You will enjoy Honey Bun Cake at holidays, dinner parties, office birthdays, brunch, or any occasion that calls for a simple and sweet dessert! This easy cake recipe comes together quickly with the help of a boxed cake mix, but it’s elevated with the flavors of honey, cinnamon, and vanilla to make it extra delicious. Need more easy cake recipes? Try my Coca-Cola Cake, Gingerbread Cake, Better than Sex Cake or Hot Milk Cake recipes next!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You might also like to make my Cinnamon Coffee Cake with a classic crumb topping. It’s very similar to this honey bun cake recipe, but it’s a bit lighter in texture and made from scratch.
Ingredients In Honey Bun Cake
Here’s what you need to make this delectable dessert: Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Cake Mix: A box of yellow cake mix keeps this recipe simple. Use the ingredients listed in this recipe to make the cake batter, rather than the ones listed on the box. Oil, Sour Cream, Eggs: This is what we’ll mix with the cake mix to make it extra rich and dense. Honey: This adds more sweetness and a lightly floral flavor to the cake. Cinnamon Swirl: Ground cinnamon, light brown sugar, and optional chopped pecans make up the center swirl for this cake. Glaze: Whisk up some powdered sugar with milk and vanilla extract to make a shiny glaze for your honey bun cake.
How To Make Honey Bun Cake
Recipe Tips
The glaze is optional. Honestly, this cake is perfectly sweet without it, so you may enjoy it better without that extra layer of sugar. The glaze is very pretty though and gives you the full Little Debbie honey bun experience. Ignore the box cake instructions. Seriously, just recycle the box, don’t even look at it! You don’t want to add the ingredients it calls for, instead, mix up the powder with the ingredients listed in the recipe card below. Instead of sour cream, you can use unsweetened yogurt to achieve the same effect. For a fancier presentation, bake this cake in a bundt pan instead of a 9×13-inch cake pan. The cake will likely need a few extra minutes in the oven if you bake it this way. Try adding the cinnamon sugar to the top of the cake, instead of in the middle. It’s a bit easier to do it this way, just use a knife to gently swirl the mixture into the cake.
Storing Tips
Keep leftovers in a sealed container. The cake will stay fresh at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.
Honey Bun Cake Variations
Try adding a topping to the cake. More chopped pecans are a great idea, or you can mini chocolate chips or chocolate shavings. Flavor the glaze. Replace the liquid in the glaze with something more flavorful. A bit of honey will mirror the flavors already in the cake, or you can add something tangy or acidic like buttermilk or orange juice to add balance to the cake.
Bake this super sweet, super simple Honey Bun Cake for whatever your next special occasion is! Everyone loves this recipe, so be sure to save it. © Little Sunny Kitchen
