There's nothing like hot, cinnamon-swirled yellow cake topped with powdered sugar icing. Dessert or breakfast? Honey bun cake is both!
In my opinion, wondering whether a dish is breakfast or dessert is a fantastic problem to have. Why? Because it's not really a problem.
Take this honey bun cake recipe.
Because it tastes similar to a cinnamon roll, it could easily be a breakfast or brunch recipe. But it also tastes a lot like a cinnamon swirl cake, which makes it sound more like dessert. So which is it?
The answer is both. That means you can eat honey bun cake morning and night! And since it's super easy, you can make it every weekend.
Don't let what looks like a long list of ingredients fool you. They're the typical ingredients you'd use when baking a cake mix cake.
The only difference is the cinnamon swirl filling and icing, but those are easy as pie!
I love how this cake calls for sour cream in the mix. It reminds me of my famous decadent triple chocolate bundt cake.
If you're a chocolate lover, you're going to want to try that one next!
It's also good in sour cream carrot bundt cake and sour cream banana bread. Give me all the baked goodies calling for sour cream!
Ready to wow guests without breaking a sweat? Here's how easy it is to make honey bun cake.
How to Make Honey Bun Cake
Step 1: Mix cake mix, oil, eggs, and sour cream together. Pour half in pan.
Step 3: Combine brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over cake mix. Top with remaining cake mix and swirl.
Step 4: Bake. Frost while hot and eat immediately.
If you want your breakfast-and-dessert dish to look extra fancy, bake it in a bright white 9x13-inch baking pan. Nothing shows off desserts like white bakeware!
Printable recipe for honey bun cake below. Enjoy!
Honey Bun Cake
There's nothing like hot, cinnamon-swirled yellow cake topped with powdered sugar icing. Dessert or breakfast? Honey bun cake is both!
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 (18.25-oz) package yellow cake mix
- ¾ cup canola oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Combine cake mix, oil, eggs, and sour cream in a large mixing bowl. Stir by hand approximately 50 strokes or until most of the large clumps disappear. Pour half the batter in an ungreased 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Combine brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over batter. Spoon other half of the batter into cake pan, covering brown sugar mixture. Use a knife to swirl the cake until it looks like a honey bun (cinnamon roll).
- Bake 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Frost cake while still hot. Serve warm.
Icing:
- Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. Pour over hot cake and gently spread until even covered.
Notes
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 223Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 175mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 0gSugar: 26gProtein: 2g
Allison
Cinnamon is my absolute favourite and this cake looks so delicious :D
Emily Hill
I absolutely LOVE cinnamon.
Andrea Metlika
Totally drooling over here watching the video. This looks delicious!!
Emily Hill
It's super delicious!
Jessie
Honey Buns as a cake!!! Yes please this is a must try!
Emily Hill
I agree!
Alexandra
So simple to make, and so delicious - this cake was enjoyed by the whole family for morning tea! And I will need to make another one soon :)
Emily Hill
Morning tea sounds lovely.
Shelley
This is such a brilliant idea! All the wonderful flavor of cinnamon sweet rolls ... but so much easier! Plus, it can double as dessert, too! This is kind of the dessert that just keeps on giving lol! Oh - and love your photos, too!
Emily Hill
Thank you!
Jen
My granddaughter mentioned how good honey bun cake was so I decided to make one OMG (oh my gosh) it was delicious And it will be my go to cake from now on!
Emily Hill
Yay! This makes me so happy!
Varun Sharma
I made this cake yesterday and Its amazingly delicious.
Emily Hill
Yay! That makes me so happy!
Noelle Simpson
Love this recipe! Great homemade version was so simple!
Emily Hill
Glad you liked it!
Gege
Can I use vegetable oil instead of canola oil
Kathy
Delicious and a recipe I used for years. The only change, rather addition, was to use half as much powdered sugar then add about 2 tablespoons of melted Biscoff™ cookie butter that adds a little more caramel flavor while the original icing is good too.
Michele
That sounds like a wonderful flavor addition as well, thanks for sharing!
Have you also considered adding room temp butter into the filling (cinn/brown sugar mixture)? I’m thinking that will made it more buttery too. 🙂