Honey Bun Cake

5 from 11 votes

Serving up warm squares of this easy Honey Bun Cake is sure to make your family happy! It is made with a thick ribbon of cinnamon sugar swirled through a moist yellow cake mix, then glazed with a sweet and simple icing to mimic those classic lunch snack cakes.

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Amy Nash

Ingredients

Cake

1 yellow cake mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Cinnamon Swirl

1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Icing

2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with baking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk or beat together the yellow cake mix, oil, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and almond extract until combined. Set aside.
1 yellow cake mix, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 4 large eggs, 1 cup sour cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
In a separate bowl, stir the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans, if using, together.
1 cup light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Pour about 1/2 of the cake batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour the remaining cake batter on top, then use a knife to gently swirl the cinnamon sugar mixture through batter.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs.

Icing

While the cake bakes, prepare the icing by whisking the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract together in a bowl to form a nice, pourable icing.
2 cups powdered sugar, 3-4 Tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
When the cake is done, pour the icing over the cake while it is still hot. Slice into squares and serve warm, room temperature, or even chilled from the fridge.

Notes

Storage: This cake will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container on the counter.
Freezing: You can freeze the cake for up to 2 months. Although for best results, if you plan to freeze the entire cake I recommend making the icing and freezing it separately in a plastic bag and freezing the cake without it on top. Then when you plan to serve, thaw the cake and warm in a 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes, then glaze with the thawed icing.
Substitutions: If you don't have sour cream, Greek yogurt makes an excellent substitution. For this cake, you could even substitute an equal amount of buttermilk in place of the sour cream.
From-scratch version: If you wish to make the cake entirely from scratch, just use my yellow cake recipe for the cake part and add the cinnamon sugar swirl and glaze.

Nutrition

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