You might believe that a dish flavored only with cinnamon is uninteresting. You’d be inaccurate. This cinnamon swirl loaf is anything but. It’s more like pound cake than bread, with a soft and buttery crumb with a cinnamon ribbon running through it. But we would not stop there! There’s also a cinnamon sugar streusel topping, which I can never resist.

This recipe may appear to be complicated due to its three components — batter, swirl, and topping — but it is not. See, you’re using the batter for the swirl portion as well, so it’s not much extra work, and making a streusel topping with cinnamon and sugar is fairly simple. I’m delighted we’re on the same page.Like most cakes, you’ll begin by creaming together the butter and sugar before adding the eggs. Then, add the dry ingredients and beat just until mixed. (Overmixing might result in a harsher, denser crumb, which you definitely don’t want here.) You’ll take roughly a cup of batter and mix it with milk, cinnamon, and brown sugar to make a cinnamon swirl.

Pour a thin layer of plain batter into the loaf pan, followed by a dollop of cinnamon batter on top. Add the remaining plain batter, then gently swirl the batters together using a long skewer or a butter knife. Now you have a cinnamon swirl.With a light (or liberal) sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top and an hour in the oven, you’ll have a sweet loaf that makes cinnamon something to look forward to!