This Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe skips the yeast and rising time for a fast, easy bake. Finish it with a quick cream cheese glaze and serve warm.
The Best Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe
Cinnamon rolls are an iconic dessert, but they can be time-consuming. Waiting for the dough to rise twice, plus making the dough, filling, and glaze—it’s a lot.
While I spent months perfecting my Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe (with no kneading, no mixer, and the quickest dough prep possible), it still takes a fair amount of time to get from start to cinnamon rolls on the table.
That’s why this Cinnamon Roll Cake recipe is the best:
- All the flavors you love from cinnamon rolls.
- No kneading, no rising, no mixer needed. We don’t even make the dough, thanks to a shortcut ingredient!
- This cake can be on the table in about 30 minutes. Seriously! The prep and bake time are both quick.
- It’s fun! This cake is a blast to assemble and even more fun to eat (obviously!).
The “Short-Cut”
So how do we finish this cake so quickly? With refrigerated buttermilk biscuits!
The biscuits are the perfect substitute for cinnamon roll dough, and no one will know you used a store-bought shortcut because this cake is just that good!
I like to grab a 4-pack of buttermilk biscuits to make either one large cinnamon roll cake or a couple of smaller ones. If there are leftovers, I use them for a breakfast favorite; Biscuits and Gravy!
Featured Comment
“Holy Cow!! This was DELICIOUS!!!! My family rated it a 20+ out of 10! Fantastic…and so easy. I don’t have a skillet, so just used an 8″ cake pan, and it worked perfectly. THANK YOU for the awesome recipe!”
– Kara
How To Make This Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe
The full recipe is on the recipe card, but here’s a quick overview:
- Flatten each biscuit as thin as possible using a rolling pin or your hands.
- Dip the biscuit in melted butter, then in cinnamon-sugar.
- Roll the coated biscuit tightly into a cylinder and place it on the outer edge of the skillet or pie pan.
- Continue placing the biscuits in a spiral, seam side down, until they reach the center.
- While the Cinnamon Roll Cake bakes, whip up the glaze to spread over the warm cake!
What Pan To Use
This recipe is very forgiving. As long as you have plenty of butter, sugar, cinnamon, and biscuits, you can make the cake as big or small as you like.
I often make this cake in a small 6 to 8-inch cast iron skillet, but if I’m feeding others or feeling extra hungry, I use a 9-inch pie pan.
The bigger the pan, the longer the preparation takes, but you’ll be impressed by how quickly it comes together once the assembly line is set up.
Cinnamon Roll Cake Glaze Tips
- Set out the butter and cream cheese an hour before baking to reach room temperature. If they’re cold, the glaze may have unpleasant cream cheese chunks. To speed this up, try these quick methods for bringing butter and cream cheese to room temp.
- Salt and vanilla extract add essential flavor to the glaze. Even small amounts make a big difference!
- Slowly add powdered sugar to taste. More sugar makes the glaze sweeter and firmer; less keeps it tangier and softer. Adjust to your preference for this Cinnamon Roll Cake!
Storage
Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe Storage
This cake is best enjoyed the same day it’s made, especially while warm. Like most homemade cinnamon rolls, this is particularly true with this cake because we’re using biscuits. The biscuits will harden and lose flavor the longer the cake sits out.
More Cinnamon Roll Favorites:
Desserts
Cinnamon Roll Cookie Recipe
Desserts
Cinnamon Roll Popcorn
Desserts
Cinnamon Roll Cheesecakes
Breakfast
Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Pie pan or cake pan or skillet—really any size works! see note 1
Ingredients
- 2 7.5-ounce packages buttermilk biscuits see note 1
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 ounces cream cheese softened see note 1
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk I use whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Prepare Pan: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a pie pan, cake pan, or skillet with cooking spray.
- Flatten Biscuits: Remove biscuits from packaging. Flatten each with a rolling pin or your hands.
- Coat Biscuits: Dip each biscuit in melted butter, shake off excess, then coat in cinnamon sugar. Shake off excess again (see Note 2).
- Assemble Cake: Roll biscuits tightly and arrange in a spiral pattern in the prepared pan, starting at the outside edge and working inward.
- Bake: Bake for 20–25 minutes, adjusting for pan size. If edges brown too quickly, tent with foil.
- Make Glaze: Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt. Beat until light and fluffy.
- Glaze Cake: Let cake cool 5–7 minutes. Spoon glaze over warm cake, letting it drip into crevices. Add more glaze once cooled slightly, if desired. Slice and serve warm.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Chelsea. I love your recipe but tweaked it a bit being a BIG chocolate lover. Check it out on my site. I hope I did you justice! Best to you,
Mary
Your pictures are so gorgeous!! ?And this skillet would be PERFECT for Christmas morning!!?
Thank you so much Caitlin! 🙂 We love this for Christmas morning 🙂
Could I put this together the night before and bake and ice it in the morning?
I’ve never done that, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t be okay if you wrapped it tightly!
Also they are the flaky style. Is that what you use.
Can you use grands. That is all they had or would they not get done. Your thoughts. Thanks.
No I wouldn’t use Grands. I just use regular refrigerated buttermilk biscuits 🙂
What do you think about adding diced apples before rolling up?
Sounds yummy! They probably won’t be super tender in the cooking time, but if that doesn’t bother you than I’d say go for it 🙂
Holy Cow!! This was DELICIOUS!!!! My family rated it a 20+ out of 10! Fantastic…and so easy. I don’t have a skillet, so just used an 8″ cake pan, and it worked perfectly. THANK YOU for the awesome recipe!
WOW! What a rating 🙂 Thanks for making my day and I’m thrilled the whole family enjoyed it 🙂
Do you by chance have the nutrition facts in this? I am on weight watchers and would love to figure out the points
I don’t on this one, I’m still working my way adding facts to older recipes. In the meantime, I would try My Fitness Pal 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
I stumbled onto your recipe while looking for bubble up recipes and it looks so yummy. think I want to make this instead of the bubble up. I think I might add some chopped pecans to it also.. Thanks for sharing..
Chopped pecans sounds delicious! Hope you love it! 🙂
I am not the type to make dough and let it rise and roll it out and all that good stuff just for bread, or cinnamon rolls, or anything else for that matter. I am too lazy, I admit it lol. However, My husband is always asking for cinnamon rolls, they are his favorite thing in the world, and I try to spoil him by making what he likes cause he works hard for me. Since I am not the dough making type, I just usually make him a cinnamon roll cake, but now that I have found this recipe, I will be making this from now on. I made it today and he devoured half of f it himself. He loves it, says that ever bite is like the inside of a cinnamon roll, which is the best part.
Thanks for posting this. I’m sure I’ll be making it a few times a week. I love how simple it is,and basically 25 minutes from start to in my tummy. 🙂
You are a very sweet wife! 🙂 I am so thrilled to hear that your husband loves this cake and it will be made often in your home! Thanks so much for the comment Lovada!