Honey Bun Cake

This delicious honey bun cake starts with a box of yellow cake mix, has moist soft crumb, sweet and crunchy cinnamon, and brown sugar filling, and is covered with sweet vanilla glaze. It is a twist on the classic honey bun swirls.

How many honey buns can you eat at once? It should be a competition somewhere on the planet. Oh wait…it is! There is even a World Guinness Record.

But that’s the thing, sometimes I find myself reminiscing about childhood honey bun cake… so I made one!

It is, of course, a creative take on the good old bun with cinnamon swirl and honey flavor. My version of a delicious honey bun cake is not a roll at all – it is a whole layer of cake with crisp sweet filling inside.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It is one giant honey bun. Perfect breakfast or afternoon snack.
• Minimal prep time – just 15 minutes and smart use of the cake batter shortcut – yellow cake mix is a great base for the honey bun cake recipe. There is no kneading the dough and no mixer is needed.
• A slice of honey bun cake is a perfect sweet treat to go with a morning cup of coffee. It is not overly sweet yet delicious cake.
• The sticky sweetness of the icing is irresistible and absolutely delicious.
• Easy to customize: we can mix in some chocolate chips, coffee, nuts, raisins, make cinnamon swirls, and so on.

Honey Bun Vs Honey Bun Cake

A honey bun is very close to donuts, a cinnamon roll, and a Cinnabon roll. We all know about these sweet pastry with honey and cinnamon flavors. It sounds delicious, right?

It is said to be originating from North Carolina and there is a specific man who came up with it – Howard Griffin! He used yeast, honey, cinnamon and batter and fried those little buns.

The honey bun cake is what grandmas used to make – it is not a roll but a single cake layer covered with glaze. It has cinnamon and sweetness, but sometimes no actual honey in the recipe, but it still tastes exactly the same!

So why was it called honey bun cake then? The Griffin’s restaurant was producing both cinnamon rolls and its version with honey. To distinguish he went with the simplest name.

As it was also mass-produced, the manufacturers called it a honey bun as it reminded them of a honeycomb. Probably because pour the glaze on top you can also poke holes in the baked cake.

Ingredients Notes

For Cake Batter

• Yellow cake mix is my go-to shortcut for easy baking recipes. You can technically use any other boxed mix, but the yellow mix is the best choice. It is soft and fluffy, all we need. Surely, you can make the cake base from scratch!
• Eggs make sure all the ingredients combine well and the cake has a rich texture.
• Sour cream. Adding dairy and oil will help to make the boxed cake mix taste better, and make tender crumb, and moist cake. You can also use plain Greek yogurt or vegan cream (coconut cream), and cream cheese for extra creamy and soft crumb.
• Vegetable oil or melted butter to keep the cake moist. I feel like the oil does a better job at it but butter makes the cake rich.

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture

• Brown sugar (light brown sugar or dark brown sugar)
• Ground cinnamon is responsible for the amazing cinnamon flavor in every bite.

Icing (Sweet Glaze)

• Confectioners sugar or powdered sugar.
• Pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. High quality as you will be able to taste the difference.
• Whole Milk or coconut milk for vegan cake.

Kitchen Equipment

• 9×13 baking pan. You can also use a bundt pan or a sheet cake pan for honey bun cakes.
• Small bowl and a large bowl for mixing ingredients. No electric mixer is required!

How To Make Honey Bun Cake With Yellow Cake Mix

Making honey bun cake is super easy, we mix the batter, spread half of it in the prepared baking dish, add the cinnamon sugar mixture, cover it with the remaining batter, and bake it! Once done we pour homemade glaze of choice over the cake and that’s it! Very beginner-friendly recipe.

1: Mix The Cake Batter

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9×13 baking dish well, on the sides too. Set aside.
3. Combine the cake mix, eggs, sour cream, and oil in a large mixing bowl. Beat until well combined. Scrape down the sides and mix again.
4. Transfer half the batter to the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer.

2: Make The Brown Sugar Cinnamon Mixture

1. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the top of the batter. You can gently swirl it with a butter knife if you want to make cinnamon swirls.
2. Add the remaining cake batter on top of the brown sugar layer.

3: Bake The Cake & Cool

1. Bake for 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven until the center is set and no longer jiggly and the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few little crumbs. Cake testers can also help to determine doneness.
2. Allow the cake to cool completely (at least 30-45 minutes) before adding the icing.

4: Add The Vanilla Glaze

1. Prepare the icing by combining the confectioner’s sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Whisk together until smooth. 
2. Pour glaze over the top of the cake and spread until even and smooth. Allow to cool for 25-30 minutes before serving.
3. Serve with a cup of milk.

Storage

Let the cake cool completely first. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Honey bun cake freezes well. Tightly wrap individual slices in one layer of plastic wrap and another layer of foil and freeze in a freezer-safe bag for 1 month. If you are making ahead the entire cake, wrap it the same way and store it for 1-2 months.

Thaw overnight in the fridge and warm the cake up in a microwave for 30 seconds.

Substitutions & Variations

• Cinnamon coffee cake. Need more flavor? Add some espresso powder or brewed coffee into the cake.
• Add honey. If the idea of not having honey in the cake is not for you, add some honey to the glaze!
• Add toasted chopped nuts, like pecans or walnuts into the batter, to the sugar mixture, or as a topping.
• Make cream cheese topping like for cinnamon rolls.
• You can introduce more warm spices in the sugar mixture for the filling. Nutmeg is a good choice if you like it. You can also just use the pumpkin or apple spice package.
• Serving it with a berry sauce and whipped cream is a pure delight. Try cranberry! You can also serve it with Debbie’s honey bun ice cream.
• Batter variations. Fall recipes can include sweet potato or pumpkin puree – it will be so creamy and rich. Spiked honey bun cake can be made with bourbon or rum.

Expert Tips To Make The Best Honeybun Cake

• The batter on top of the cinnamon sugar may be hard to spread, so be patient and try using an offset spatula.
• The icing can be thinned with additional milk until it reaches the desired consistency.
• You can pour the glaze on top of the hot cake but it will melt and get absorbed, possibly making the cake a bit too damp. If you pour the glaze over the cool cake it will set on top.
• Poke holes in the cake before pouring the glaze to make it look like honeycomb and let the icing penetrate deep inside.

Popular Questions

What Is Honey Bun Cake Made Of?

Easy honey bun cake is usually made of cake layer and simple glaze. The honey bun cake contains yellow cake mix, sour cream, eggs, and vegetable oil. Sugar icing goes on top. The cake can also have a cinnamon sugar swirl as a filling.

What Is Honey Bun Icing Made Of?

Honey bun cake icing is a 3-ingredient glaze made of sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. You simply whisk the ingredients until silky smooth and pour over the cake.

What’s The Difference Between A Honey Bun And A Cinnamon Bun?

Both cinnamon rolls and honey buns have cinnamon in them and original recipes also had yeast for both. The honey bun also has honey in it, which a cinnamon bun never has. While they are very similar in how they look and are made, they taste different. 

If you love this cake recipe, you’re going to love these other tasty cake recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Copycat Treats

Thin Mint Cookies – Copycat Recipe

Cosmic Brownies

Homemade Crunch Bars

Frosted Animal Cookies

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