Honey Bun Cake is a quick and easy cake recipe that is perfect when served for dessert or for breakfast as a coffee cake. This delicious cake has a cinnamon swirl all through the middle and the glaze is made with real honey.
This delicious Honey Bun Cake is a quick recipe that can easily be made for breakfast as a coffee cake.
The combination of cinnamon and sugar in the cake mix and the honey glaze makes this a standout recipe.
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Key to Success #1 – Sour Cream and Oil for Moisture
Honey Bun Cake starts off with a boxed cake mix to make things extra easy.
We’re using a yellow cake mix and doctoring it up with eggs, oil, and sour cream to make a super-moist cake.
You will not follow the directions on the box of cake mix. You will only add eggs, vegetable oil, and sour cream according to this recipe.
Use a hand mixer to beat together the cake batter until it is light and fluffy.
Key to Success #2 – Swirl the Cinnamon Sugar
One of the things that make this Honey Bun Cake really stand out is the swirl of cinnamon and sugar in the middle of the cake.
Spread half of the cake batter into the greased 9×13-inch baking pan.
Next, sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture all over the cake batter then spread the remaining cake batter over the top.
Finally, use a table knife to swirl the batter with the cinnamon and sugar.
You do not have to be super aggressive with the swirling.
Just lightly swirl the knife through the batter. It will create a pretty swirl of cinnamon through the cake.
Bake this Honey Bun Cake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Key to Success #3 – Top with Real Honey Glaze
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, it’s time to whip up the simple glaze.
The glaze for Honey Bun Cake is made from a little melted butter, some honey, milk, powdered sugar, and a tiny bit of salt. Nothing fancy.
The real honey adds a nice flavor to this easy glaze that you will not want to skip.
In a small bowl, stir together the glaze ingredients. Keep stirring until the glaze is thick and smooth.
You want the glaze to be thick but pourable.
Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze all over the top of the cake.
Since the cake is warm, the glaze should begin to melt into the top of the cake a bit and really make the flavors mesh together.
With this glaze recipe, you should have enough to fully cover the top of the cake.
You can use the back of a spoon to spread the glaze a bit if needed until it fully covers the cake.
Serve Honey Bun Cake warm or at room temperature.
Save this Honey Bun Cake recipe to your favorite Cakes Board or your Sweet Breakfast Ideas board.
Honey Bun Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 box 18.25 oz yellow cake mix
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
For the Glaze
- 2 Tbsp butter melted
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp milk
- 2 Tbsp honey
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9×13-inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together yellow cake mix, eggs, sour cream, and oil. Beat on medium speed 1-2 minutes, until fully combined.
- Spread half of the cake batter into the prepared pan.
- In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture over cake batter.
- Spread remaining cake batter over cinnamon mixture. Use a knife to swirl the batter.
- Bake 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- In a small bowl, stir together glaze ingredients until fully combined. Drizzle over warm cake and spread to fully cover the top. Serve warm or room temperature.