Cinnamon Roll Mug Cake
This single serving microwave cinnamon roll mug cake has cinnamon swirls mixed throughout a fluffy cinnamon flavored cake. Its cinnamon roll meets cake in an easy mug cake form.
I’m pretty excited with how this mug cake turned out. It may be my new favorite. I especially love how the cinnamon swirls separate pieces of cake, just like they do for cinnamon rolls, so you can actually pull this apart and eat it with your hands if you wanted to.
My feed has been filled with “first day of school” stuff. Even though I’ve been in California for more than a decade, it still is mind-boggling to me that school starts in August. Growing up in NY, Labor Day signified the end of the summer and the start of school. It must suck to start school in early August when the weather is still so nice and everyone is still in summer mode. But maybe once I have kids I’ll be looking forward to school starting as soon as possible. Until then, I’m trying to get as much of my summer to-do list done as possible this month.
This cake does take a little more effort than a regular mug cake because you have to do the cinnamon sugar swirl and the frosting, but it comes out so pretty and it’s well worth the effort.
For the recipe below, I deliberately kept it small since there’s so much sugar and calories in the cinnamon swirl and frosting. But if you wanted to, you could make a giant one by doing 1 1/2 times the recipe and cooking it in a wide mug or ramekin, which will make it come out looking like a giant cinnamon roll (like the one in the close-up photos and background). Or, try my Keto Cinnamon Roll Mug Cake for a low-carb version!
P.S. If you enjoy mug cakes, check out my 5-Minute Mug Cakes cookbook* which contains nearly 100 recipes!
Recipe now updated with video! You can also find all my latest recipes on my new youtube channel.
*Some of the links contained in this post are affiliate links. Much like referral codes, this means I earn a small commission if you purchase a product I referred (at no extra charge to you).
Cinnamon Roll Mug Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 4 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3 tsp granulated white sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 1/16 tsp nutmeg
- 3 tbsp fat free milk
- 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
Cinnamon swirl
- 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
Frosting (makes enough for two)
- 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp cream cheese
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar, (see note)
Instructions
- Combine all the cake ingredients into a microwave-safe mug. This is a smaller cake, so using an 8 oz mug should be fine. Whisk with a small whisk until batter is smooth and no lumps remain.
- In a separate small bowl, combine cinnamon swirl ingredients. Microwave briefly, about 20-30 seconds, or until butter melts. (I recommend covering top with paper towel before microwaving.) Stir and mix until it becomes a uniform, thick syrup. Pour into a small liquid container that has a narrow pouring spout.
- Working quickly (you don't want the butter to cool as your swirl will become hard to pour), scoop out half of the cake batter and set aside. Pour a swirl into the remaining batter in the mug. (If you are having issues pouring a swirl, you can also use a fork or whisk and draw in the swirl. Just lift the utensil from the syrup a few times until you have a single stream before drawing your swirl.) Pour the rest of the batter back in, making sure to cover the cinnamon swirl completely. Pour another cinnamon swirl on top. It's okay if you still have a little leftover of the cinnamon mix.
- Cook cake in microwave for about 1 minute until cake parts are completely cooked. The butter from the cinnamon swirl might separate slightly during cooking which will cause the cinnamon swirl to be a little gooey and wet but it'll solidify and sink in as the cake cools.
- While cake is cooking, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, add ingredients. Warm in microwave slightly, about 10 seconds. Make sure to cover bowl with paper towel before heating. Using a really good whisk (I used a bigger one than the one for the mug cake batter), whisk until uniform and frosting thickens. Scoop frosting into a piping bag and pipe frosting onto cake. You should have enough to frost two cakes. You can save the remaining for another time.
Notes
- To make the frosting start with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. If your frosting is too thin you can add up to a 1/2 tablespoon more of powdered to thicken it.
- For this recipe, I deliberately kept it small since there's so much sugar and calories in the cinnamon swirl and frosting. But if you wanted to, you could make a giant one by doing 1 1/2 times the recipe and cook it in a really wide mug or ramekin (that holds at least 12 oz), which will make it come out looking like a giant cinnamon roll (like the one in the close-up photos and background).
- As mentioned, the frosting recipe is enough to frost two cakes. For the nutrition estimate, I included only half the amount of the frosting ingredients as listed in the recipe. If you use all of the frosting for one cake the nutrition estimate will vary.
Related Recipes
Full Mug Cake Recipe Index!
Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Mug Cake
3 Ingredient Flourless Nutella Mug Cake
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Just to let you know your cinnamon mug cake video stops 1/ 4 of the way through, goes to another add then continues with a totally different recipe
Thank you for letting us know! We will look into that.
sooooo good
So glad you enjoyed it!
Hello & thx for the awesome recipe! I wonder, could I Bake this recipe instead of microwaving?
Sorry, but we’re not sure – this recipe is meant to be a microwave mug cake.
Great recipe! I made with flour and I made with oat flour and both were really yummy!
That’s great! Thanks for letting us know.
I’m incredibly pleasantly surprised by this recipe. I’m a person who will eat sweets every day, but my fiancé is not. A single serving sweet is perfect and this one knocked my socks off. I doubled the cinnamon in both the cake and the swirl because I can never have enough cinnamon. A lot of mug cakes can be a bit gritty or bland, but this was pure joy. I had no cream cheese, so I put a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and was in heaven.
Love that you had it with ice cream – that sounds so good!
Very good, the only thing was that it is VERY sugary and sweet. Will make this again, but I will not put as much sugar into the roll. Loved it though!
Glad you enjoyed it!
honestly just combined the wet and dry ingredients together and wow it still tastes super amazing! didn’t look as pretty as the picture but tasted every bit as good!
We’re glad you loved it!
This was absolutely delicious! I’d tackle this like a fat kid running out of diet camp.
So glad you liked it!
Just made this at 10pm, did not feel like making a 4 hour recipe for cinnamon rolls, lucky this mug recipe was really good! I used some old cinnamon roll icing I had from a while back in the freezer and it was delicious. A bit too many things to put all the different ingredients in, I only used 1 bowl and my mug, it worked out fine. This is the only cinnamon roll mug recipe that I will ever use because all the others suck!!! thanks for this. Greetings from South Africa.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one!
Been seeing a lot of mug cake recipes online, especially the easy chocolate mug cake made out of Oreos and milk. Haven’t tried those for some reason. Now, I found this and looks really really good. I think I’ll finally try a mug cake, especially this one. Really easy to do. Thank you for sharing this! This looks so delicious 🙂
Thanks, hope you like it!
Would almond milk be a better substitute instead of whole milk if you don’t have fat free milk?
almond milk should work!
It’s really good! It took around 20 minutes for me and i was a bit confused but it turned out a weird consistency but tasted super good!
I’m glad it tasted good!
Can I substitute with almond flour?
no, but I do have a low carb version: https://kirbiecravings.com/keto-cinnamon-roll-mug-cake/
This is worth all the steps and dishes used! It was so tasty. I love cinnamon rolls, but don’t want to make a whole batch. This was a perfect serving size. Next time I’m going to try with less sugar to see if I still like it and save some calories:)
I’m so glad you liked it!
Tastes so good!
I’m glad you enjoyed!
Wow! After being put off by Tasty’s cinnamon roll mug recipe, I decided to give it another go with a different one. Found this on YouTube and came here. I had a larger corningware ramekin so I just ate it all at once like that, and it turned out really delicious for being a microwave cinnamon roll. Great flavor profile and the icing was the thing that brought it all together. I will definitely be making this one again.
I’m happy you liked this one!
I make this often it’s the perfect solution for a craving and it can be made so quickly and easily
I’m so glad you like this recipe!
I’m embarrassed at how many extra dishes I dirtied just for this one mug cake…oh well, it was really good
This one is definitely a few more steps than my typical mug cake but I love how it turns out!
Best mug cake recipe hands down!! Made many mug cakes in the past and they usually come out dry and dont have much flavor. This one was moist and tasted amazing! Disclaimer, I actually did not make the frosting from the recipe because i happened to have some vanilla icing on hand already, but next time i will definitely make the frosting from this recipe…and I’ll definitely be making this again!
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed it!
Was craving a cinnamon roll and found this. Was an amazing taste very much like a cinnamon roll. Would definitely recommend it.
I’m so glad you liked it!
Wow! This tastes AMAZING! Thanks for sharing this great recipe! I’m so glad I found your site 🙂
aww, I’m so glad you liked it!
Have you ever tried getting the mug(s) ready the night before and keeping it I the fridge then cooking it the next morning for breakfast? And adjustments needed for that??
I have not tried keeping the batter in the fridge the next before. In my experience, cake batter tends to dry out a little, creating a top layer when kept in the fridge. Also because this batter has cinnamon swirl, it may sink to the bottom overnight. If you do attempt to store the batter in the fridge, I’d recommend doing it without the swirl. And the morning of, let the batter come to room temperature and re-whisk a few times and then add the cinnamon swirl.
Wow, that was delicious! By far the best cinnamon roll mug cake I have ever had. Definitely going to use this recipe again, maybe I’ll make enough for my whole family next time too. Thank you for sharing this.
I’m so happy to hear how much you enjoyed it!
Yummy! Just wondering if I did something wrong, or if the cake is supposed to fill up half the mug when cooked???
What size mug did you use? If you used a mug bigger than 8 ounces, the cake will not fill the whole thing.
Hi, Kirbie, I’m becoming an addict to mug cakes thanks to you, and this is my favorite one so far, Last time I made it, I added an egg to the batter and it made the cake fluffier. Greetings from Colombia!
I’m so glad you liked it!! Thanks for taking the time to leave such a nice comment.
Tasty. A little fussy with all the different vessels though.
yes it does have more steps than my typical mug cake, but it’s because of the cinnamon swirl and icing
I made this gluten free just by substituting flour for gluten free flour. I haven’t had a cinnamon roll in years and this taste perfect!! Thank you 🙂
i’m so glad you enjoyed it!
That’s exactly what I wanted to know! Thank you. GF flour is a must for me.
I make a lot of mug cakes & I was craving a cinnamon roll so bad, so I’m glad it turned out really good! I used probably half of the sugar stated, & used butter for vegetable oil, then I cooked it for two minutes instead of one just so it wasnt doughy & a bit chewier like a standard cinna roll. Perfect! 🙂
I’m glad you liked it!
Can you use a oven instead of a microwave? If u can how much time will it take?
Yes, I think so. Generally you can for most of these mug cakes. Since I haven’t done it, I dont have an exact time, but usually it’s between 15-20 minutes at 350F
I just made this. It was very delicious, however the cinnamon filling was not liquid enough to pour so I just dropped it in. (Yes I microwaved it and it proceded to explode????????) I had extra filling so I crumbled it on top of the frosting and it was a yummy breakfast. Took me about 25 mins but it was worth it. My kids woke up when it came out of the microwave and were begging for more. So I spent and hour making two more. They loved it though!!!
so glad you liked it. yikes about the liquid filling exploding. You only need to microwave it just a few seconds to heat it up again. Because of the butter, if it is heated too long it will start to bubble and pop once it begins to heat. I’d recommend you might want to lower the power setting when you heat up the liquid cinnamon filling next time if it exploded this time. And cover the surface with a paper towel to prevent the butter from spraying.
Just sitting here and enjoying my cinnamon roll (without frosting, was too lazy ;)) It’s awesome.
Just one comment. This is the second of your recepies for mugcakes i tried and with both I needed almost twice as much liquid as recommended to make the dough smooth. Any idea why?
hmm, what kind of milk are you using? if you use full fat milk or other milk substitutes, that could be why. Fat free milk is a lot thinner and so the batter should be liquid enough with the amount I specified in the recipe. Glad you liked it though!
I had the exact same situation
Had to double the liquid BUT indeed I didn’t use fat free milk, maybe that’s why ! I’ll try again next time
It was absolutely delicious and that swirl technique in the middle of the batter makes it amazing ?
We’re glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this tonight during a study break! The actual cake and cinnamon swirl (uh, glob in my case) came out awesome!
I messed up the frosting though- probably because i used melted butter and heated the cream cheese too much? The frosting ingredients didn’t come together on only 10 seconds of heating, so that’s why I heated them for longer, and hence ended up with chunky, buttery globs..
Thankfully I had some leftover condensed milk so I just swirled that on top 🙂
glad you got it to work out for you!
with regards to the frosting, yes you don’t want to heat it too long! The 10 seconds is to warm it up just enough so that it is easier to whisk. the frosting comes together from the manual whisking
This cinnamon cake is amazing! I loved it. Thank you so much :]
=) =) =) so glad you enjoyed it!
Can you use whole milk instead of fat free milk??
i recommend low fat or fat free and not whole milk. I found whole milk comes out a little dry
I made this the super lazy way- ie without the icing or the cinnamon swirl- and it was still delicious! Luvin it! I used Almond Milk and next time will try what Petra (above) suggested- using applesauce instead of oil. 🙂
so glad you enjoyed it!
Hello! I found this website while I was searching for healthy cinnamon mug cake recipes, because I had serious craving while being on a diet.
I changed it up a little bit and I must say it was still delicious! What I used:
4 tbsp whole wheat flour (instead all purpose flour)
1 tsp of trivia (instead 3 tsp granulated white sugar)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon
(Didn’t have nutmeg :/ 1/16 tsp nutmeg)
3 tbsp fat free milk – I used semi skimmed, since that is one I have in my fridge
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil – I used butter
Cinnamon swirl
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp butter
I didn’t add frosting. + I was too lazy to do it the more complicated way, so instead, I just swirled in the swirl part. It didn’t look so beautiful, but it was still very tasty. Thank you very much for inspiring me! 🙂
If anyone would like to make my recipe even more healthy, I have advice – use almond milk instead of normal milk and unsweetened apple puree/sauce instead of oil/butter. I didn’t wanted to open apple sauce only because of that, because I need it for baking on saturday, but if you have any left (or you don’t mind opening it) I can really put my hand in the fire for that tip 🙂 Made apple-cinnamon muffins with it and they were delicious 🙂
thank you for taking the time to share your tips and making it healthier!
This turned out pretty bad, but that’s my fault everything tasted AMAZZING but my swirl failed and my icing melted……
aww, I will say that getting that icing swirl to come out pretty can take a few tries. My first one was pretty ugly too and then I learned from there. I’m glad it tasted amazing and I’m sure your swirl will be great next time!
I was pulling an all nighter studying for an exam and when I was taking a break and had a sweet craving, found this and decided to try it with no hope, but it was delicious and so easy to make so thank you so much, it really satisfied my craving and it tasted A M A Z I N G.
Kisses from Argentina and please keep posting mug cakes because i love them.
Ps. What can I substitute pumpkin spice with for some of your recipes?? We dont have it here…
so glad you enjoyed it! you can do an online search for pumpkin spice substitute. it’s usually a combination of nutmeg, cinnamon, ground ginger and ground cloves
Hey Kirbie,
thank for this great recipe. I love cinnamon and this mug cake simply fullfills all my needs. You do a great job and I really enjoy sneaking around here once a week to see what you’ve done 🙂 Many greetings from Germany! ^.^
aw thanks! So happy you are reading all the way from Germany!
These came out awesome for something made under 10 mins. Thanks a lot for sharing 🙂
so glad you liked it!
Mm these look amazing! I loooove cinnamon rolls, and this is such a quick and easy way to eat them without having to wait several hours 🙂
thanks!
I dont think paper towel is safe to use, it is recyclable. Should not be micro-wave. But it still looks good,yum
paper towels are microwave safe but feel free to cover the top with something else when you heat up the frosting.
Ooh this is so pretty! I love it 🙂
hehe, thanks! I love how it looks too
Oh my goodness that looks so awesome! I love that pretty swirl. I have a feeling if I did it, I’d give up swirling it and be like “well…. there’s cinnamon in there. so yeah.” Nice job 🙂
haha! If I wasn’t posting it I’d probably be really lazy about it too =)
I’m from Northern California and grew up with the traditional school schedule of starting the day after Labor Day. FYI, San Diego Unified School District starts after Labor Day, but next year it moves to an August start like the rest of the county. I like the idea of 1-1/2 times the recipe to make a big cinnamon roll!
Hmm, I guess it really depends on the school district then. Actually my last two years of high school were in the Bay Area and we did start in August, but it was the end of August so it didn’t feel as bad. But since moving to CA, i didn’t see any after Labor Day starts except in college. The giant cinnamon roll is awesome!
Wow, that looks so cool, with the swirl on top. I know that Bert would love this!
As for school starting early…when our district (down South) changed their calendar from Traditional to Modified Year Round there were a few grumblings, but now I like it. The kids started school the 3rd week of July. Every 9 weeks there is a 2 week break (Fall and Spring; 3 weeks for Winter break), which is nice.
having those intermittent breaks does sound pretty nice!
Yum! I’d like to have one of these right now! 🙂
definitely give it a try! I made about half a dozen this week trying to perfect this. It was pretty awesome eating cinnamon roll cakes everyday. haha