Before diving into mixing ingredients, start by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). Proper temperature is crucial for even baking; if your oven isn't hot enough when you add the batter, it can affect how well your cake rises!

Prepare Your Baking Pan: While waiting for the oven to preheat, prepare your baking pan by greasing a 9x13 inch rectangular dish lightly with non-stick spray or butter. This step prevents sticking during baking and makes cleanup much easier later on!

Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour (2 cups), granulated sugar (1 cup), baking powder (2 teaspoons), ground cinnamon (2 tablespoons), and a pinch of salt (optional). Whisk these dry ingredients together until evenly combined—this ensures that each bite is perfectly flavored throughout!

Incorporate Wet Ingredients: In another bowl or measuring jug, whisk together whole milk (1 cup), melted unsalted butter (½ cup), and eggs (2 large). Pour these wet ingredients into the bowl containing dry ingredients while stirring gently until just combined—avoid over-mixing so as not to develop gluten which can lead to dense texture.

Prepare The Filling: To prepare the delicious cinnamon filling mixture, take another small bowl where you'll combine more granulated sugar (½ cup) with additional ground cinnamon (1 tablespoon). Mix them thoroughly until well blended; set aside as we'll use it shortly when layering within our batter.

Layer The Batter and Filling: Pour half of your prepared batter into the greased baking dish evenly across its base—smooth it down gently using a spatula if needed! Next sprinkle half of the prepared filling mixture over this layer before adding remaining batter on top followed by remaining filling mixture—create swirls using a knife or skewer through layers carefully without disrupting too much!

Bake The Cake: Now it's time for some magic! Place your assembled pan into preheated oven bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 30–35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean from center; avoid opening oven door too frequently during cooking as heat escapes which may affect rise!

Cool And Frost: Once baked perfectly golden brown remove from oven allowing cooling inside pan on wire rack; wait at least ten minutes before transferring onto wire rack completely cool down before frosting! For frosting mix softened cream cheese (8 ounces) until smooth then gradually blend powdered sugar until desired sweetness achieved finally add splash vanilla extract mixing all together well; spread generously atop cooled cake ensuring each slice gets its fair share!