This Easy Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake Uses Boxed Cake Mix
Love soft cake and gooey cinnamon rolls?! 🙋🏻♀️
Here’s a dessert idea that combines the flavors and textures from a fluffy cake and a doughy roll into a yummy cinnamon roll poke cake! This is a fun and easy cake anyone can bake too because it starts out with a simple vanilla boxed cake mix, but tastes as if it came from a fancy bakery.
The three-step process of baking the cinnamon roll poke cake, whipping up the cinnamon filling, and making the frosting may seem a little involved, but it’s actually very easy to pull off.
Are you a visual learner? Watch my YouTube video below to see how easy this cinnamon roll poke cake is to put together.
In fact, this would be a yummy coffee cake to consider to serve at breakfast or brunch. It has a classic homemade cream cheese frosting that pairs so well with the soft cake and cinnamon filling.
The result is a decadent cake that my entire family loved, and I think yours will, too!
Tips for baking cinnamon roll poke cake:
- I used a vanilla cake mix but a white or yellow cake mix will work too!
- A poke cake means you’ll be making holes in a baked cake, then pouring the filling over the holes, and the mixture will sink inside them nicely. The end of a wooden spoon works great for making your holes in the cake after baking and cooling it.
- Make sure for the frosting your butter and cream cheese are softened so they will whip together nice and smoothly. Using them cold can cause the frosting to be lumpy.
- After frosting your cake, you can sprinkle the top with a bit more ground cinnamon for garnish to make it look pretty. Next time, I may consider sprinkling the top with walnuts or pecans for a yummy crunch!
Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake
yield: 10 SERVINGS
prep time: 25 MINUTES
cook time: 30 MINUTES
total time: 55 MINUTES
Cinnamon roll flavors in a soft cake form topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 15.25 oz box of vanilla or white cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
For the cinnamon filling:
- 7 oz. sweetened condensed milk (half the can)
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
For the frosting:
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Directions
1
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9"x13" casserole dish.
2
Use an electric mixer to beat cake mix, water, oil, and eggs together in a mixing bowl until batter is smooth, about 30 seconds.
3
Pour the cake batter evenly into the pan. Bake for 29-33 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes back clean. Let the cake cool completely.
4
Use a whisk to mix up the sweetened condensed milk, melted butter, ground cinnamon, and brown sugar for the cinnamon filling in a medium-sized bowl until smooth.
5
Use the back of a wooden spoon to poke holes throughout the cake. Pour the cinnamon sugar filling in the holes.
6
Now for the frosting, in a bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla extract, and then the powdered sugar.
7
Frost the cake with the cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle a little additional cinnamon for garnish on top. Enjoy!
Additional Notes
Recipe adapted from Delish.com
This cinnamon roll poke cake is a slice of heaven!
If you’re looking for an easy yet creative cake to make, definitely consider this delicious one!
My Hip sidekick and recipe tester, Jenna, tried this one out for me and here’s what she had to say –
“Oh I just love poke cakes! As for the cake, the ingredients, time, and temperature worked out beautifully. The cinnamon filling was super flavorful (just like the filling of a cinnamon roll) and the whole process was a lot of fun! The frosting was by far my favorite part! It was just like the frosting on a cinnamon roll, so it made this cake in my opinion.” – Jenna
Love cream cheese desserts? These sopapilla bars are delicious!
Lina this looks delicious but you need to slow down on the recipes I can’t keep up I am constantly putting your recipes in my recipe book after making. Now I have to go make this cake thanks for all you do
Ha! Thanks Julie! Enjoy this 💕
Right?!?! I just pinned one yesterday and haven’t even bought the ingredients yet! I guess I can get the stuff for this one at the same time! 😄
Haha 😂 Yes good thinking! Enjoy 😉
Thank you Lina.
Thanks Sherry! Enjoy 💕
Looks so yummy! I also love poke cakes!!!
Yay!! This one is so good 😊
Oooh yummy! I have some box cake mixes I wanted to use up, and this looks like a great way to do that! Also, I appreciate how you formatted the recipe so that it is printer-friendly without the big pictures included. Thanks!
Yes! We listened and changed that up – thanks for noticing and enjoy this yummy cake 🥰
I just made this and it’s so good!!!!!!!
Oh awesome! Thanks so much Brittany!
This looks delicious! I’m going to make this for Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome, Carmen. Hope you enjoy! 🥰