Snickerdoodle Cake

When cake is in order but you also love cinnamon & cookies, this fabulous Snickerdoodle Cake is the answer! With layers of moist, tender cake swirled with cinnamon sugar, snickerdoodle crumbles between every layer, and a rich brown sugar cinnamon cream cheese frosting, you’ve just found your new favorite cake recipe that tastes just like classic snickerdoodles but in a crowd-pleasing cake version.

Paul has been asking me to make a snickerdoodle layer cake for ages and with June being his birthday month I finally came through for him with this showstopper.

I decided to take a note from the famous Momofuku Milk Bar Birthday Cake and make snickerdoodle crumbles to sprinkle between each layer of cake and pile high on the top for decoration so there would be real snickerdoodle bits in every bite of cake. While I was recipe testing to ensure perfect results, I realized I needed to double the snickerdoodle crumbs because everybody kept snitching them and I didn’t have enough for the cake! So just know that you might have extras for snacking (and sprinkling over greek yogurt for breakfast the next day!).

I also went with a reverse-creaming method for the cake layers which I have used a few times in the past with good results. Instead of creaming butter and sugar first like normal, you combine the dry ingredients with the sugar, then add softened butter a bit at a time until it is cut in and resembled very fine sandy crumbs. This prevents gluten from developing and coats the flour in fat, resulting in a superior crumb that is light and velvety soft.

The whole thing is tied together with the most heavenly brown sugar cinnamon cream cheese frosting that is just too, too good. It’s based on my fan-favorite Best Cream Cheese Frosting recipe except with the addition of some brown sugar (don’t worry – it doesn’t make the frosting grainy at all) and ground cinnamon. It makes just enough to fill and coat the cake in a minimal, almost naked-cake approach with a little left over to pipe swirls on top to help hold in more cookie crumbles.

What You’ll Need

This is just an overview with step-by-step images to guide you through the process. For full ingredient amounts and instructions, be sure to see the printable recipe card below.

• Cake Flour – This has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour and results in a lighter, more tender crumb. But regular all-purpose flour can be used if that’s what you have on hand.
• Sugar – You’ll need granulated sugar for the cake layers, and both brown sugar and powdered sugar for the frosting.
• Eggs – An important ingredient for the right texture and flavor for most cake recipes, including this one.
• Butter & Oil – Butter gives great flavor while oil helps keep cakes moist longer and improves texture. I like using both for the best of both worlds.
• Buttermilk – Adds moisture, richness, and tang that is perfect for a snickerdoodle cake.
• Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt – These react to both flavor and lift the cake so it gets a nice fluffy rise.
• Vanilla Extract – The unsung hero of most cake recipes. It balances out flavors and adds depth.
• Ground Cinnamon – For swirling into the cake, sprinkling over the cookie crumbs, and adding to the frosting.
• Cream Cheese – I recommend using full-fat cream cheese that has been softened to room temperature for best results.

Recipe Overview with Pictures

1. Prep: Preheat the oven and prep three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles, then grease and flour the pans for easy release after baking.
2. Reverse Creaming Method: In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Then with an electric mixer running on low speed, add chunk of the softened butter about a Tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition until all of the butter has been added and the mixture has the appearance of dry, sandy crumbs.
3. Add wet ingredients: Add the oil and continue to mix on low speed until the flour mixture has been evenly moistened, followed by the the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl so everything is evenly combined but do not overmix the cake batter.

4. Fill pans: Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Meanwhile, stir the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl, then set aside half of this mixture for later. Sprinkle the other half of the cinnamon-sugar over the cake batter in each pan. Use a butter knife to lightly swirl the cinnamon sugar mixture into the cake batter.
5. Bake: Bake at 350 degrees F for 28 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of each cake layer comes out clean with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool completely before assembling the cake.

6. Make the snickerdoodle crumbs: While the cake bakes, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in oil and vanilla until everything is evenly moistened, then squeeze handfuls of this mixture together to make clumps and sprinkle them evenly over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden brown before removing from the oven and sprinkling them with the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture. They will firm up as they cool, but we don’t like them overly crunchy.

7. Make the frosting: Once the cake layers and cookie crumbles have cooled completely, make the frosting by beating cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl until completely combined and very smooth. Add the brown sugar and beat again for 1 minute until combined. Add the remaining frosting ingredients and beat until combined and smooth. Cream cheese frosting tends to get runnier the longer you beat it rather than fluffier, so try not to overmix.

8. Assemble: Spread a generous amount of the cream cheese frosting on each cake layer before sprinkling with as many of the cookie crumbs as you want. I use about ¼ of the crumbs for each layer, knowing I will have ¼ of the batch of crumbs leftover for snacking on later. Repeat with the remaining cake layers, frosting and crumbs.

9. Decorate: I used a 1M piping tip to pipe swirls of frosting for a border around the top of the cake to contain more of the crumbs. Freeze for 20 minutes or chill in the fridge for 1 hour to help the cake set up before slicing.

Recipe FAQ’s

Freezing & Storage Instructions

• Storage: Because there is cream cheese in the frosting, you should store the cake in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before serving for the best taste and texture. Cakes with cream cheese based frosting can sit out for about 2 hours at room temperature before they need to be refrigerated.
• Freezing: This cake freezes well for up to 2 months. I recommend flash freezing individual slices, then wrapping them with plastic wrap and transferring to a freezer-safe container for longer term storage. Let the cake thaw overnight in the fridge then sit out at room temperature for 1-2 hours before serving.

Recipe Tips

• Frosting: I don’t recommend increasing the amount of frosting to have a thicker layer of frosting for this particular cake unless you are really a fiend for frosting. It’s very rich and too much of it could actually overpower the perfectly balanced cake and snickerdoodle crumble elements.
• Method: If you are nervous about the reverse creaming method, you can absolutely stick with your tried and true approach of creaming the butter and sugar first, then adding eggs, followed by dry ingredients. It works both ways, but I highly recommend giving this approach a try at least once!
• Swirl Gently: Don’t go overboard swirling the cinnamon sugar into the cake layers. You want ribbons of sweetness & spice throughout the cake, not to mix everything together. Moderate swirling is all you need.
• Crumble Amount: You’ll end up with lots of snickerdoodle crumbles and probably won’t need all of them for the cake, but they are excellent for snacking and sprinkling over yogurt or ice cream. They are so tasty that I have a hard time getting the cake made with just half a batch, which is why I caved and doubled the amounts for the recipe as written below.

More Cake Recipes

• Italian Cream Cake
• Homemade Carrot Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Cake
• German Chocolate Cake