Honey Bun Cake Recipe

This honey bun cake recipe gives you a soft, rich cake with a cinnamon-brown sugar ribbon running through the middle and a sweet vanilla glaze that settles over the top. Sour cream adds moisture to the yellow cake base, while the cinnamon filling creates the warm flavour that makes the cake taste inspired by a classic honey bun

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 50

Cooling Time 30

Servings: 12

Course: baking

Cuisine: American

Calories: 520

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

For the Cake

1 15.25 ounce package yellow cake mix
1 cup sour cream
4 large eggs
⅔ cup vegetable oil

For the Cinnamon Layer

1 cup brown sugar
3 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the Vanilla Glaze

3 cups confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

Prepare the oven and pan. Gather all of the ingredients. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C), then lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
Mix the cake batter. Place the yellow cake mix, sour cream, eggs, and vegetable oil in a bowl. Beat them together with an electric mixer for 3 minutes.
Add the first batter layer. Pour 1/2 batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it across the base.
Make the cinnamon filling. Stir the brown sugar and ground cinnamon together in a small bowl, then sprinkle the mixture over the batter already in the pan.
Cover the filling. Carefully pour remaining 1/2 batter over the brown sugar-cinnamon layer, keeping the filling between the two portions of cake batter.
Bake until the centre is done. Place the cake in the preheated oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the centre to check it. The toothpick should come out clean.
Mix the glaze. Combine the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a bowl.
Glaze the hot cake. Use a fork to poke holes into the cake while it is still hot, then pour the confectioners’ sugar mixture over the top.
Let the cake cool. Allow the finished cake to cool completely before serving, about 30 minutes.

Notes

Why The Cake Is Glazed Before Cooling

Many cakes need to cool completely before frosting because buttercream or other thick toppings can melt on a warm surface. This recipe works differently because you’re using a pourable sugar glaze rather than a thick frosting.

The fork holes and warm cake work together. The holes create channels through the top, while the glaze is fluid enough to settle across the surface and into those openings.

Waiting until the cake is cold would change that part of the process. That’s why glazing belongs directly after baking and before the approximately 30-minute cooling period.

The glaze also brings vanilla into the final flavour profile. The cake itself is built around yellow cake, sour cream, brown sugar, and cinnamon, while the topping adds a sweeter vanilla finish.