This Cinnamon Roll Cake is a game-changer: no yeast, no rising, no hassle! It comes together fast and bakes quicker than traditional cinnamon rolls. Top with quick cream cheese frosting and get ready to fall in love!
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? We use 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, we use them for a breakfast favorite—Biscuits and Gravy!
How To Make A Cinnamon Roll Cake
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 (and fills your house with an amazing aroma), whip up the frosting to spread over the warm cake—swoon!
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.
We often make this cake in a small 6 to 8-inch cast iron skillet, but if we’re feeding others or feeling extra hungry, we 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 Frosting Tips
- Set out the butter and cream cheese an hour before baking to reach room temperature. If they’re cold, the frosting may have unpleasant cream cheese chunks. To speed this up, try these quick methods for bringing butter and cream cheese to room temp.
- Don’t skip the flavor enhancers—salt and vanilla extract add essential nuance to the frosting. Even small amounts make a big difference!
- Slowly add powdered sugar to taste. More sugar makes the frosting sweeter and firmer; less keeps it tangier and softer. Adjust to your preference for this Cinnamon Roll Cake!
Quick Tip
A resealable plastic bag makes a great disposable piping bag for the frosting! Just remember to cut a very small tip off–you’ll be surprised how much it spreads!
Adding Frosting To The Cinnamon Roll Cake
Two options:
- Spread the frosting across the cake with a table knife.
- To get that classic cinnamon roll swirl, transfer the frosting to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag. Cut the tip off the bag and pipe the frosting around the cake.
Storage
Cinnamon Roll Cake 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:
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies with a cream cheese frosting
- Cinnamon Roll Popcorn with a cinnamon-sugar coating
- Miniature Cinnamon Roll Cheesecakes with a graham cracker crust
- Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread made with canned cinnamon rolls
- Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes using a cake mix
Cinnamon Roll Cake
Equipment
- Pie or cake pan or skillet -- really any size works! (See Note 1)
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Cake
- 2 pkgs. (7.5 ounces each) Buttermilk Biscuits Note 1
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup white, granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Frosting
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ounces full-fat brick-style cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a pie pan, cake pan, or skillet with cooking spray.
- Remove biscuits from packages. Flatten each biscuit with a rolling pin or your hands.
- Dip each biscuit in melted butter, shake off excess, then coat generously in cinnamon sugar. Shake off excess. (See Note 2.)
- Tightly roll each biscuit and place them in a spiral pattern in the pan, starting from the outside and working inward.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Adjust time for pan size. If the edges cook faster, tent them with foil.
- Meanwhile, use a hand mixer to beat together softened cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in vanilla extract, salt, and powdered sugar until creamy.
- Optional: transfer frosting to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag, cut off the tip, and pipe across the cake. Alternatively, spread frosting with a table knife.
- Remove the cake and let it cool for 5-7 minutes before frosting. Pipe frosting over the cake, slice, and serve warm for the best taste!
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have made this a couple of times, and it is extremely delicious. Yesterday I used a different, simpler (in my opinion) technique that combines another favorite pinterest recipe, garlic bread from canned biscuits. Instead of rolling out the biscuits, I cut them in quarters, then dipped in butter and cinnamon sugar. I also had my cinnamon and sugar in a plastic storage bowl, so I dipped in butter, put a few pcs in the storage bowl, put the lid on, and shook it up. That worked great also. I have a bowl that you can use to batter things that I am going to try next time, thinking I should be able to put all in at once, close and shake up, making prep even faster. Can you tell I like short prep time? I’m not sure how to describe the breader, but if you google it, you can see what it is.
What an awesome idea!!! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂 I’ll definitely have to try this out next 🙂 Thanks Sonya!
Used cake pan instead (not sure if 8 or 9 inches). Needed a bit more sugar, etc, but that was it! Turned out amazing!
So glad to hear it worked out great in a cake pan! Thanks for leaving a comment Amy 🙂
Heey! I’m from Venezuela and the brands aren’t the same here, how many buttermilk cookies should I use for the recipe? I mean the weight 🙂 thank you!!
What do you think about adding raisins?
If you like raisins I bet they would be great!! 🙂
I didn’t have a skillet so I used a pie plate I also added fresh chopped apples and use cream cheese icing.
I was sooooo Yummy and Easy
Thanks!
Oh gosh!! LOVE your additions 🙂 Thanks for the comment Emma 🙂
Are biscuits the same as scones? I call cookies biscuits so I am confused.
I think depending on where you live they are called biscuits or scones. Here’s a link to what I used: http://www.pillsbury.com/products/biscuits/simply-buttermilk-biscuits/simply-buttermilk-biscuits
Hi
I took your great idea and kicked it up a notch – I put brown sugar and butter and pecan pieces in the bottom before the rolled up pieces of cinnamon biscuits and then turned it out when it was done – nice caramelly – not a word – yummy goo – I added cream cheese to the glaze – just saying Omg – lol
HAHA!! Thanks so much for your comment Sondra – I love your additions and can’t wait to give some pecan pieces a go in this – sounds perfect!!
I made these this morning, love, love, love the recipe, I wanted to be able to freeze leftovers, so I put 2 biscuits in each muffin tins, turned out awesome!! Love your site, just found it a few days ago, love your cheery since of humor. thanks so much for your welcoming site!
You are so sweet Linda! This made my day 🙂 Thanks for your sweet comment and I am so glad you enjoyed the cake! Plus, freezing them? What a great idea!! I’m definitely trying that out 🙂
I’m currently training for a fitness competition and don’t have much of a sweet tooth naturally, but I have to say cinnamon rolls are my WEAKNESS. These look amazing! I definitely found my next cheat meal!! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!!
These look amazing and, since I’ve just rejuvenated my old cast iron skillet, they’re definitely on my “must make” list. I live in Canada and don’t recall every seeing this type of buttermilk biscuit in my local stores. Can you elaborate on the brand and if they’re fresh, frozen, ??
Thanks so much,
~~ Denise
Thank you Denise! They are fresh in the refrigerated section (at my grocery store – near packaged cinnamon rolls and grands biscuits, butter, cream cheese).