Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 box white cake mix, plus ingredients called for on box
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
4 tbsp. melted butter
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of kosher salt
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 (8-oz.) block cream cheese
4 tbsp. butter, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
Preparation
Step 1Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9"-x-13" baking pan with cooking spray. Prepare cake according to package directions. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean, 20 minutes. Let cool.Step 2Make filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Step 3Make frosting: In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Step 4In another large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together until no lumps remain. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth, then add in vanilla and a pinch of salt. Fold in whipped cream until just combined. Step 5Using the bottom of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over cake. Pour filling over and use a rubber spatula to push into holes. Frost with cream cheese frosting. Refrigerate 20 minutes before serving.
Gooey, puffy, spiced sugar-filled cinnamon rolls are truly what dreams are made of, but we can’t always get it together to make them from scratch. And though they’re usually thought of as a breakfast food, they’re pretty much just cake in disguise anyway, and can be enjoyed from morning till night. This poke cake can help you skip all the finicky rolling and proofing, but still get all that delicious cinnamon roll flavor (including the cream cheese frosting!). Here’s how you do it: Bake your store-bought cake mix in a 9x13 pan according to package instructions (usually 350° for 25-35 minutes). While it’s in the oven, make your filling. If your brown sugar isn’t perfectly fresh and soft (no judgment, ours too), try microwaving it with the butter until it dissolves before mixing it with the other ingredients. Once your cake is cool, get to poking! This is where all the magic happens, but don’t worry about getting it exactly right. Aim to poke your utensil (the back of a wooden spoon works well, but use what you got) about 80% of the way through the cake, then pour in your filling. Spread it with a spatula to try and get it as fully into the holes, but again, perfection is not the goal here. We love this with cream cheese frosting, but you can go with a simple buttercream frosting or even just whipped cream if you want things less sweet. Want even more cinnamon roll-inspired desserts? Check out our giant cinnamon roll, our cinnamon roll cheesecake, or our cinnamon roll blondies. They’ve got all that cinnamon sugar you love, with less work. Made this? Let us know how it went in the comments below. Editor’s Note: This recipe was updated on August 23, 2022.
