Susan Bronson for Taste of Home
Susan Bronson for Taste of Home
Published on Jan. 31, 2025
Big Mama’s Secret Cinnamon Roll Cake might just be the best cinnamon roll poke cake you’ll ever bake.
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The r/OldRecipes Subreddit is one of Reddit’s largest communities. As its name suggests, this community features treasured family recipes along with recipes from old books, pamphlets and community cookbooks. With over 475,000 members, there are plenty of gems to be found within this community’s threads.
In 2022, a user named HumaWormDoc posted a recipe for a cinnamon roll poke cake called Big Mama’s Secret Cinnamon Roll Cake, named after their grandmother, who created the recipe. The recipe quickly took off within the community, and three years later, it’s still super popular.
What’s the secret to this recipe’s success? It promises the flavors of a cinnamon roll without all the muss and fuss. And boy, does it deliver! This recipe is easy to make and very forgiving. While we love classic Sunday morning cinnamon roll recipes, this easy version is worth the change.
What is a poke cake?
A poke cake gets its name from the holes that are poked into the cake with a skewer after it’s baked. Icing or a sauce is poured over top the cake, allowing the flavor to infuse through the whole dessert. The flavor variations of poke cakes are truly imaginative. Some of our favorite kinds include peanut butter chocolate poke cake and tres leches cake.
Ingredients for Big Mama’s Secret Cinnamon Roll Cake
brown sugar, white sugar, and eggs; a square of butter on a plate; a clear measuring cup of milk; small bowls of vanilla extract and cinnamon.” width=”700″ height=”1024″ data-recalc-dims=”1″/>Susan Bronson for Taste of Home
For the cake batter:
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (or unsalted butter)
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup milk or buttermilk (or a mix of both)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
For the icing:
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Step 1: Make the cake batter
Susan Bronson for Taste of Home
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour a 13×9-inch cake pan, and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and vegetable shortening. Add the eggs one at a time and beat to incorporate between each addition. Add the flour, milk and vanilla, and beat for an additional one to two minutes. Spread half of the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Step 2: Make the cinnamon swirl
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle in an even layer over the top of the cake batter.
Pour the remaining batter over the cinnamon layer.