
Hi! Can I make this in a 9 x 13” cake pan? If so do I alter the recipe so the sizing is for the quarter sheet cake? Thank you so much!
Hi Jes, I think doubling the recipe would be good for a 9×13 inch pan. Let me know how it goes.
Can you make it without sour milk if you don’t have the lemon juice or could you use a white vinegar
Hi Christopher, oh yes you can use white vinegar also. Let me know how it goes.
Hi! If I want to use non dairy milk- such as oat – would this still work?
Hi Rebecca, I have never used oat milk but apparently it works very well at a one for one substitution. Let me know if you try it and how it goes.
I love cinnamon too. If I would like to cut down on the white sugar will it affect the texture of the cake? We don’t like desserts that are too sweet. Thanks.
Hi Martha, I have never made the cake with less sugar but you could probably make it with 3/4 cup sugar rather than 1 cup. Let me know how it goes.
Second time making it! A great easy recipe. Thanks you tons for posting it.
Hi L. thanks so much, so glad you like the cake. Take Care.
It’s amazing though I used 3/4 cup of sugar and it turned out delicious
Hi Joy, thanks so much, so glad you liked it.