Using my vanilla cake recipe as the base, you can create an absolutely mouthwatering snickerdoodle cake filled with buttery cinnamon swirls and topped with creamy brown sugar cinnamon buttercream frosting. This cinnamon cake goes down in history as one of my best cake masterpieces. Everyone raved about it!
Earlier this month, I asked the Sally’s Baking Addiction Facebook group community if they wanted a snickerdoodle cake recipe this fall season. The response was an overwhelming yes. In fact, the general response was HECK YES HECK YES HEEEEEEEECK YES.
Your wish is my cake command.
This Snickerdoodle Cake Is:
- for cinnamon lovers
- special occasion worthy
- equal parts vanilla cake and snickerdoodles
- totally reminding me of brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts
- basically impossible not to love
3 Parts to Snickerdoodle Cake
- Buttery Vanilla Cake
- Pockets of Cinnamon Swirls
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream
Snickerdoodle Cake Power Ingredients
The ingredient list below looks long. Thankfully, the ingredients are mostly repeated in each section. If you’ve made or read about my best vanilla cake recipe before, you know that I use a few “power ingredients” that promise the perfect cake texture:
- Butter: Use room temperature butter for the cake and frosting. Remember that room temperature butter is cooler than you think. Use melted butter for the cinnamon swirl.
- Cake Flour: If you want a soft bakery-style cake, cake flour is the secret. The cake will be heavy if you use all-purpose flour. If needed, you can use a cake flour substitute.
- Eggs & 2 additional egg whites: 3 whole eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness. 2 extra egg whites keep the cake light and airy.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Remember the differences in baking powder vs baking soda and why it’s important to use both in some recipes? We’ll use enough baking powder to give the cake height without leaving a bitter aftertaste. Baking soda allows us to use less baking powder.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is an acidic ingredient and baking soda requires an acid to work. Plus, buttermilk yields an EXTRA moist cake crumb. See recipe note about using a buttermilk substitute.
- Brown Sugar: We’ll use brown sugar in the cinnamon swirl and again in the frosting. You can use light brown or dark brown sugar, but I recommend dark brown sugar for bolder flavor.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon is the main flavor, so make sure you’re using a quality product. I adore McCormick and Penzeys brands. (Not sponsored, just a super fan!)
How to Make Snickerdoodle Cake
- Make the cake batter: Use the basic creaming method. If desired, see my vanilla cake recipe for more detail. I reduced the sugar in the cake batter since we’re adding a cinnamon sugar swirl.
- Make the cinnamon swirl: Combine brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Gently mix in melted butter. Drop small spoonfuls over each unbaked cake layer, then swirl with a knife. The cinnamon swirl will slightly sink as the cake bakes, but that’s ok. When you eat the cake, the bits of cinnamon swirl are sticky, chewy, and massively flavorful.
- Bake & cool the cakes: Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, then cool completely before assembling and frosting.
- Make the brown sugar cinnamon frosting: More on that next!
- Decorate the cake: I love a semi-naked cake decoration for this snickerdoodle cake.
- Chill before serving: For beautiful slices, chill the decorated cake for at least 30-60 minutes prior to serving. This tightens up the layers, so slicing is much neater and easier.
This cake batter is moderately thick and fits perfectly in 3 9-inch cake pans. Always line your round pans with parchment paper rounds before adding the batter.
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream
Simply put, this frosting is nothing short of a dream. Brown sugar isn’t a common ingredient in snickerdoodle cookies, but I really wanted to impart its flavor into the cake. Brown sugar weighed down the cake crumb, so I added some to the frosting. Thus, brown sugar cinnamon buttercream was born. (There’s no need for any other frosting flavor again, ever.)
You know what I love about snickerdoodle cookies? Their creamy texture and slightly tangy flavor—both make snickerdoodles uniquely delicious! Cream of tartar supplies those favorable components, but it didn’t really fit into this cake. So I compromised and added cream cheese to the buttercream frosting. Now we have a wonderfully tangy/sweet flavor, plus an ultra creamy texture.
To avoid a gritty texture from the brown sugar, cream it with the butter and cream cheese until relatively smooth. (Once you add the remaining ingredients, you won’t be able to detect its texture anyway.) If you find the buttercream too sweet, add extra salt. If you crave more flavor, add more cinnamon and/or vanilla extract. This brown sugar cinnamon buttercream would be outstanding with banana layer cake or carrot cake, too.
Look at all those cinnamon swirl specks on the bottom of a cake layer! ↑ ↑
Semi-Naked Cake Style
Remember when I taught you how to make a vanilla naked cake? I recreated the look for this snickerdoodle cake. Perfect as a rustic chic autumn cake, no? If you need a visual for this semi-naked look (pretty much a crumb coat), see my naked cake video tutorial.
If you skip the piping detail, there’s enough frosting to cover the whole cake with a generous layer of frosting. 🙂
Need to freeze the cake layers? See how to freeze cakes for detailed instructions.
Love Cinnamon? More Recipes for You:
- Spice Cake
- Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cupcakes, Snickerdoodle Blondies, or Soft & Chewy Chocolate Snickerdoodles
- Banana Cupcakes (with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting!)
- Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
And if you need more inspiration, here is a list of 30+ fall cake recipes.
Print
Snickerdoodle Cake
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 10 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 servings
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Using my vanilla cake recipe as the base, create an absolutely mouthwatering snickerdoodle cake filled with buttery cinnamon swirls and topped with creamy brown sugar cinnamon buttercream frosting. Review recipe notes before beginning.
Ingredients
- 3 and 2/3 cups (433g) cake flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 2/3 cups (330g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs + 2 additional egg whites, at room temperature*
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, Tbsp!)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (41g) or cake flour (38g) (spooned & leveled)
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon*
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream
- 1 and 1/4 cups (282g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, room temperature and sliced into 4 pieces*
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon*
- 5 and 1/2 cups (660g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
- optional for garnish: snickerdoodle cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Whisk the cake flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Beat in the 3 eggs, 2 egg whites, and vanilla extract on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. (Mixture will look curdled as a result of the egg liquid and solid butter combining.) Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients. With the mixer still running on low speed, slowly pour in the buttermilk then mix just until combined. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour batter evenly into cake pans. If desired, weigh them with a kitchen scale to ensure accuracy. Set aside for a few minutes as you make the cinnamon swirl.
- For the cinnamon swirl: With a fork, mix the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together until combined. Pour the melted butter on top and mix just until combined. Use immediately in the cake batter (next step) because the longer it sits out, the harder it will get as a result of the butter solidifying.
- Drop small spoonfuls of the cinnamon swirl on each of the unbaked cakes. Use a knife to gently swirl the spoonfuls into the batter. Some pieces will remain as chunks (that’s fine!) and some will swirl into the batter.
- Bake for around 23-26 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Switch the mixer up to medium-high speed and add the cream cheese one piece at a time, mixing until each has combined before adding the next. Once the cream cheese is combined, add the brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and add the cinnamon, confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Turn the mixer on low speed and beat for 30 seconds, then turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat until completely combined and creamy. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting seems too thin—I usually add another 1/4 cup (30g) of confectioners’ sugar. You can add more heavy cream if frosting seems too thick or an extra pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. (I usually add another pinch of salt.) If you crave extra flavor, add a little more cinnamon and/or vanilla extract.
- Level the cakes & add the crumb coat: Using a large serrated knife, slice the domes off the cooled cakes (a semi-thin layer) to create a flat surface. Discard domes (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly spread about 1 and 1/2 cups of frosting on top. Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly spread another 1 and 1/2 cups of frosting on top. Top with the third cake layer. I decorated my snickerdoodle cake with a crumb coat, which makes it a semi-naked style cake. To recreate this, spread a thin layer of frosting around the sides and top of the cake (save extra frosting for the top in the next step). An icing spatula and bench scraper are helpful for creating this look. (If you need a visual, see my Naked Cake video tutorial.) Chill the crumb coated cake uncovered in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 30 minutes to help set the crumb coat.
- Spread a little extra frosting on top of the cake and use any leftover frosting to pipe detail around the edges, if desired. I used Wilton 8B piping tip. Garnish with snickerdoodles if desired.
- Refrigerate cake for at least 30-60 minutes before slicing and serving. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Let the frosting sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 20 minutes before assembling and frosting. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving. See how to freeze cakes for detailed instructions.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Cake Turntable | Icing Spatula | Bench Scraper | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 8B Piping Tip | Cake Carrier (for storage)
- Cupcakes: Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. Drop small spoonfuls of cinnamon swirl onto each, then gently swirl with a knife. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 19-21 minutes. Yields about 3 dozen. Or try my snickerdoodle cupcakes recipe.
- 9×13-inch Cake: This recipe yields too much batter for a 9×13-inch pan. Instead, you can use my white cake batter and swirl in the cinnamon swirl. (See those recipe notes for baking instructions for a quarter sheet pan.) I recommend cutting this frosting recipe in half so you don’t have too much leftover.
- Cake Flour: To prevent a dry-tasting cake, make sure you are spooning and leveling the flour or weighing it. For the best results, I strongly recommend cake flour. You can find it in the baking aisle and I have many more recipes using it. If you can’t get your hands on cake flour, you can make a homemade cake flour substitute.
- Eggs: 3 whole eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness. 2 extra egg whites keep the cake light and airy. I don’t recommend using 4 whole eggs; stick to the 3 egg & 2 egg white combination. Here are recipes using leftover egg yolks.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk (an acid) is required for this cake recipe. If you don’t have any, you can make a DIY buttermilk substitute. Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 and 1/2 cups. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Cinnamon: Yes, the cinnamon swirl and frosting both call for 1 Tablespoon (not teaspoon) of ground cinnamon. We need that flavor to stand out!
- Brown Sugar: You can use light brown or dark brown sugar, but I recommend dark brown sugar for bolder flavor.
- Cream Cheese: Use brick cream cheese, not cream cheese spread. Slice the brick into four 2-ounce pieces. If desired, you can skip the cream cheese and add another 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) softened unsalted butter instead.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read more about the importance of room temperature ingredients.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This cake was just as delicious as it sounds! So moist and the cinnamon is delightful. Brown sugar and cream cheese frosting is where it’s at! I wanted to try this recipe so bad that I made it for my own birthday!
Hi Sally! My brother is requesting an apple pie crisp cake using apple pie filling. So I was thinking a cinnamon cake with apple pie filling and some kind of crumble in between the layers with cream cheese icing. Do you think this be a good cinnamon cake to use for the base layers?
Hi Macy, that should work well with this cake, or here is our apple cake recipe instead. Enjoy!
This cake has given me comments like;
Jan – you’re speaking my love language
Jan – this is the best cake you’ve ever made
Thank you for sharing. I’ve referred many people to your site, your recipes are delicious and reliable.
This time, I’m going to skip the cinnamon and brown sugar in the frosting, and do a caramel swirl throughout.
So good
Hi Jan, thank you so much for the kind words! And I’m glad you receive some kind words after you serve this!!
Can I use Hershey’s cinnamon chips in this recipe?
Hi Freida, absolutely!
Awesome!How much cinnamon chips do you think I should use?
Hi Frieda, about 3/4 cup to 1 cup should be great.
This recipe is wonderful! I want to enter this in a competition, but we’re going out of town. Will it dry out if I leave it in the fridge for a few days? It will have to be iced prior.
Hi Ann, you can cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, but it will start to lose freshness over time.
How good is this cake? So good it won an online photo competition for most beautiful fall desert. Plus I had to share the link to your website for the recipe. How good is this cake? My son will not request any other cake for his birthday. It is amazing.
Kari, I enjoyed reading this! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m so glad your son enjoys is so much, too!
This was a fun recipe to make. My church family loved it. I really love the frosting on this cake. The cake was really good too but it’s not going to go into my favorite’s category. Thanks for all your tips .
Wow, this Snickerdoodle Cake is a big hit in our household. It is sweet-but some of us are all about that! Absolutely worth the effort and I will be saving this recipe and making it. again.
Hi Sally & Team
All your recipes are just awesome. Thank you so much.
However I have tried the cinnamon swirl or streusel in cake, they fell down and melted in the
cake. Also can I use Philadelphia or mascarpone for cheesecake?
Same problem with my tart crusts.
Hi Patricia, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. It sounds like the cinnamon swirl may have been overworked a bit. You’ll want to mix it until just combined and then immediately use in the cake so that the butter doesn’t start to solidify. That can cause the swirl to become heavy and sink. We haven’t tested our cheesecake recipe with mascarpone, so we’re unsure of the results and how well it will set. You can definitely use Philadelphia full fat brick cream cheese. Hope this helps!
I can’t wait to make this cake! Can I make this as a double layer instead of 3?
Hi Irma, For a smaller 2-layer cake you can use this white cake batter and swirl in the cinnamon swirl.
This cake is delicious!! I was wondering how to incorporate cinnamon chips into the recipe. I’ve just discovered them and added them to your Snickerdoodle cookie recipe and it took the cinnamon flavor over the top(in a good way)!! I’d like to try them in this cake but not quite sure of the amount or if some of the cinnamon swirl should be reduced. I would appreciate your thoughts. BTW I use your recipes almost exclusively and I’ve never been disappointed!! Thanks so much!
Hi Susie, the addition of cinnamon chips should work well here! We’d try about 3/4 cup to start, and then you can adjust accordingly for future batches. No need to reduce the cinnamon swirl, especially if you love cinnamon flavor. Please do let us know how it goes!
Would it be possible to half the recipe to make a smaller cake? If so what size pans would you recommend? Thank you!!
Hi Maddie, here’s everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions. Hope this helps!
I sometimes use 6-1/8″ pans which are 44% of the volume as a 9″pan (at same height). So I call it 50% of all ingredients. Surprisingly, the bake time was only several minutes less.
Cake had great flavor! I’m new to making homemade cakes, it turned out dry, any suggestions on what I may have done wrong?
Hi Regina, we’re so glad you enjoyed the cake! Is it possible the cakes were slightly over baked? Even just an extra minute or two in the oven can dry it out. Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to measure your flour, too. If it’s over measured, that can also dry out the cake. Hope these tips help for next time!
I think this is the best cake I’ve ever had, definitely the best I’ve made! I love cinnamon, and so does my family. This cake was a huge hit!
I made this for my boyfriend’s birthday and it was a huge hit. He keeps raving about how it’s the best icing he’s ever had in his life and the cake is so perfectly spiced and moist. It’s truly delicious! 10/10
Great recipe! I think this was everyone’s favorite of the ones I’ve made so far. The lemon/blueberry is the other top contender.
One suggestion I have is that I recommend using cake strips that you soak in water and wrap around the pans. This has several advantages: 1) no hard, dark brown crust. 2) the cake is almost flat, no dome top that you need to cut off.
Looking forward to trying other recipes. I think I’ve done about 10 cake recipes so far. Thanks!
This cake is unreal! Truly. I have made 100s of cakes and dozens of recipes from Sally and this is 100% the best. Not a single person didn’t like it. So decadent and delicious. I will definitely make it again!!
TRULY A MUST!
Hi! I love your recipes! I’ve been looking for a cinnamon cake one, and I’m wondering if this would be good for that? If there are any changes you would suggest? I’d like it to be more churro-coded than snickerdoodle
Thank you for your time!
Hi Samantha, The cake in this recipe is definitely a cinnamon cake! If you don’t want the tang from the cream cheese frosting, you can simply add a little cinnamon to vanilla buttercream. Enjoy!
I made this cake as cupcakes for a friend’s church class. I also took one to my trainer who loves all things cinnamon, and the feedback I got was that the cupcake was “life-changing”. I might make 1.5x the cinnamon swirl if I make the cupcakes again just to ensure I have enough for each cupcake. I also used your soft and thick snickerdoodle cookie recipe and made mini-snickerdoodles for the top (baked for about 4 minutes).
Sorry forgot to leave stars!!!
This recipe was really easy and good.butthe cake was not as sturdy as I would have liked it to be. Why?
Hi Claire, this cake is intended to be on the lighter side. Did it seem to crumble? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to measure your flour to ensure it isn’t over measured—that can dry out a cake and make it crumbly. You can try substituting part of the flour (not all) with all purpose instead of cake flour for more of a dense texture. Let us know how it goes.
Hiya, i made the cake, the cake is like cooked but the bits where the cinnamon is is still raw i dont know what i should do, ive lowered the temperature and left it to bake a bit im scared of burning the cake to just make the cake dough around the cinnamon swirl cookied
Hi Luana, it sounds like the cake does need a few more minutes in the oven. You can tent your pans with aluminum foil to ensure the tops of the cake do not burn. Keep in mind that the cinnamon parts will be softer than the rest of the cake.
This cake is amazing! I’ve made it 3 times for special occasions and everyone loves it!
Honestly, this is one of the least organized recipes I’ve ever tried making. READ INSTRUCTIONS first. As a “from scratch” person myself, I had to read this recipe 3 times before I realized your mix the “swirl” into the badder. I decided to just take these ingredients and do my own. Writing technique is poor quality. Ingredients and measurements are spot on, but definitely some struggle in relaying this recipes technique.
Thank you for your feedback, Candis. Let me review this recipe to see if any updates could be helpful to bakers who try it.
What would you suggest cooking time for 8in pans?
Hi Charis, you can use your 8 inch pans. The layers will be slightly thicker and take a bit longer to bake so keep an eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness!
Okay I love love the recipes here and I attempted to make this one. All is going well but I only had a 9×13 pan. I seen comments where it says its too big and worried my cake is going to spill all over the oven. Once the time was up, it was very jiggly in the middle and I knew it wasn’t done. So I lowered temp to 325 and added 25 more mins checking it. It got a nice light brown and done in the middle. I opened my fridge to get something else and realized: I FORGOT THE BUTTERMILK. now I’m in full panic. It tastes and smells great but I keep reading it may be very dry??? It doesn’t seem that way nor did it really rise a lot but enough that it looks great. I’m worried. Should I continue to frost it when it’s done? Or should I make a ‘poke cake’ to ensure it’s moist? HELP
Hi Jekka, the cake may be a bit dry without the addition of the buttermilk, but giving it a small taste will be the best way to determine if it’s too dry to serve.
I love this idea! Would the frosting be light enough in color to make it avacodo colored? My daughter loves these flavours but wants a avacodo shaped cake!
Hi Renee! We fear that adding green food coloring to the light brown frosting wouldn’t make the pretty colored cake you’re looking for. You can use this frosting between the layers, and use plain vanilla buttercream or cream cheese frosting to color and decorate the outside, instead.
I made this cake as directed and we LOVED it! Now I want to make again for my daughter’s graduation party, but this time I want to do it in two layers with 9X13 pans. I see in the notes that this recipe is too much batter for one 9X13 layer. Would this recipe be enough for two 9X13 layers? Or can you tell me how I would need to adjust the quantities in order to do this cake as a double layer 9X13 cake? Thanks!
Hi Macy, this batter as written would yield 2 thin 9×13-inch cakes. You may wish to 1.5x the recipe, fill your cake pans half way, and then use the leftover batter for a few cupcakes on the side. So glad the cake was a favorite!
Baked this for a friend’s birthday. Directions are easy to follow. The cake and frosting were delicious! My friend’s SO suggested pecans would add to the cake. Next time I bake it, I am going to try adding pecan bits to the cinnamon swirls.