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The Honey Bun Cake is a viral sensation that’s super moist and has that classic vibe, it’s layered with a yummy crunchy cinnamon brown sugar filling and topped off with a sweet glaze. It’s giving a mash-up of honey bun and coffee cake!
Why You’ll Love Honey Bun Cake
❤️ The cinnamon and brown sugar provides the perfect cozy warm flavor for the fall and holiday season.
❤️ It’s equally good with coffee as it is served warm with ice cream. Bring this to a fall brunch, holiday dinner and even makes a fun game day treat.
❤️ In this simple Honey Bun Cake recipe, we are combining cream cheese with a box of cake mix for a sweet and simple recipe you can whip up with ease.
❤️ It’s wonderfully moist, indulgent, and brings a cozy warmth to the heart with this nostalgic flavor!
Key Ingredients
Check out how simple this ingredients list is for the honey bun cake. Most of these items are pantry and fridge staples.
Yellow Cake Mix – Duncan Hines was always recommended by my great-grandmother so that’s been our family choice whenever we aren’t baking cake from scratch.
Cream Cheese – a block of softened cream cheese is mixed with the bake batter. You can also substitute this for same measurement of sour cream (8 oz).
Eggs – a usual ingredient for cake mix. It binds the cake and creates structure.
Oil – adds texture and creates moisture.
Powdered Sugar – this will be used for our sweet icing
Milk – just a small amount to mix up with the powdered sugar for the icing.
Brown Sugar – brown sugar is spread in between cake layers for a sweet center.
Cinnamon – combined with the brown sugar in the middle, streusel-like layer.
Vanilla Extract – just a little vanilla for the icing.
How to Make Honey Bun Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the Cake Mix
In a large bowl, blend the softened cream cheese about 30 seconds (I use a hand mixer). Add in the eggs and oil and blend until smooth and no lumps remain.
Add in the dry cake mix and oil, blend just enough so there are no big streaks of flour. Be careful not to over-mix.
Add the Brown Sugar Layer
Place half of the cake mix into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle over the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture in the center. Top with the remaining cake mix and carefully spread it over the brown sugar using an offset spatula or back of spoon.
Bake the Cake
Bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You may need to add foil at the 20 minute mark to prevent the top from browning too quickly.
Poke Holes and Pour Icing
Allow cake to cool on the counter for 10 minutes. Use a fork or toothpick to poke holes repeatedly over the surface of the cake.
Whisk together the icing ingredients. Pour half the icing over the warm cake so it oozes down into the poked holes. Let the cake cool for 30 minutes or so and pour over the remaining icing.
Allow cake to cool fully before slicing and serving.
How to Store Honey Bun Cake
For optimal moistness, it’s best to keep the cake in-tact in the baking dish while storing. Once it’s sliced, it can get dryer quicker. Once the cake is fully cooled, cover it loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
My Favorite Tools for Honey Bun Cake
Can I Use White Cake Mix Instead?
Absolutely. With box cake mix, the white cake calls for egg whites only. Since we are ignoring the box instructions and using our own measurements for eggs and oil in this honey bun cake, using white cake mix won’t be an issue. It will be lighter in color but the taste will be nearly the same.
You can also use golden butter cake mix as well.
Don’t Have Cake Mix? Try This:
If you prefer to not use a box cake or don’t have one on hand, just use these ingredients:
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp salt
You’ll whisk these dry ingredients together and add them into the mix ingredients as you would the boxed cake mix.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe for this viral Honey Bun Cake. Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback!
If you make these or any other recipes, don’t forget to tag me on IG @BadBatchBaking to be featured on my story. Seeing your recreations makes my day!
Viral Honey Bun Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker
- 1-8 oz block cream cheese softened or sub with 8 oz sour cream
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup oil
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, blend the softened cream cheese about 30 seconds (I use a hand mixer). Add in the eggs and blend until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Add in the dry cake mix and oil, blend just enough so there are no big streaks of flour. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Place half of the cake mix into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle over the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture in the center. Top with the remaining cake mix and carefully spread it over the brown sugar using an offset spatula or back of spoon.
- Bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You may need to add foil at the 20 minute mark to prevent the top from browning too quickly.
- Allow cake to cool on the counter for 10 minutes. Use a fork or toothpick to poke holes repeatedly over the surface of the cake.
- Whisk together the icing ingredients. Pour half the icing over the warm cake so it oozes down into the poked holes. Let the cake cool for 30 minutes or so and pour over the remaining icing.
- Allow cake to cool fully before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
