Easy Honey Bun Cake
A box of yellow cake mix is enhanced with brown sugar and cinnamon swirled in the batter and drizzled with icing to create a Honey Bun Cake.
If you enjoy this shortcut recipe you may also enjoy our Cinnamon Rolls From Frozen Bread Dough.
Also Called Sweet Sticky Bun Cake
My husband and son love sweet desserts and sweet breakfast treats. This Honey Bun Swirl Cake is so easy to make at home, but tastes as good as a honey bun or other sweet treat that you might pick up at a bakery or grocery store.
This cake is similar to our Buttermilk Coffee Cake, but easier because it uses a box mix! And it’s a much easier spin on our Old-Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls.
Honey Bun Cake is so good we’ve made it several times in the last few weeks. Adding sour cream and extra eggs to a box of Duncan Hines yellow cake mix adds so much moisture.
While the easy cake has always tasted great it has never looked the same. We like that kind of thing, a unique experience in each bite!
It Is Easy To Change The Look
The look of the cake varies depending on how aggressively you swirl. On a recent variation, my husband let our toddler do the swirling. Toddler swirling is definitely not replicable. So if you like an easy sweet coffee cake give it a few tries and experiment with your swirl skills.
We made it for guests that included a teenage boy. I’ve noticed that hungry growing boys seem to devour this cake the quickest and smile the biggest when eating Honey Bun Swirl Cake.
How to Make Honey Bun Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat cake mix, eggs, water, oil andsour cream together for 2 minutes in a mixing bowl. Scrape the bowl halfway through. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan
- Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans (if using) and sprinkle over batter. Take a butter knife and swirl filling and batter together. Swirl until clumps of brown sugar have sunken down into the batter.
- Mix brown sugar and cinnamon topping ingredients together and sprinkle over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- While cake is baking, make icing. Combine powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and salt in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour over cake immediately after it comes out of the oven.
- While the cake is still hot cover with foil and let cool.
Gooey Butter Cake also uses a box mix and adds cream cheese to make a gooey layer.
Milk Way Cake takes my absolute favorite candy bars melted and mixed in the cake and melted again for a rich icing.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake is a strawberry cake and spin on our super popular chocolate cake.
Cinnamon Applesauce Cake calls for cinnamon chips and applesauce and creates a unique cake you won’t forget.
The Best Cake Recipe is an old fashioned recipe with a delicious cream cheese icing that is delicious.
We hope you enjoy these easy cakes as much as we do!
Honey Bun Cake
Ingredients
Honey Bun Cake
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 4 eggs
- 1/3 cup water
- 3/4 cup oil
- 3/4 cup sour cream
Filling
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans optional
Topping
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Using an electric mixer, beat cake ingredients together for 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl halfway through. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan.
- Combine filling ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Take a butter knife and swirl filling and batter together. Swirl until clumps of brown sugar have sunken down into the batter.
- Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 35 – 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- While cake is baking, combine icing ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour over cake immediately after it comes out of the oven. While the cake is still hot cover with foil and let cool.
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Rate This Recipe Pin This RecipeOriginally published January 17, 2019. Pictures updated on February 19, 2021.
I made this cake and it looks wonderful but I’ve baked it for 45 min.and the middle is still wiggly.What did I do wrong.I followed the directions to a T.
Please help
Thanks for trying the recipe! My oven, altitude, pan and other variables worked well in the 25 – 30 minute time frame. Given so many things that can change baking time keep baking until a cake tester comes out clean. I hope you’re able to get it worked out and enjoy this delicious cake!
Loved these,will make them as a Sunday Brunch ad on,everyone loved them,and the lemon Cheesecake bars are great too,I added a bet more lemon juice for more lemon flavor & put grated lemon peel all over the top! Nummy!