What goes in the batter
The batter starts with three cups of all-purpose flour. Lynn scoops it with a half cup measuring cup because that is the one that fits down in her flour container, so she counts out six scoops and does not fuss about leveling them.
To the flour she adds one cup of regular sugar and four tablespoons of baking powder, then a quarter teaspoon of salt, which is pink salt in her kitchen. She whisks the dry ingredients together well and sets that bowl to the side.
The wet ingredients start with two eggs, mixed with the same whisk she used for the dry, and a quarter cup of something melted goes in with them, though the video does not name it clearly enough to write down here. Vanilla goes in after that and she gives the wet ingredients a mix just to get them combined.
Then the wet goes into the dry. She says a stand mixer or a hand blender would work but she just uses the whisk, and she points out that this batter is meant to be on the thicker side rather than thin. She says you will see why when she makes the other part that goes in the dough.
The cinnamon swirl
Lynn sprays the cast iron skillet real good so nothing sticks, the same skillet she sometimes uses for regular cinnamon rolls. The batter goes in and she levels it down a little, saying it does not have to be perfect.
While the swirl gets mixed, the oven goes on to preheat at 325. For the swirl itself she uses one cup of brown sugar, dark in her case, and says light or dark will do, plus one tablespoon of cinnamon.
Into that goes one stick of butter that has to be softened and not melted, room temperature, or about fifteen seconds in the microwave if it needs the help, along with two tablespoons of flour. She mashes it together with a fork until the butter works through the brown sugar, and points out there is still a little bitty clump in it when she adds it to the cake batter.
The mixture goes over the batter and she mixes it in with the fork, working it out toward the edges of the skillet.
Baking it
It bakes for around 35 minutes on 325. Lynn checks it with a toothpick, looking for it to come out clean, and then lets the skillet sit about fifteen minutes to cool down before the icing goes anywhere near it.
The powdered sugar icing
The icing is powdered sugar, a little milk and a tiny bit of vanilla. She pours the milk into its own bowl first so she can drizzle it in slowly, because she says powdered sugar icing does not take much milk before it goes runny.
For the vanilla she does not measure, calling it maybe a quarter teaspoon. She starts the sugar at four tablespoons of powdered sugar, which she notes is a quarter cup, adds the milk a little at a time, then adds a bit more powdered sugar until it looks right and stops adding milk. She keeps her baking products in mason jars, which is where the powdered sugar comes from.
How she cuts and serves it
She points out the cinnamon swirls in the baked cake before any icing goes on, and once it has cooled she drizzles the icing over the top. She says you can cut it like a cake or cut it into little squares, and she goes with cake slices.
It is still warm when she cuts into it, so she works carefully and fetches a scooper for the first piece. Inside you can see the swirls with the icing sitting on top, and she says it tastes just like a cinnamon roll except it is a cake.