Honey Bun Cake
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This honey bun cake, inspired by the iconic honey buns snack you grew up eating, is such a delicious and easy cake to make from scratch. It’s a fluffy yellow cake swirled with cinnamon and sugar and topped with a sweet glaze. It’s the perfect sweet breakfast or dessert.
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Serve this cake with tea, coffee, or dessert to end the night. I also think it makes a pretty tasty breakfast! It’s a must-make cake, that’s for suire.
This is inspired by the Little Debbie Snacks just like my homemade honey buns. are If you like Little Debbie snacks, try this Little Debbie’s Christmas tree cake dip, oatmeal cream pie recipe, or this Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cheesecake.
Reasons To Make This Honey Bun Cake
Cozy Flavors: This cake is full of warm cinnamon spice swirled throughout. It is the ultimate tender, fluffy, and delicious cake.
Easy to Make: This recipe requires little effort. The sweet glaze gives this cinnamon cake its iconic flavor.
Make Ahead Friendly: Want a dessert you can make a day ahead when you want to serve it up? Here is a recipe to make the day ahead of an event.
FREE EMAIL BONUS: Treat yourself with these delicious recipes
Ingredients To Make This Honey Bun Cake
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all ingredients and quantities.
- Butter: You should use room-temperature butter. If you use salted butter, just omit the salt in the recipe.
- Sugar: For this cake, you will use granulated sugar. This will sweeten the cake and help it turn golden brown in color as it bakes.
- Vanilla: A splash of vanilla will enhance and deepen the cake flavor tremendously.
- Sour Cream: The sour cream adds moisture to the cake and helps create a super-soft texture.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Both help with the texture and are the leavening agents for the cake.
- Buttermilk is the secret ingredient in the cake. It acts as an acid, allowing the baking soda to help the cake become extra fluffy.
- Brown Sugar: The brown sugar offers a bit of a molasses flavor to the cinnamon mixture you will swirl throughout the cake, which adds tons of flavor.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon offers warmth and depth, which is the stand-out flavor of this cake.
- Honey: This is optional, but it offers the sweetness you will look for in the honey bun cake.
Variations
- You can use a boxed cake mix instead of making a homemade cake. Then, assemble the cake the same way you would a homemade cake batter.
- Mix with the cinnamon mixture in some pecans or chopped walnuts for a crunchy texture.
- Add some almond extract to the glaze or even maple extract for a twist in flavor.
- Mix in dried raisins, cranberries, or other fruit for a twist.
- Add canned pie filling, such as cherry or apple, for a fruity twist on the cake. Just add dollops of the fruit to the batter.
- Make a cream cheese glaze instead of a classic glaze to drizzle over the cake.
NOTE: This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Add your butter, sugar, and cream in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy in texture. Work in the vanilla and sour cream and mix to combine.
Step 2: Then, work on the eggs one at a time.
Step 3: Then, you will slowly work in the dry ingredients along with the buttermilk, alternating adding them to the egg mixture. End with buttermilk.
Step 4: Pour 2/3rds the batter into the cake pan.
Step 5: Then, add the brown sugar and cinnamon into a bowl. Mix and then spread half the mixture on top of the cake.
Step 6: Then top with the rest of the cake batter.
Step 7: Next, add more cinnamon mixture and swirl with a butter knife.
Step 8: Bake as directed, and then let the cake cool just a bit.
Step 9: Mix up the glaze, pour over the hot cake, and let the glaze melt into the cake.
Tips For Success
Creaming the butter and sugar together for 2-3 minutes will help lighten up the cake’s texture and create a super soft and fluffy texture.
Measure all your ingredients well. Exact measurements are essential for a correct texture when baking.
Do not overmix the cake batter once all the ingredients are added. Doing so can cause the cake to become dense and heavy.
Using a butter knife or a toothpick to swirl the cinnamon mixture will help add consistent flavor throughout the cake.
Mix up and pour the glaze onto the hot cake. This will allow it to melt into the cake a bit and add tons of moisture.
Storing and Freezing
Store your cake in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap or foil. You can leave it out at room temperature for 3-4 days or store it in the fridge for 5-6 days.
If you want to extend the life even more, you can freeze the cake for 2-3 months. Once the cake is cooled and the icing has crusted, you can wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or place in a freeze-safe container. Thaw in the fridge overnight until you are ready to serve, or let it thaw on the counter for an hour or so.
Recipe FAQs
Proper measurement of the ingredients can cause a dry cake. Also, careful mixing of the cake batter is vital to keeping the cake moist.
You do not have to use the glaze to pour onto the cake. But I will say it will help add flavor and moisture to the cake that you won’t have otherwise.
You will find that if you poke some holes in the cake before pouring the glaze on, it is going to help the glaze to seep into the cake in more areas and create tons of flavor!
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Honey Bun Cake
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Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup full-fat sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup whole buttermilk
Cinnamon Sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
Glaze
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 teaspoon honey optional (I didn’t use)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 3 – 4 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and granulated sugar. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat until creamed, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla extract and sour cream and beat until combined.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined before adding the next.
- Once all of the eggs are combined, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in any remnants.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until combined.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the butter/sugar mixture starting and ending with the flour.
- Once the dry ingredients and buttermilk are in the batter, pour half of the two-thirds of the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Add the brown sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl. Stir until combined to make the cinnamon and sugar.
- Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar on the top of the cake batter.
- Add the remaining cake batter on top of the cinnamon and sugar by the spoonful. Spread each dollop out so it can easily be smoothed out with an angled spatula to cover the cinnamon sugar layer.
- Add the remaining cinnamon sugar on top of the cake batter.
- Use a butter knife to swirl the top layer of cinnamon sugar and cake batter around. I like to drag the butter knife back and forth the entire length of the pan and then turn and drag the butter knife the width of the pan.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until done. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean or with moist crumbs, it’s done. Wet batter means you need to bake it longer.
- While the cake is still hot, pour the glaze on the top of it. I like to poke some holes in the cake with a skewer so the glaze gets inside the cake too but that’s unnecessary.
Glaze
- Add the butter, honey if you’re using it, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and 2 tablespoons of milk to a large bowl. Whisk until combined.
- Add the remaining milk 1 tablespoon at a time and whisk until you reach your desired consistency. I add 3 ½ to 4 tablespoons of milk but omit the honey.
- Pour the glaze on top of the hot cake and let it set up.
- Cover and store at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
