Cinnamon Birthday Cake

I got a request for a mini cinnamon cake this weekend. Last time I made cinnamon cake, I paired it with a lovely Mexican chocolate filling and it was delicious, but this time I wanted to try something different with the cinnamon. So, since my hubby and I have been on a bit of a cinnamon roll kick, I decided 'what better to pair it with than brown sugar?'

It came out really well. The brown sugar buttercream was muted enough to let the cinnamon flavor in the cake really shine through, while still adding a subtle molassesy accent. 

I also used the Swiss-style buttercream to do the flower and the piping around the bottom, so it didn't have the body of the decorating icing I usually use, but I think it has a very organic vibe about it since I also chose not to overload it with color. 

View from the top

Digging in.