Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake

Yield: 1 cinnamon roll pound cake // Total Time: 1 hr. 30 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. //

Moist brown sugar pound cake with a cinnamon swirl and cream cheese glaze.

brown sugar cinnamon roll pound cake

Hello hello! Today we’re taking all the delicious flavors of a cinnamon roll and putting them into a moist, buttery pound cake. The pound cake base is made with brown sugar rather than the standard granulated sugar to make it even more moist and flavorful. We’ll then add some cinnamon and brown sugar to part of the cake batter to create a flavorful cinnamon swirl throughout the cake. The cake is moist, buttery, and super easy to put together. We’ll finish that deliciousness off with a cream cheese icing to tie all the classic cinnamon roll flavors together!

recipe tips

weigh your ingredients

Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient which can give you some undesirable results. This kitchen scale is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out! If you don’t have access to a scale, here is the best way to measure flour: fluff up the flour with a fork, then use a spoon to scoop it into your measuring cup. Use a knife to level off the top of the cup, then use as directed.

mix the batter carefully

After adding in your flour, you’ll want to be careful to only mix until that last streak of flour disappears into the batter to avoid over-mixing. Over-mixing your batter leads to developing more gluten in the batter, which will make the cake more tough and chewy.

room temperature ingredients

It is important for the ingredients to be at room temperature so that they properly incorporate with each other. In a pound cake it’s especially important because a lot of the lift in the cake comes from beating the ingredients together. If you have ever had your batter look curdled, it is most likely due to the ingredients separating from being at different temperatures. Take out the butter, eggs, and sour cream at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hr 30 min. before starting the recipe. A little hack that I do is to run the eggs under hot water for 1 minute to bring them to room temp. and microwave the sour cream/butter in 5-second intervals until it’s no longer cold (but not hot.)

how to tell when your loaf cake is done.

It’s always a little game with telling if your loaf is done. Sometimes it will look done, but it’s still super wet in the center, and now that you’ve opened the oven door, you risk the loaf collapsing in the middle which is never desirable. I recommend waiting until at least 45 minutes to start checking for doneness. If the cake jiggles when you move it, it’s not ready to be checked on yet. When checking for doneness, you’ll want to take a toothpick and stick it down the exact center of the loaf. If it comes out with a few moist crumbs, you’re good to take it out! If it’s still a little wet, put the loaf back in the oven, checking in 5-minute intervals for doneness.

ingredients and substitutions

For the pound cake:

All purpose flour: gives the cake structure.

Baking powder: helps the cake rise. It’s not in a standard pound cake but we’ll use it for a little extra lift to make it lighter.

Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the batter.

Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the cake and adding flavor. You can substitute in salted butter, just be sure to omit the extra salt in the batter.

Light brown sugar: for sweetening the cake and keeping it moist. The sugar also helps aerate the butter to give this cake its rise.

Eggs: for binding, moisture, and leavening.

Vanilla: for flavor.

Sour cream: adds moisture and makes the cake tender. I recommend full fat for the best texture.

For the cream cheese glaze:

Cream cheese: the base of the glaze.

Milk: for thinning out the glaze. Use your favorite milk!

Salt: for balancing and bringing out the flavor and sweetness of the glaze.

Vanilla: for flavor.

Powdered sugar: for sweetness and for thickening the glaze.

cinnamon swirl pound cake q&a

what size loaf pan do I need?

I used an 8×4″ metal loaf pan but you can also use a 9×5″. Just note that your pound cake may take a little less time to bake in a 9×5″ pan. I recommend against using a glass loaf pan but if that’s all you have on hand, note that the baking time may significantly increase.

can I double this recipe?

Of course! Just double all the ingredients and bake them in two loaf pans.

a note on oven temperature

Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and aren’t always at the temperature they claim to be. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.

tools and ingredients

You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!