Name: Cinnamon Swirl Loaf - Moist, Sweet, Heavenly
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature; 1 cup white sugar; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 3 eggs, room temperature; 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature; 4 tablespoons brown sugar; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

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The perfect, easy recipe for a cinnamon swirl loaf that is moist, tender, sweet and heavenly. Made with all simple pantry ingredients and no special equipment required, it’s kid friendly and sure to please for any occasion.

It is often said that baking is a science and can take years of practice. While that can be true, it’s not always necessary to be a seasoned veteran to whip up something delicious, homemade and simple. That’s where we have our favorite cinnamon swirl loaf. Is it a cake? Is it a bread? Well, it’s something in between. But what we love most about this recipe is how easy it is to make and the reaction from others when they bit into it. And personally, I can’t get enough of that crunchy cinnamon topping. Oh it’s SO good!

This is a recipe that can be fun for the kids too. We don’t have to do too many fancy steps with roller pins or anything like that. We start with a loaf pan and 3 bowls. Simple enough, right? Spray the loaf pan with non-stick cook spray and set aside. Use one bowl for the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture and set aside. A medium bowl to mix the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. And finally a larger bowl where all the batter comes together.

Use Room Temperature Ingredients

This recipes calls for 3 ingredients to be room temperature… butter, eggs and sour cream. Of the 3, the most important to be room temperature is the butter. I order to mix it with the sugar and to play nice in the batter, it needs to be soft. I usually take a stick out of the fridge the night before. The reason we want the eggs and sour cream to be room temperature is because the batter will bake better that way. If the eggs and sour cream are cold and used right out of fridge, this will affect the baking time, as well as the baking process. Room temperature ingredients allow everything to rise correctly and for their fancy “baking science” stuff. You don’t have to leave them out all night. A couple of hours should be fine.

Making the Swirl

Traditional cinnamon swirl loaf found in bakeries will often have a fancy swirl pattern. Problem is, doing that at home requires some messy and complicated steps. For this recipe, we get all the sweet taste and cinnamon flavor without having to roll out the dough and roll it back up. In fact, no rolling is necessary at all. We achieve our swirl horizontally instead. When we sprinkle in the brown sugar/cinnamon layers, simply use a knife or a skewer to make a swirl pattern. I go back and forth in an “s” pattern.

Bake at 350° (F) for 55-65 Minutes

Now your cinnamon swirl Loaf is ready to go in the oven. Make sure the oven is preheated and let it bake for about 55-65 minutes. After 55 min, stick a toothpick in the the center of the loaf. If it comes out clean, your loaf is ready! If there’s still wet batter on it, give it another 5-10 minutes. Be sure to let it cool for at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan.