A beautiful Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake made from scratch. This buttery cake boasts a sweet cinnamon swirl, and is covered in butter and cinnamon sugar. It’s quick and easy to make – and tastes like a cinnamon donut!
Calling all cinnamon lovers ❤️
Over the years, I’ve made my love for chocolate abundantly clear, but there’s another strong contender for my sweet tooth – cinnamon. From crispy Cinnamon Apple Cake to buttery Cinnamon Rolls or chewy Snickerdoodle Cookies, I love me some cinnamon.
And when you take plenty of cinnamon sugar and combine it with a soft and tender butter cake, you get a seriously delicious treat.
So let’s talk cake. More specifically, a sweet butter cake that’s brushed with butter while still warm and coated in cinnamon sugar. Cut a slice and you’ll be delighted by the swirl of cinnamon hiding inside.
Why you will love this cake
- It’s quick and easy to make
- You only need regular pantry ingredients
- It boasts a truly buttery crumb
- It swaps frosting for a sweet cinnamon sugar crust
Tips for making a beautiful butter cake
- One of the most important steps when making a really good butter cake is creaming the butter and sugar correctly. Starting with softened butter will help you create a soft cake with a melt-in-your-mouth crumb.
- I recommend using good quality butter and caster sugar to begin. If you don’t have access to caster sugar, you can swap it 1:1 for granulated sugar. Make sure you leave your butter out on the bench in advance so it is nice and soft.
- Begin by mixing together your softened butter, sugar and vanilla using an electric mixer. It can be tempting to stop after a minute or two when your butter and sugar have combined. But if you keep going for just a little bit longer, you’ll see a change in colour and texture. Your butter mixture will become pale and creamy – almost a little fluffy. This is what you want! See below.
Left: Butter and sugar that’s been beaten until combined.
Right: Butter and sugar that’s been beaten until pale and creamy (creamed).
- It’s also important for your eggs to be at room temperature. Sometimes when you add eggs to the butter mixture, it will curdle or go a little lumpy – especially if they are a bit cold. If this happens, it’s ok, just try not to over mix.
- Finally, add half your flour and baking powder, along with your full fat milk, and slowly mix to combine. Then add the remaining flour. There’s no need to over mix. Just beat until you have a thick and creamy cake batter.
How to make the cinnamon swirl
- Make your butter cake batter. Spoon half of it into your bundt pan.
- Mix together cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle over cake batter.
- Dollop over remaining cake batter to completely cover the layer of cinnamon.
Commonly asked questions
Yes. You can use this recipe to make two 8 inch cakes if you prefer.
Keep this cake in an airtight container at room temperature.
Yes if you like. This cake would pair lovely with a maple or cinnamon buttercream.
More Beautiful cakes to love
- Glazed Lemon Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Fudge Cake
- Perfect Pound Cake
- Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
- Raspberry Ripple Cake
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake
A beautiful butter cake covered in sweet cinnamon sugar.
Ingredients
Cake
- 230 grams (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 315 grams (2 and 1/4 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 160 ml (2/3 cup) full fat or whole milk
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Cinnamon topping
- 40 grams (2 tablespoons) butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Grease an 8-10 cup capacity bundt pan really well with butter and dust with flour. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced.
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter, sugar and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and beat briefly to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Next, add half the flour, along with the baking powder, salt and milk. Beat on a low speed. Add remaining flour and continue to beat until a smooth cake batter forms.
- Spoon approximately half of the batter into your prepared tin. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Gently sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the cake batter and then dollop spoonfuls of the remaining cake batter on top.
- Bake cake for approximately 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
- Mix together the extra cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Gently remove the cake from the cake pan and set onto a wire rack. While the cake is still warm, brush with melted butter and then generously sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar.
Notes
Bundt pan: To ensure your cake doesn’t stick to your bundt pan, grease it very well with butter or non-stick spray (or shortening if that’s available to you). I find dusting it with flour can also help.
Butter: It’s very important that your butter is at room temperature, so you can cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. This step will help ensure your cake is lovely and soft and fluffy.
Jennifer says
So moist absolutely delicious I had all my prep done and looked for Bundt tin but couldn’t find so a simple round tin but did take close to an hour to bake with some foil on top after the 45 min mark but absolutely yummy 😋
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad to hear that Jennifer!
Dawn says
Hi, could I make this in a loaf tin? Would I need to half the quantity?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Dawn, yes you could use a loaf pan. It depends on the size of your pan. It might be easier to make the recipe as written and then use any leftover batter to make a few cupcakes.
Deb says
Amazing cake! We made it non dairy and used margarine and almond milk. It was delicious! Will for sure make again!!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Deb!
Josh says
This tastes like a cinnamon donut – so yum!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed it Josh!