Lava Cakes

Cinnamon Roll Lava Cake

Soft cinnamon-spiced vanilla layers, gooey cinnamon roll filling, and your choice of tangy cream cheese frosting or sturdy vanilla buttercream.

Prep

1 hr 30 min

Bake

22-26 min

Total

About 3 hr, including cooling and chilling

Yield

One 8-inch three-layer cake

Jump to recipe How to make it

Surprise me

A note from my kitchen

Before you bake this

This is the cinnamon roll lava cake people kept asking me to make without banana. The cake layers are soft, warmly spiced, and intentionally simple so the gooey brown sugar filling can be the center of attention.

You can finish it with cream cheese frosting for that classic cinnamon roll tang or use my vanilla buttercream when you want the most structurally sound option. Both are an absolute dream. It really comes down to preference.

The filling can be thick and chewy or loosened into a softer sauce. I made the version in these photos without extra milk, so it stayed thicker between the layers. You can always spoon more over each slice when serving.

Save me a slice ;)

Thinking out loud

A Year of Learning in One Cake

The cravings, questions, and running commentary behind this bake.

Cinnamon Roll Lava Cake with a slice plated beside the cut layer cake — The cinnamon lava cake that started it all, rebuilt with everything I have learned since.

I created my banana cinnamon roll cake about a year ago, when I had around 5,000 followers and mostly used my Instagram page to share my favorite meals and desserts. It became one of my first cakes to go viral, and so many people asked for a version without banana that I made one shortly afterward.

This recipe is an improved version of that original cinnamon lava cake. It is wild how much you can learn in a year when you genuinely obsess over something. My love for baking has only grown, and with it have come new techniques, more knowledge, and a much better understanding of how I want these cakes to work.

I have found myself returning to the recipes that helped build this little baking community and giving them everything I know now. This cake still has the nostalgic cinnamon roll center people loved, but the cake, filling, frosting, and assembly are more intentional from beginning to end.

Read this first

The quick notes.

Flavor

Brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla bean, nutmeg, cardamom, and tangy cream cheese.

Texture

Soft cake layers, smooth frosting, and a thick, gooey cinnamon filling.

Best moment

Cutting the first slice and seeing the cinnamon filling settle between the layers.

From this recipe

Tested notes

Use full-fat brick cream cheese only. Tub-style cream cheese will make the frosting too soft for this filled layer cake.

Cream cheese frosting is more delicate than buttercream. Keep the filling conservative, chill whenever the cake feels soft, and serve extra filling with each slice.

The buttercream option is sturdier and can support a more generous amount of filling.

The filling shown in these photos was made without the optional milk for a thicker, chewier consistency.

Ingredient notes

Key ingredients

Cake flour

Cake flour keeps the cinnamon-spiced layers light and tender enough to balance the rich filling and frosting.

Light brown sugar

A fine light brown sugar dissolves smoothly into the filling. Organic brown sugar often has larger crystals and may leave a slightly grainier texture, which is still delicious but worth knowing before you begin.

Full-fat brick cream cheese

Use cold, full-fat cream cheese sold in bricks. Tub-style cream cheese contains more moisture and will not make a frosting sturdy enough for this filled layer cake.

Vanilla bean paste

Vanilla bean paste rounds out the warm spices in the cake, filling, and frosting without competing with the cinnamon.

Dry ingredients being added to the wet ingredients for cinnamon-spiced vanilla cake layers — Mix gently once the dry ingredients go in so the cake layers stay soft and tender.

Testing notes

Why this works

How to keep cream cheese frosting smooth and stable

Begin with butter that is cool, pliable, firm, and matte at about 62-65°F. Beat it smooth, add the powdered sugar before the cream cheese, then add small pieces of cold full-fat brick cream cheese last. Mix on low only until smooth. Warm ingredients, tub-style cream cheese, or prolonged whipping can make the frosting loose or curdled.

Why the cream cheese goes in last

Cream cheese contains more water than butter. Building the butter and powdered sugar base first, then adding cold cream cheese gradually, helps the frosting maintain a smoother and more stable emulsion.

How to choose between the two frostings

Cream cheese frosting is softer and more delicate, with the tang I love in a cinnamon roll. Vanilla buttercream is much more structurally sound for a lava cake and can support a more generous filling. Both work beautifully, so choose based on flavor and how comfortable you are stacking filled layer cakes.

How to control the filling consistency

Cook the filling a little longer for a thicker, chewier consistency and skip the additional milk, as I did in these photos. For a softer sauce, slowly add room-temperature milk after the filling is completely chilled. Keep the simmer controlled and make sure the sugar dissolves rather than overheating the mixture.

Why the frosting dam matters

A tall, sturdy dam carries the weight of the next cake layer and keeps the filling from pushing through the sides. Spread only a thin layer of frosting inside the dam before adding the filling.

Thick cinnamon roll filling spooned inside a tall frosting dam — A tall, sturdy frosting dam is what keeps the gooey center where it belongs.

How it comes together

Slice of Cinnamon Roll Lava Cake with thick filling between three layers

Cake flour mixture being added to the wet ingredients

Cinnamon filling added inside a tall frosting dam

Cake layer being placed over cinnamon filling and frosting

Vanilla frosting being added to a cinnamon cake layer

Thick cinnamon filling being spread inside the frosting dam

Cinnamon filling swirled over the frosted cake

Finished slice of Cinnamon Roll Lava Cake on a white plate

Cut Cinnamon Roll Lava Cake with a finished slice in front

Small things that matter

Tips for the best cake

Use cold, full-fat brick cream cheese. Do not use cream cheese from a tub.

Keep the butter around 62-65°F. It should bend when pressed but still look firm and matte, never shiny or greasy.

Sift the powdered sugar so the frosting becomes smooth without requiring extra mixing.

Once the cream cheese is incorporated, mix on low only until the frosting is smooth. Do not continue whipping it.

If the cream cheese frosting loosens at room temperature, chill it before assembly, then mix briefly on low until smooth.

Chill the cake layers and make sure the cinnamon filling is completely cold before stacking the cake.

If you are new to filled layer cakes, apply the filling conservatively when using cream cheese frosting. Spoon extra filling over each slice instead of trying to make the center overflow.

Buttercream is the more structurally sound option and can support a more generous amount of filling.

For a thicker filling, cook it slightly longer and do not add the optional milk. For a thinner sauce, add room-temperature milk only after it is fully chilled.

Use fine light brown sugar for the smoothest filling. Larger organic brown sugar crystals may create a slightly grainier texture.

Close view of Cinnamon Roll Lava Cake layers with thick cinnamon filling — Keep the filling conservative during assembly, then add more to each slice if you want it extra gooey.

Cinnamon Roll Lava Cake and plated slice showing the layered filling

Before you slice

Texture and serving notes

For the cleanest slices, chill the assembled cake before cutting and wipe the knife between slices.

Let each slice sit briefly at room temperature so the cake softens and the cinnamon filling relaxes.

Serve extra cinnamon filling alongside the cake so everyone can make their slice as gooey as they like.

Keep it good

Storage

Fridge

Store the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Fridge

Keep a cake made with cream cheese frosting chilled whenever it is not being served.

Serve

Let refrigerated slices sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Recipe FAQ

Questions that come up

Can I use tub-style cream cheese for the frosting?

No. Use cold, full-fat cream cheese bricks. Tub-style cream cheese contains more moisture, so the frosting will not be stable enough to dam and stack this filled layer cake.

Why did my cream cheese frosting become loose or curdled?

The butter may have been too warm, the cream cheese may have softened, or the frosting may have been mixed too long after the cream cheese was added. Keep the cream cheese cold, the butter around 62-65°F, and add the cream cheese last. If the finished frosting loosens, chill it before assembling the cake and mix it briefly on low.

Can I make this cake with buttercream instead?

Yes. Vanilla buttercream is included as an option and is more structurally sound than cream cheese frosting. It is especially helpful if you are new to filled layer cakes or want to use a little more cinnamon filling.

How do I make the cinnamon filling thicker or thinner?

For a thicker, chewier filling, let it simmer slightly longer and omit the optional milk. For a thinner sauce, cool it completely, then slowly add room-temperature milk starting with 1 tablespoon. The version shown here does not contain additional milk.

Can I use organic brown sugar in the filling?

Yes. Organic brown sugar often has larger crystals, so the filling may have a slightly grainier texture. I prefer a finer light brown sugar because it dissolves more smoothly, but both taste delicious.

Can I use vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean paste?

Yes. Replace the vanilla bean paste with the same amount of vanilla extract. The flavor will be slightly different, but the recipe will still work.

Can I make this cake gluten-free?

Yes. Use my gluten-free vanilla cake recipe for the cake layers, and add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom to its dry ingredients: Gluten-Free Vanilla Bean Lava Cake

Why don't you provide volume measurements?

I know cups feel familiar, but weight is the most reliable way to give you the same result I tested. Flour, sugar, yogurt, milk, and other primary ingredients can vary a surprising amount when scooped or poured, while grams keep the recipe's ratios accurate. A scale is also faster and means fewer dishes because many ingredients can be weighed directly into the bowls already used in the recipe instead of requiring a full set of measuring cups. I still use teaspoons and tablespoons for small quantities like leaveners, salt, spices, and flavorings, where they are the most practical choice.

Can I use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour?

Yes, but the cake will have a slightly sturdier, less fine crumb. You can replace the cake flour with the same amount of all-purpose flour by weight. For a closer substitute, use 105 g all-purpose flour plus 15 g cornstarch for every 120 g cake flour called for, whisking or sifting them together well. If the recipe separately lists additional cornstarch, keep that amount in the recipe too; this mixture replaces only the cake flour.

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