Cake #19: Honey Bun Cake

When I saw this recipe for Honey Bun cake at The Country Cook I was intrigued because I hadn't seen anything like it before and you pour the glaze over the hot cake and eat it while the cake is still warm.

Talk about instant gratification. I was less thrilled about the base being a box mix.

Oh the horror!

This cake is so good. Holy cow! We unanimously decided it's in our top three best cakes from the project so far and there was a great change over in birthday cake plans. 

It's pretty darn insane - and a total sugar bomb. In a good way.

Imagine a cinnamon bun getting frisky with a yellow cake and making a beautiful baby... here's that baby:

The big changes I'd make next time is is reducing the brown sugar and cinnamon swirl to 1/2 or maybe 3/4 of a cup and to cut back on the glaze by about half. Otherwise it was perfection. 

If you have leftover pieces, warm them in the microwave for about 10 seconds, it really livens up the flavor.

*Note*

We made this a second time with adjustments so this current recipe reflects our changes

Ingredients:

1 box (18.25 Oz. Box) Yellow Cake Mix

4 Eggs

1 cup Sour Cream

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup apple sauce (if you don't have applesauce use 3/4 cup oil)
1 tsp Vanilla

3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

1 cup Powdered Sugar

3 Tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, applesauce and oil. Mix until well-incorporated. It’s okay if it is lumpy.

In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon until well-blended; set aside.

Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13×9 pan, spreading the batter out into a thin layer. Add all of the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture to the top, covering the entire layer of batter. Pour the rest of the cake batter on top, and spread the batter until the cake is even. Take a knife and use it to make swirl patterns around the cake.

Place the cake into the oven and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the glaze. In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until glaze is of desired consistency. 

When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour glaze onto the hot cake. You might have to pick up the cake and tilt it to spread the glaze evenly. Let the cake sit for a few minutes so the glaze can set and serve warm or at room temperature.