Cinnamon Roll Cake

I was aimlessly wandering the Internet the other day when I stumbled upon a recipe for Cinnamon Roll Cake.  I decided then and there that I had to make this cake- but for whom was I supposed to I bake it? I didn't have an event or any sort of meeting planned- so I decided to make two cakes (by doubling the recipe)- one for my hubby and me, and one for my office.  This cake was moist and dense and tasted just like a cinnamon roll- the only request my co-workers had was to bring a gallon of iced cold milk the next time I make this tasty concoction!

I modified the recipe I found online to suit my tastes- here is the original recipe- and below you will find my version.

Cake Ingredients
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla (preferably pure vanilla, not extract)
1/2 cup butter, melted

1) Mix everything together except for the butter.
2) Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased spring form pan or a 9×13 pan.  (Do not place in oven yet)

 

Topping
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 - 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

*Note- I made two cakes- 1 cake had pecans only, and 1 cake had pecans and mini-chocolate chips- my preference was the cake with the pecans only.

3) Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop nickel-sized pieces evenly over in the batter and swirl the pieces into the batter. Bake at 350 F for ~35 minutes in a spring form pan, or 28-32 minutes in a 9x13 pan.

 

Glaze (Make this while the cake is baking)
2 cups powdered sugar
5 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (I prefer pure vanilla over vanilla extract)

4) While the cake is still warm, drizzle the glaze over the cake.