This is basically a giant honey bun, but you cut and serve it like a cake! Made with an easy 7-ingredient dough, honey, and a buttery cinnamon sugar filling, it’s covered in gooey honey icing for that perfect glazed top. It’s super simple to make!
We start by activating the yeast, then mixing it with our dry ingredients. Let the dough rise to become perfectly sweet and pillowy soft. Just like regular honey buns, the dough is rolled flat and filled with buttery cinnamon sugar. Then, it’s cut into strips and rolled into a giant honey bun. After letting it rise again, we bake it until golden and cover it with a crispy honey glaze.
Giant Honey Bun Cake
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 3/4 cups milk dairy-free or dairy
- 1/2 cup melted butter dairy-free or dairy
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 1/4 tsp quick dry yeast
- 5 1/2 cups bread flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
Filling:
- 3/4 cup softened butter dairy-free or dairy
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
Glaze:
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk or cream dairy-free or dairy
- 2 tbsp honey
Instructions
- In a saucepan, whisk together the milk, sugar, honey, and melted butter. Heat until warm (about 100°F, like a warm bath).
- Mix the yeast into the milk mixture. Cover with a towel and let it activate until foamy and frothy, up to 20 minutes. (If the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast!)
- In a large bowl, combine 5 cups of flour, salt, and baking powder. Pour in the yeast mixture.
- Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until it doubles in size.
- Preheat the oven to 340°F.
- Add the remaining flour to the dough. Stir well, then turn it out onto a well-floured surface.
- Knead the dough lightly, adding more flour as needed, until it loses its stickiness.
- Roll the dough into a large rectangle.
- Mix the filling ingredients together and spread evenly over the dough.
- Cut the dough into 4 or 5 strips. Roll the strips into one another to form a giant roll.
- Place the roll in a lined and greased 7-inch springform pan. Cover and let it rise again in a warm place for 45 minutes.
- Remove the cover and bake the roll in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until well-risen and golden brown. If the center is still undercooked after 25 minutes, cover with foil and continue to bake, checking every 10 minutes.
- For the glaze, slowly add the milk and honey into the powdered sugar until you reach your preferred consistency.
- Cover the honey bun with the glaze while still warm. Let it set for about 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!