A giant cinnamon roll cake aka the lightest, fluffiest cinnamon roll made *huge.*
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milk bread cinnamon roll cake
Cinnamon rolls, but turn them into one big cinnamon roll cake! We’re using my classic small batch cinnamon roll dough that’s *super* light and fluffy, perfectly cinnamon-y and of course, delicious. And it’s perfectly acceptable to eat this whole cinnamon roll cake because really it’s just one (giant) cinnamon roll. Below you’ll find a whole bunch of tips and tricks that (I hope) are helpful for working with this milk bread dough. Happy baking!
why you’ll love this giant cinnamon roll cake:
- The dough is super soft and fluffy: The tangzhong (milk bread) method makes these super soft and fluffy.
- Cream cheese frosting: tangy cream cheese frosting is always the perfect compliment to sweet cinnamon rolls.
- It’s easy to make: well, easier than you might think! Once you’ve got the dough together, the hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the dough to rise.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before you’ll need them.
the dough will take a while to knead
Kneading this dough will take a longer time than you are probably used to. This dough is enriched with eggs and butter which makes it take longer for the proper amount of gluten to develop. Kneading in the mixer can take me anywhere from 10-20 minutes. The dough is ready to be used when it passes the windowpane test and has pulled away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. If you are weighing your ingredients, just trust the process! If you are using cup measurements and the dough just is not coming together after 15 minutes, try adding in 1 tbsp. of flour at a time.
be careful heating the milk
Heating the milk is important for bringing the yeast to an optimal temperature for rising. The milk should be heated to ~100°F / 38°C but it does not have to be exact. As long as the milk is between 95°F – 110°F, it is good to be used. If the temperature exceeds 110°F, wait for it to cool down before using so that you do not kill the yeast!
how to tell your dough is done kneading: the windowpane test
The windowpane test is (in my opinion) the best way to tell that your dough has been properly kneaded. Once the dough starts to pull away from the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl, it is most likely ready. However, just to be sure that it’s good to go I check if it passes the windowpane test. To do that, take some of the dough in your hands and start to slowly stretch it out. If it can get thin enough to where light passes through it before tearing, then it’s good to go! If not, keep kneading until it does!
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. 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.
giant cinnamon roll cake ingredients
Milk Bread dough:
- All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness. Please be sure that you are using a high-quality flour that has a high protein %, such as King Arthur (11.7%) so that your gluten will develop. If you’re using a low protein flour, the gluten will not develop enough and you will have to add a lot more flour to the brioche, which will alter the dough!
- Active dry yeast: for making the dough rise. You can easily substitute in instant yeast if that is what you have on hand (more notes on that later on.)
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the brioche. Salt also “controls” the yeast to make sure that it does not overly expand.
- Dark brown sugar: for sweetening the brioche and for helping the yeast with rising.
- Egg: for binding and adding moisture.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the dough and giving it a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth feel. I would not recommend substituting in salted butter since salt is important to controlling yeast growth and the amount of salt in salted butter is a little variable.
- Whole milk: for tenderizing and hydrating the dough. Whole milk will provide the softest dough because the extra fat helps tenderize the dough. You can however swap in 1%, 2% or your favorite non dairy milk alternative! Just note that the dough may be a little less soft and fluffy due to the varying fat content.
For the filling:
- Unsalted butter: you can use salted butter here or your favorite non-dairy butter stick.
- Dark brown sugar: I recommend dark brown just for the extra flavor it adds, but light brown works perfectly as well!
- Cinnamon: to call it a cinnamon roll of course!
For the cream cheese icing:
- Cream cheese: the base of the frosting.
- Powdered sugar: to sweeten up the frosting.
- Milk: to thin out the frosting, use your favorite dairy or non-dairy alternative milk here.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
how to make a giant cinnamon roll cake
Below are some steps of the cinnamon roll cake making process. You can find the full recipe at the end of this page.
giant cinnamon roll cake recipe q&a
what is tangzhong?
Tangzhong is a cooking method that involves cooking a portion of the flour in a recipe with 4-5x the amount of liquid. Cooking the flour pre-gelatinizes the starch in the flour, allowing it to hold on to more liquid. This leads to a bread that can hold way more liquid than it normally would be able to, which makes the bread softer, and fluffier, and keeps it from staling as fast. It’s basically a secret ingredient for better bread, using ingredients you already need for the bread! If you ever see the word “milk bread”, that means that that bread uses tangzhong!
how to store cinnamon roll cake
This cinnamon roll cake is definitely going to taste the best and most fresh on the day that it is baked, and I highly recommend serving it the same day you bake it. If you plan on eating the cake over multiple days – I recommend slicing up the cake and only frosting the pieces you are going to eat. Store the extra cream cheese glaze in the fridge and keep the cinnamon roll cake in an airtight container at room temperature. When you want to have some cake, heat a slice or two in the microwave for 5-10 seconds before icing it, then enjoy.
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – simply double the ingredients and bake it in two cake pans. I even more strongly recommend using a kitchen scale if you are scaling up the recipe, for the best results.
can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Definitely – just pop all of the dough ingredients into your mixing bowl to start kneading. I recommend refrigerating the dough overnight to make it easier to work with and more flavorful. However, if you are making the recipe all in one day, and using instant yeast, let the dough rest for just 10 minutes as the first rise (or whatever the instructions are on your yeast packet), then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes, and I highly recommend it! Brioche dough is a very enriched dough that can be hard to work with when warm. Knead the dough together, cover it, and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready, take the dough out of the fridge and proceed with the recipe.
my yeast mixture isn’t foaming, what should I do?
The mixture should start foaming around 5 minutes in. If it has not foamed after 10 minutes, the yeast is likely dead. You want to make sure that the milk temperature does not exceed 110°F / 43°C or it will kill the yeast. If you try it again and it still does not foam, the yeast you are using may be expired and you will want to purchase some more before proceeding.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 24 g all purpose flour (3 tbsp.)
- 100 g whole milk (⅓ c. + 2 tbsp.)
Brioche Dough
- 90 g whole milk (⅓ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 egg room temperature
- 240 g all purpose flour (2 c.)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 56 g unsalted butter room temperature (4 tbsp.)
Filling
- 42 g unsalted butter (3 tbsp.)
- 100 g dark brown sugar (½ c.)
- 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 110 g cream cheese room temperature (½ c.)
- 30 g powdered sugar (¼ c.)
- 55 g whole milk room temperature (¼ c.)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
Brioche Dough
- In a microwave safe measuring cup, heat the milk to 100°F / 38°C. Whisk in the yeast and the sugar. Set aside until the mixture begins to foam. (~5 minutes) In the meantime, make the tangzhong.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, continuously stir together the flour and milk until the mixture and thickens into a thick slurry. Take off the heat and set aside. Alternatively, whisk together the flour and milk in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until the mixture becomes a thick slurry.
- Add the flour, salt, egg, butter, tangzhong and yeast mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
- Knead the mixture on medium speed for ~15-20 minutes. The dough is ready when it is no longer sticking to the sides or bottom of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test.*
- Once the dough is done kneading, shape the dough into a ball and place it back into the mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap, and place it in a warm area to rise until doubled in size (~1 hr.)**
Filling
- Generously butter a 8" cake pan. Crumple up some parchment paper, then un-crumple it and place it into the buttered cake pan, making sure it sticks to the bottom and sides. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
- Once the dough has finished rising, lightly punch it down to remove any excess air in it. Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly floured surface, then roll it out to a 12″ x 16″ (30 x 40 cm) rectangle.
- Melt the butter, then spread it over the dough. Then, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the butter in an even layer, rubbing the sugar into the butter.
- From the longer side, cut the dough into 6 two inch strips.
- Roll up one of the strips as you would with a standard cinnamon roll and place it into the center of your prepared pan.
- Pick up another strip of dough and coil it around the center cinnamon roll. Repeat until you have used up all six strips of dough.
- Lightly cover the pan with a towel, and let the cake rise in a warm environment until doubled in size (~30 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- (Optional, for browning) Make an egg wash by whisking together an egg with 1 tbsp. milk, then brush it over the cake.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top of the cake is golden brown and the internal temperature of the cake has reached 180°F / 82°C.
Cream Cheese Icing
- In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese until smooth. Then mix in the powdered sugar, followed by the milk and vanilla.
- Spread the icing over the warm cinnamon roll cake, then serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.