Cinnamon Roll Cake (sort of)

Cinnamon Roll Cake - made September 28, 2021 from Crunchy Creamy Sweet

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Filling

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

1. Preheat oven to350 degrees F. Line a 9" round cake pan with parchment and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
3. In another mixing bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, vanilla and oil.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together until combined and smooth. Spread batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Set aside.
5. Make the filling: in a small mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, flour and vanilla. Using a small spoon, drizzle half the filling over the batter in a circular motion to create circles, starting from the outside. 
6. Bake the cake for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
7. Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wooden cutting board. Drizzle the remaining filling over the filling crevices that were created during baking. Let the cake cool while you make the glaze.
8. Make the glaze: in a medium mixing bowl, whisk beat together cream cheese, milk and vanilla. Add powdered sugar until frosting reaches a thick yet drizzling consistency. 
9. Using the back of a spoon or an offset spatula, spread the glaze over the warm cake in a circular motion. Cool to room temperature.

You'll have to click on the post title to go to the original recipe of this cake and see how it was supposed to come out looking like a giant cinnamon roll, baked in a round cake pan with the traditional cinnamon swirl. Mine doesn't look like that because I deliberately made it in a square baking pan. I was giving most of this away and knew it would be easier to portion into squares than to try and give out round pieces.

Although I didn't bother with trying to make a round cinnamon swirl either since I wasn't trying to make it look like a giant cinnamon roll, I think it's a clever idea. If you are going to make this as a round cake, you might want to try it as originally intended. 

This was a really good vanilla cinnamon cake. Light, fluffy, moist with the classic cinnamon flavor profile. I just made a simple vanilla glaze with powdered sugar, vanilla and milk and skipped the cream cheese. I'm sure that would've made it closer to a cinnamon roll look and flavor but since I'd already gone rogue with the square shape, I had no compunction in skipping the cream cheese, mostly because I didn't have any.

But regardless of my not following directions very well, this still turned out to be a really good cake.