If you make a cake out of giant cinnamon rolls, cream cheese frosting, and caramel sauce, is it technically breakfast or dessert? <-- Just asking life's pressing questions over here. Either way, it's technically delicious! And since it doesn't fit neatly into one category or the other, I'm pretty sure I'm just going to eat it for every meal. All day. Every day. That's cool, right?
I'm down if you're down.
Now, I know this isn't a Monday recipe. You're sitting out there in cyber land thinking, "What the fondue Claire? This is clearly a weekend recipe and you're posting it on a Monday all tempting like!" For shame, I know. But I just couldn't keep this delicious stack of cinnamon roll goodness to myself any longer.
So consider this a preview... A preview of the sweet, caramel-dripping deliciousness your weekend's going to be all about. Forget working for the weekend... You're working for a chance to bring this hunk of sweet, sweet goodness into your life.
On the menu now and forever: THIS cinnamon roll cake.
Recipe
Cinnamon Roll Cake with Caramel Sauce
This cinnamon roll cake has two layers of 6" cinnamon rolls, cream cheese frosting with a dash of caramel sauce.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: One 6" Cake - 16 slices
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the cinnamon roll cakes:
- 5 cups all purpose flour + ½ cup
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tsp. instant yeast
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup milk
- 6 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
For the filling:
- 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ½ tbsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ cup granulated sugar
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 4 oz. cream cheese, cold
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
For garnishing:
- 1 jar caramel sauce
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the dry ingredients for the cinnamon roll cakes (5 cups flour, granulated sugar, and yeast). In a small bowl, microwave the butter, water, and milk until the butter has melted. Pour the hot mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, add the eggs, and beat for 4-5 minutes. If the dough doesn't begin to pull away from the sides after a minute or two, begin to add that ½ cup of flour (you probably won't need it all. I used about ¼ of that ½ cup). Don't add any more flour than you have to because this is supposed to be a fairly soft dough.
- Grease a bowl, add your dough, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- If you want to do it all in one go, roll your dough out to 15" x 24". Brush the dough with the melted filling butter. In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon and sugar, and dust the dough with it. Cut the dough into 12 equal sizes along the 24" side (2" wide strips). Roll up one strip of dough and place it in the center of a 6" greased cake pan. Wrap 3 more strips of dough around that center piece for a total of 4 strips of dough per pan. This will give you three 6" cinnamon roll cakes.
- Cover each cake and allow to rise in a warm place until they've filled the pan and almost reached the top. Bake your cakes at 350F/175C for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top. If any of the cakes puff up over the sides while baking, you can trim off the excess with a knife.
- Once the cakes have cooled, beat the butter and cream cheese for the frosting together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until creamy. Add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar, and continue beating until a smooth frosting forms.
- To assemble your cake, spread a thin layer of frosting between each layer of cinnamon roll cake, and on top of the top layer (you can stack all three or just two like I did). Drizzle with caramel sauce, using a spatula to spread the caramel sauce to the edges.
Notes
Cinnamon roll cake recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 322
- Sugar: 21.3g
- Sodium: 133mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 9.2g
- Carbohydrates: 43.6g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4.4g
- Cholesterol: 62mg
Sue says
This is too good to be true!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Almost... Just almost... 😉
Antonina says
Oh, Claire........... This looks so luscious and I can only imagine the taste. WOW !!!!!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Thank you Antonina! I think this is easily a new family favorite for us! 😀
My Urban Family says
That looks so yummy! And I vote gray area means you can eat it for breakfast for sure! 🙂
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Definitely! When in doubt, it must be breakfast right? 😉
Linda @ 2 Cookin' Mamas says
You're right, this is totally tempting and so unfair to put this before me at the beginning of the week when I had decided to be so good. It looks fantastic! Oh well, just a bite or two won't hurt, right?!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
I hear when it's someone else's recipe the calories only count for half. 😉 But if you've been good all week, you must deserve a treat this weekend. 😀
sarahmenlove says
This looks absolutely amazing 🙂 Love the photos. Thanks for sharing!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Thank you Sarah! 🙂 So glad you like them!
Lucy says
Oh my gosh, this looks insanely delicious! I love cinnamon rolls! I can't believe it was just my birthday two weeks ago... if only I had known, I would have made this cake for sure. I'll have to come up with another excuse soon!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Happy belated birthday Lucy! And I hear birthdays should be celebrated for at least three weeks, so it sounds like it's time for another cake. 😉
Elsa | the whinery says
This is amazing! It's definitely breakfast and the best idea for cake combined. 🙂
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Thank you Elsa! 🙂 I'm not much of a morning person, but I would definitely get out of bed in order to have cake for breakfast. Pretty sure it's the best of both worlds. 😉
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
Wow, this looks so delicious! Cake for breakfast, yes!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Right? I'm pretty sure the best mornings are the ones that include cake. 😉
Thomas Coleman says
This was so good! I made it for my birthday party's brunch and it was a hit. Everybody loved it and asked for more cakes. THANKS, for the recipe!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Woohoo for birthdays, brunches, and cakes! So glad to hear it was a hit! 😀