Yahoo Lifestyle I Tried the Reddit-Famous Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake and I Get Why It Went Viral
There’s just something about winter that gets me wanting to snuggle up at home, avoid the cold weather outside and bake a sweet treat.
And after trying and enjoying a 200-year old cookie recipe from the r/Old-Recipes thread, I knew heading back to Reddit for baking inspiration would be the right move. And boy was I right. This time, I came across a post shared by r/HumawormDoc highlighting their grandma's cherished cinnamon roll poke cake, which looked and sounded incredible. I headed to the kitchen to give it a try.
Get the recipe: My Big Mama’s Secret Cinnamon Roll Cake
What is the Reddit-Famous Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake?
The author of the Reddit post noted that their grandmother, “Big Mama,” used to make this treat for them all the time. Their Big Mama raised 5 children on a farm during the Great Depression and World War 2 era alongside her husband, appropriately known as Big Daddy. "They had a farm and she could make delicious meals from seemingly nothing," wrote the person who shared the recipe.
The tender vanilla cake has a cinnamon sugar swirl in the middle and once it's out of the oven, you poke holes all over the top of the cake and pour a simple powdered sugar icing on top. Luckily I had almost all of the ingredients on hand, so it didn't take long for me to get to work on this dessert.
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Ingredients for the Reddit-Famous Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake
For the cake, you’ll need self-rising flour, eggs, shortening, granulated sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract, brown sugar and ground cinnamon. For the icing, you'll need powdered sugar, room-temperature butter, milk and vanilla extract.
Related: Viral Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll Hack (With Recipe)
How to Make the Reddit-Famous Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake
Beat granulated sugar and shortening until combined. Then, add the eggs and mix until smooth. Gradually mix in the flour, buttermilk and vanilla extract until fully incorporated. Pour half of the batter into a greased pan. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the cake batter.
Top with the remaining batter and swirl with a knife to create a cinnamon-sugar swirl. Bake at 350° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 45 minutes. To make the icing, heat milk, butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a saucepan, stirring until smooth. Poke holes in the cooled cake and pour the warm icing over the top.
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What I Thought of the Reddit-Famous Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake
I’m a HUGE fan of anything that comes together easily and I was finished with this recipe in less than an hour. I also love the fact that it uses a short list of common ingredients. The end result was perfectly fluffy and did remind me of a freshly baked cinnamon roll.
Thanks to the holes, the icing worked its way into the cake, which made the cake very moist. It was like having the glaze on top of a cinnamon as well as inside it. I can see this cake being the perfect treat to bring along to any family dinner, office party or casual get-together and it would also be a great brunch dish.
Tips for Making the Reddit-Famous Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake
This recipe makes a lot of cake, and the cake is super sweet. You cut the recipe in half if you feel so inclined.
Eat the cake warm, along with a big mug of coffee or tea. Because the cake is so sweet, you could probably skip the sweetener in your drink.
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