One of the strongest associations I have with baking is the aroma that comes from freshly baked food. Whether it is chocolate, vanilla, banana or even chicken. It doesn’t always need to be sweet 🙂 But one of my favourite baked food aromas has got to be cinnamon! By itself, like in this delicious cinnamon cake, or along with other flavours, the aroma of cinnamon wafting through the house is enough to make me hungry.
I first baked this cake on a rainy day here in Mumbai. I made myself a cup of strong masala chai and was craving something sweet to go with it. Not too sweet and certainly not chocolate-y. The tea ,with its spices, made me think about a cake with spices. I have a recipe for a chai-spiced cake, but I didn’t want the same tea flavours in cake on that day. I chose to go with just good ol’ cinnamon. It helped that one of my friends coming to visit that day had told me she loves cinnamon in cake 🙂 And wow! This cake is something else!
The cake is super easy to make and super difficult to have just one slice of 🙂 It is nice and tall, moist, not too sweet and has the right punch from the cinnamon. From experience I can say it tastes great fresh out of the oven and even better the next day. I ate this for two days, sometimes straight out of the fridge and sometimes after heating it up for 10s in the microwave.
Given that it is raining almost everywhere right now, this cake is guaranteed to leave you feeling all warm and happy. Give it a go and let the cinnamon-y goodness give you a big ol’ cuddle 🙂
Cinnamon Swirl Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
100g softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs – room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream or greek yoghurt
Filling:
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
Directions
- Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl
- Grease and line an 8 inch baking pan. Pre-heat the oven to 170C
- Sift the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl
- In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until well combined, light and fluffy (Approx 2-3 mins)
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add the vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture and sour cream alternately, starting and ending with flour. Mix gently so as not to overwork the batter.
- Transfer 1/3 of the batter into the prepared pan and smoothen. Add 1/2 the cinnamon sugar mixture. Make it is spread over the entire surface
- Transfer another 1/3 of the batter and repeat with the filling. Then add the final 1/3 of the batter on top of the filling. Tap the pan on the surface to flatten and remove air bubbles
- Take a knife or skewer and swirl around the cake, keeping in vertical through the layers. This will help to spread the filling around.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for 10 mins and then place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Slice and enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee 🙂
My Tuck Box 
Loved this cake! Had it for days after and having been in the fridge the flavours soaked in even better a few days later 🙂 A perfect coffee accompaniment.
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