Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake

Learn how to make a giant cinnamon roll cake using my easy 7 ingredient homemade cinnamon roll dough and swirling it into one large cake. Top with vanilla icing for an extra fun and indulgent breakfast, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Christmas brunch. Kids LOVE this! (Ok, adults too.)

Ingredients

2 and 3/4 cups (344g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 and 1/4 teaspoons Platinum Yeast from Red Star (1 standard packet)*
3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk
1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons; 56g) unsalted butter
1 large egg, at room temperature

Filling

1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons; 56 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar or granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Vanilla Icing

1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk or heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the dough: Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together. Set aside. Heat the milk and butter together in the microwave until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm to the touch, between 100-110°F, 38-43°C. Pour the warm milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the egg. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment, or using a silicone spatula and mixing by hand, beat/mix the mixture until a soft dough forms. The dough is ready when it gently pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is pretty sticky, beat/mix in 2-4 extra Tablespoons of flour. (Keep in mind that you want the dough to remain on the softer side.)
Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the stand mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s