Iced Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

A semi-homemade coffee cake built from a tube of refrigerated cinnamon rolls cut into quarters, layered with walnuts and extra cinnamon sugar, and baked in a pie pan. The icing packet from the cinnamon rolls gets drizzled on top after baking. Five ingredients, 40 minutes, and you’ve got a pull-apart brunch cake that looks and tastes like you tried a lot harder than you did.

The cinnamon sugar on the bottom of the pan caramelizes during baking and creates a sticky, sweet crust when you flip the cake out (or just scoop right from the pan). The quartered roll pieces bake together and puff up into a cobbled, monkey-bread-like texture with crispy edges and soft, doughy centers.

Dotting with margarine before baking adds richness and helps the top brown evenly. The walnuts toast in the oven and add crunch throughout.

Kitchen Tips

• Spray the pie pan well. The cinnamon sugar base gets very sticky and will bond to an ungreased pan.
• Cut each cinnamon roll into quarters so the pieces are small enough to bake through evenly.
• Space the roll pieces out in the pan so they have room to expand. Packed too tightly and the center stays doughy.
• Let it cool 5 minutes before drizzling the icing. Too hot and the icing melts to nothing.

Variations

• Use pecans instead of walnuts for a more Southern-style coffee cake.
• Add a handful of raisins or dried cranberries between the roll pieces before baking.
• Use a bundt pan for a more dramatic presentation at brunch.