Looking for the ultimate dessert to satisfy your sweet cravings? Dive into this easy-to-make Cinnamon Cake that's not only moist and delicious but also gluten-free friendly! Each bite offers the comforting warmth of cinnamon paired perfectly with a luscious cream cheese frosting. Crafted for both vegan and gluten-free dessert lovers, this cake ensures everyone can indulge without compromise. Perfect for every occasion, from Sunday brunch to special celebrations, this cinnamon delight is bound to be your new go-to recipe.
If you have never had vegan cinnamon cake with cream cheese frosting, you are truly missing out. This is essentially coffee cake for vegans and it is super fluffy, tender and delicious. You can make this into a gluten-free cinnamon cake, or even a whole wheat cinnamon cake with just a few adjustments.
I am a HUGE fan of cinnamon, so I love to enjoy this cinnamon cake with a cup of chai for a morning breakfast or an afternoon treat. Skip the coffee shop coffee cake, and give this vegan cinnamon cake a try!
Why You'll Love This Cinnamon Cake
- Simple to Make: This vegan cinnamon cake is simple to make and uses simple ingredients. The result is a delicious, tender treat that vegan and non-vegans can enjoy!
- Satisfying: A slice of this cinnamon swirl cake with a cup of masala chai or coffee is all you need to start your day.
Cinnamon Cake Ingredients
Vegan cinnamon cake with cream cheese frosting is made with pantry staples and can be made without the cream cheese frosting if preferred. Here's what you'll need:
- Milk: Any variety of milk will do. If you want this recipe to stay vegan, opt for almond milk or oat milk.
- Butter: To keep this cake tender, some melted butter is added to the mix. Use vegan butter to keep the recipe vegan!
- Vanilla Extract: For added flavor.
- Maple Syrup: Instead of sugar, we use maple syrup. This is a great natural substitute to sugar. You can also use agave or honey if you have that on hand.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Adds rise to the cake and ensure even, proper baking.
- Flour: You can use all purpose flour here, or if you prefer to make a gluten-free cinnamon cake, use a gluten-free flour all purpose flour. Our favorite brand is King Arthur Measure for Measure.
- Cinnamon: For the beautiful and delicious cinnamon swirls.
For the Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Confectioners Sugar: Otherwise known as (powdered sugar) adds sweetness and texture to the vegan cream cheese frosting.
- Butter: You can use regular butter or vegan butter in this delicious cinnamon cake recipe.
- Cream Cheese: Because this is a vegan recipe, use vegan cream cheese. If you are not vegan or dairy-free, regular cream cheese will work.
How to Make Cinnamon Cake
This easy cinnamon swirl cake just take a little bit of prep and mixing, and then the oven does all the work! You don't have to be a seasoned cake-maker to be able to make this delicious creation.
For full, printable instructions, reference the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, prep the batter by mixing the milk, butter, vanilla, maple syrup, baking soda and baking powder together. Once incorporated, mix in the flour. Finally, pour cinnamon on top of the batter and use a knife to swirl it into the batter.
Step 2: Pour the batter into a 9x5 loaf pan or any other cake pan. Make sure to spray your cake with non-stick spray so that it doesn't stick. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown. If you used a larger pan, it will take less time to bake.
Step 3: While the cake is baking, you can prepare the frosting. Mix all of the ingredients together using a hand mixer or stand mixer until everything is incorporated.
Step 4: Let the cinnamon cake cool for 5-10 minutes and then spread the frosting over the top, and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Don't over mix the ingredients: Once the flour is added, make sure you don't over mix. The flour starts to develop gluten and can get tough once baked if you over mix it!
- For a Streusel Topping: If you want a streusel topping instead of cream cheese frosting, pour a cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the batter once it is in the loaf or cake pan. Bake and you will have a crunchy, caramelized cinnamon topping!
- To ensure the cake doesn't stick to the pan: Grease the pan with non-stick spray or line the whole loaf pan with parchment paper to make it super easy to get it out of the pan!
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! You can bake this cake, let it cook and then wrap it well in plastic wrap and put it into an airtight container. Thaw it before you put on the frosting. In the fridge, this cake will last up to one week.
Definitely, you can substitute the flour for whole wheat flour to make this vegan cinnamon cake more healthy!
More Vegan Cake Recipes to Try
- Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
- Cookies & Cream Chocolate Cake
- Super Moist Strawberry Cake
- Vegan Rainbow Funfetti Cake
Cinnamon Cake
Ingredients
Cinnamon Cake
- 1 cup almond or oat milk
- ½ cup melted vegan butter
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cup all purpose flour or gluten free all purpose flour If gluten-free, I recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure. Please don't substitute any other flour such as almond flour, baking flour, etc.
- 3 teaspoon cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 ½ cup confectioners sugar
- ¼ cup softened vegan butter
- 4 oz vegan cream cheese
Instructions
Cinnamon Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- In a large mixing bowl, mix almond or oat milk, melted butter, vanilla, maple syrup, baking soda, and baking powder together.
- Then, mix in flour. Finally, pour cinnamon on top of the batter and use a knife to swirl it 2 or 3 times. Pour the batter into a 9x5 loaf pan or any other cake pan.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until the loaf is golden. You will need less time if you bake it in a shallow cake pan.
- While the cake is baking, prepare your vegan cream cheese frosting by using a hand mixer to mix all of the ingredients together.
- Let the cake cool for about 5 or 10 minutes and then spread the frosting over the top. Enjoy!
Nutrition
The recipes on Peanut Butter and Jilly can easily be adapted to fit a vegan lifestyle, a gluten-free lifestyle, or both depending on the ingredients you use. Please review the ingredients lists carefully and refer to our recommendations in the Notes of the recipe card to make this recipe compatible with your needs. Nutrition information provided is an estimate, and will vary based on specific brands of ingredients used and cooking methods.
Gabriela says
Can I substitute maple syrup with brown sugar ? Or coconut oil instead of vegan butter ?
JillianGlenn says
I haven't tried it but I don't see why it wouldn't work!
Katie says
This looks delicious! What type of vegan cream cheese do you use?
JillianGlenn says
Hi Katie! My favorite is Miyoko's Creamery!
Yasmeen says
I know there are no substitutes for flour but would whole wheat flour work just the same as all purpose?
JillianGlenn says
Hi Yasmeen, only all purpose will work in this recipe!
Noora says
Can I substitute the almond milk with another non dairy milk? And what would you recommend?
JillianGlenn says
Hi Noora, great question! You can absolutely substitute another non dairy milk here! I'd use oat milk!
Elyse says
Hello, is the batter normally liquidy? I followed proportions ! 🙁
JillianGlenn says
Nope, it's a fairly standard consistency of cake batter! My guess is that you didn't use the proper type of flour! Make sure it's an all purpose flour!
Millie says
Mine came out runny too but it doesn’t make a difference once baked. I baked my loaf for 45 minutes and it was perfectly golden. You don’t need a perfect consistency for this recipe in my opinion!
Jillian Glenn says
Couldn't agree more!
Millie says
Jillian,
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made this for Christmas morning and I loved it. I used soy milk, olive oil, and gluten free all purpose flour as my modifications. This cake baked perfectly and was the best golden color when I took it out of the oven. I love the taste of these as they’re not super sweet even though a cup of maple syrup is included. I strongly recommend you substitute olive oil for vegan butter as it tastes unbelievably yummy! I didn’t serve my cake with any frosting because I didn’t think it was necessary. I can’t stop eating this loaf and I am sad that it is almost gone. Although I am already planning on making it again in the next few weeks!
You definitely have a happy viewer and I have definitely added this recipe into my favorite recipes folder. Thank you again for sharing this with us!
Jillian Glenn says
Hi Millie, Merry Christmas! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the cake. Your modifications sound delicious!
Samantha L says
Hi there I just made this with no modifications...followed recipe exactly, used regular all-purpose flour not gluten free. After 50 minutes in the oven it’s not cooked through at all. The outside appears done and golden but inside is like raw batter. Do I just keep cooking??
Jillian Glenn says
My guess is that you didn't use one of the recommended flours and instead used a different type/brand. Many people accidentally use Bob's Red Mill "1-1 Baking Flour" which is not the same as their "All Purpose Flour" as the recipe requests.
Aisha says
Hi is 1/2 cup softened butter and melted butter about 113 grams ?
Jillian Glenn says
I believe you're close?
Rose Pauter says
I didn’t make it vegan. I cut the maple syrup in half as 1 cup is a lot of sugar, subbed in 1/2 cup of Swerve granular sugar as well. Only used 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce in the loaf. I used AP flour. The consistency was like cake batter. Also used Swerve confectioners sugar for the cream cheese frosting, using some unsweetened almond milk to thin it to desired consistency. The loaf itself is not very sweet which I enjoyed, with the frosting it added the perfect amount of sweetness. I put the frosting on each individual slice instead of the whole loaf. Highly recommend and also think it would be delicious with chocolate chips added.
Jillian says
Hi Rose, thank you so much for trying my cinnamon cake recipe! Glad to hear it worked out with your reduced sugar/oil swaps. Thanks for the kind review of my recipe!
Sue says
What size pan should I use? 🙂
Jillian says
Hi there! I used a 9x5 metal loaf pan. Hope you love it!
Lisa says
Can you make in sheet pan? I want to double recipe for a party
Jillian says
Absolutely! I'd bake on a lower temp - maybe 350.
Erica says
Hi!
Could I use granulated sugar instead of maple syrup? If so, how much granulated sugar?
Thanks!
Virginia says
Is there a vegan butter brand that you recommend? I’ve tried a few and can’t find one that I love.
Jillian Glenn says
I like country crock plant butter or Miyokos! Earth balance is also another go-to of mine.
Shelbie says
I fully planned on making this as written, but I realized partway through that I was out of vegan butter (I am not vegan, but I am dairy free). I wish I’d seen the comment that olive oil works well, but I was out of veg oil too so subbed 1/2 c applesauce and it came out beautifully! Since I used applesauce, I cut the maple syrup in half so it wouldn’t be super sweet. I did the streusel topping option instead and it came out flawlessly. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Mireille says
I made this for a Thanksgiving dessert and it was wonderful. I actually used Walmart's Great Value GF All Purpose mix and used half maple syrup and half brown sugar with extra milk to make up for difference in liquid volume. This is a keeper!!!