If you love Snickerdoodle cookies, the cinnamon sugar flavor of Snickerdoodle Cake is perfect for your next party or holiday. Light and moist vanilla cake is elevated with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar that’s swirled into each of the three cake layers. Stacking and frosting the cooled cake layers is easy, and the cake will shine when displayed on a festive plate or elevated cake pedestal.
The top of the cake is finished with piped swirls of brown sugar cream cheese frosting. Serve this cake for a holiday gathering, or add candles to use it as a birthday cake. You’ll love how the frosting compliments the cinnamon flavor and pairs perfectly with coffee any time of the day. For more layer cake recipes, try my pistachio cake, key lime cake, or butterscotch cake recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Cake Flour – using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour will help the cake to have a soft, tender crumb and light texture.
Butter – unsalted, softened butter is used for the cake batter and frosting. Allow the butter to sit at room temperature for a few hours before beginning this recipe.
Buttermilk – the slight tang of buttermilk adds a rich flavor that balances the sweetness of the sugar. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, see my instructions on how to make buttermilk using whole milk and lemon juice.
Eggs – used at room temperature, eggs give the cake batter a light and fluffy texture that you expect from a classic cake.
Cream Cheese – room temperature cream cheese is whipped with butter, two kinds of sugar, and vanilla to make a fluffy frosting for layering and decorating the cake. Use block-style full-fat cream cheese for the best taste.
Cinnamon – a good quality ground cinnamon adds lots of flavor and color to the cake layers and delivers a big snickerdoodle taste.
How to Make Snickerdoodle Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or using a hand electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined before adding the next one. Beat in the vanilla.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the dry ingredients mixture.
4. Add half of the buttermilk. Repeat, alternating between the flour mixture and the buttermilk until both are fully combined. Stop mixing to scrape down the bowl occasionally.
5. Divide the batter among the prepared cake pans.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the cake batter in each pan.
7. Swirl the cake batter gently with the tip of a knife to disperse the cinnamon sugar. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few crumbs. Let the cakes cool for 20 minutes in the pans. Invert onto a wire rack, remove the parchment paper, and cool completely.
8. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until creamy, about 1 minute. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar. Stop occasionally and scrape down the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. Once combined, increase the speed to medium-low and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute.
9. Place 1 cup of frosting in a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Place one cake layer on a cake stand. Top with 1 cup of frosting, spreading smoothly out to the edges. Place another cake layer on top and repeat with 1 cup of frosting. Top with the final cake layer, and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake.
10. Pipe decorations on the top edge of the cake with the reserved frosting. Chill for 30 minutes to set the frosting before serving.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Use cake flour. Cake flour has a lower protein content resulting in a light and soft vanilla cake with the perfect crumb.
- Set the mixer to a low speed when adding dry ingredients. When mixing in the dry ingredients, use a low speed so that you don’t create clouds of flour and sugar in your kitchen or lose valuable ingredients!
- Allow time for ingredients to reach room temperature. Some ingredients for this recipe need to be used at room temperature. This includes the buttermilk and eggs for the cake and the cream cheese for the frosting. Plan to remove these ingredients from the refrigerator a few hours before you plan to start baking.
- Line cake pans with parchment. To easily remove the three cake layers from the pans, grease the pans and line them with a circle of parchment paper. You can use pre-cut parchment rounds or trace your pan and cut your own.
- Portion the cake batter with a large scoop. To evenly divide the batter between the three cake pans, use a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop. You can also use a kitchen scale to help ensure that the cakes are the same size.
- Swirl the cinnamon mixture with the tip of a knife. Using just the tip of the knife, swirl the cinnamon mixture into the cake batter. Move your knife across the pan a few times in a swirl pattern, being careful not to touch the bottom of the pan which may cut the parchment liner.
- Cool the cake before frosting. While assembling the cake is exciting, make sure the cake layers cool to room temperature before adding the frosting. A hot or warm cake will melt or soften the frosting.
- Refrigerate the decorated cake for 30 minutes before serving. The icing will firm in the refrigerator for clean slices that are easy to cut.
- Enjoy the decorating process. This snickerdoodle cake is decorated with simple swirls of frosting, but you can personalize the decoration process. If you’re newer to layer cakes, see my tips on how to decorate a cake for both troubleshooting and inspiration!
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftovers keep in a cake dome, in an airtight container, or covered in plastic wrap at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let the cake sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing.
The Snickerdoodle cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. Place the cake on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the frosting has firmed up. Remove the cake from the freezer, wrap the entire cake in two layers of plastic wrap, then seal it in a freezer-safe container or wrap it tightly in aluminum foil. To freeze individual slices, wrap each slice in plastic wrap and then seal it in a zip-top bag or freezer-safe container. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Serve this cinnamon cake with cream cheese frosting with Irish coffee, espresso martinis, or a glass of milk. For an additional pop of cinnamon, serve with Mexican hot chocolate or wassail with a cinnamon stick. For the holiday season, add some sugared cranberries and fresh greenery sprigs to your cake plate. Serve this snickerdoodle cookie cake with an assortment of bite-size holiday treats like meringue cookies, buckeyes, or spritz cookies.
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Snickerdoodle Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3¾ cups cake flour (468g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (227g)
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature (240mL)
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Cinnamon Swirl:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
For the Frosting:
- 2 (8-ounce/227g) blocks cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar (220g)
- 6 cups powdered sugar (720g)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three (8-inch) round cake pans with baking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined before adding the next one. Stop to scrape down the sides as needed. Beat in the vanilla.
- With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture, followed but half of the buttermilk. Repeat, alternating between the flour mixture and the buttermilk until both are fully combined. Stop to scrape down the bowl occasionally. Divide the batter among the prepared cake pans.
For the Cinnamon Swirl:
- In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the cake batter in each pan and swirl gently with the tip of a knife.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs. Let the cakes cool for 20 minutes in the pans. Invert onto cooling racks, remove the parchment paper, and let the cakes cool completely.
For the Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until creamy and well combined, about 1 minute.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar. Stop occasionally and scrape down the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. Once combined, increase the speed to medium-low and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute.
For the Assembly:
- Place 1 cup of frosting in a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
- Place one cooled cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with 1 cup of frosting, spreading smoothly out to the edges. Place another cake layer on top and repeat with 1 cup of frosting. Top with the final cake layer, and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake.
- Pipe decorations on the top edge of the cake with the reserved frosting. Chill for 30 minutes to set the frosting before serving. Cake can be covered and stored at room temperature or refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Use cake flour. Cake flour has a lower protein content resulting in a light and soft vanilla cake with the perfect crumb.
- Set the mixer to a low speed when adding dry ingredients. When mixing in the dry ingredients, use a low speed so that you don’t create clouds of flour and sugar in your kitchen or lose valuable ingredients!
- Allow time for ingredients to reach room temperature. Some ingredients for this recipe need to be used at room temperature. This includes the buttermilk and eggs for the cake and the cream cheese for the frosting. Plan to remove these ingredients from the refrigerator a few hours before you plan to start baking.
- Line cake pans with parchment. To easily remove the three cake layers from the pans, grease the pans and line them with a circle of parchment paper. You can use pre-cut parchment rounds or trace your pan and cut your own.
- Portion the cake batter with a large scoop. To evenly divide the batter between the three cake pans, use a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop. You can also use a kitchen scale to help ensure that the cakes are the same size.
- Swirl the cinnamon mixture with the tip of a knife. Using just the tip of the knife, swirl the cinnamon mixture into the cake batter. Move your knife across the pan a few times in a swirl pattern, being careful not to touch the bottom of the pan which may cut the parchment liner.
- Cool the cake before frosting. While assembling the cake is exciting, make sure the cake layers cool to room temperature before adding the frosting. A hot or warm cake will melt or soften the frosting.
- Refrigerate the decorated cake for 30 minutes before serving. The icing will firm in the refrigerator for clean slices that are easy to cut.
- Enjoy the decorating process. This snickerdoodle cake is decorated with simple swirls of frosting, but you can personalize the decoration process. If you’re newer to layer cakes, see my tips on how to decorate a cake for both troubleshooting and inspiration!
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