This Southern Sock It To Me Cake recipe pairs a moist and buttery cake texture with a cinnamon brown sugar pecan swirl that is to die for! The vanilla glaze brings it all together perfectly! If you love buttery flavorful cakes like my Kentucky Butter Cake, Cream Cheese Pound Cake or my Sour Cream Pound Cake, you will love this one even more due to its ease and quickly made batter! Simple, Decadent and Downright Irresistible!
I love being in the kitchen. More specifically, I love being in my kitchen. If you come looking for me at home, chances are high that I’m in my kitchen blending a smoothie or rolling out pie crust. No matter the time of year or what mood I’m in, my kitchen has provided a safe space for me to be creative. I can spend hours testing new recipes by using the odds and ends that are the contents of my pantry and refrigerator. I’ve seen more disasters than I can count, some of them leading to my best work and some leading to inedible monstrosities. But regardless of the outcome I have always found a way to enjoy the process. I sing, I dance and I eat my way through so that each moment is truly a moment for myself.
I have my Big Mama to blame for my obsession with the kitchen because it was hers that I fell in love with first. The print of her tablecloth, the hook she used to hang her favorite apron on and the way it somehow always smelled of butter and sugar. It was my first home. As much as I love my own space, I miss her kitchen almost every time I set out to bake. But on those days when I miss it the most, I choose to make a recipe that takes me back in time. Something that feels classic and feeds my stomach and soul without fail. The recipe I’m sharing today is just that.
Table of Contents
What is Sock It To Me Cake?
Sock It To Me Cake! For those of you who aren’t familiar (and I won’t blame you for that), this retro cake was very popular in the 1970’s, especially in the South, because of it’s funky name. Housewives everywhere loved this cake because it was a simple recipe that proved to be extremely useful to have in your entertaining back pocket. Convenient and delicious were the two words of the decade when it came to baking. I’m here to tell you that this cake is ready for its comeback. It’s sweet, nutty, light and full of spice. Absolutely perfect.
How to Make A Sock it to Me Cake
Start your process by preheating the oven and liberally spraying your bundt pan with non-stick baking spray. Now, when I say liberally I mean get in there and be sure to get every edge and crevasse. Last thing you want is for your hard work to result in a cake you have to shovel out of the pan with a butter knife.
How To Improve Cake Boxed Cake Mix – A Doctored Cake Mix Recipe
This is where we get to the batter. I have used a similar technique in my Honeybun Cake! If you look on the back of most cake mixes, you will see that you only usually need water but by adding additional ingredients, you can really make a boxed cake taste homemade. For our cake batter, we added the following:
- Sour Cream (it creates such a rich and delicious cake, plus super moist!)
- Vegetable Oil (added extra moistness)
- Sugar (punched up the sweetness a bit more)
- Eggs (eggs always stabilize a cake!)
- plus a little water
Using a cake mix is what helps make this recipe a bit easier but if you would like to go the extra mile and make your cake from scratch there is no shame in that.
Next, pour two thirds of your mixture into the bundt pan. Whisk together pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until they are combined and spread that mixture evenly over the top of your cake batter. Pour the rest of the cake batter right on top and pop that bad boy in the oven!
Your cake should bake for about thirty five to forty five minutes. Try your best not to over bake the cake but bundts can be a difficult cake shape. Make sure to check in by the middle circle of the bundt cake as it’s always the last area to bake up fully for me. Believe me, no one wants a dry cake.
Be sure to allow your cake to cool for at least twenty five minutes so that it has the time to properly set. In the meantime, mix together your milk and confectioners sugar to make your glaze. Once your ready, generously pour that glaze all your cake and you’re set to serve. I promise you that each bite will be gloriously soft yet crunchy, sweet yet spicy and oh so delicious.
Can You Make Sock It To Me Cake From Scratch
Some might not be down for doctoring up a cake mix so in that case, we can use one of my existing pound cake recipes as the base. I would in this instance use my Sour Cream Pound Cake as the base since the original also uses sour cream. You will get a similar texture and richness but with a homemade twist!
Simply replace all of the batter steps in this recipe and replace with the steps in the Sour Cream Pound Cake recipe instead. Follow the rest of the steps once you begin layering the batter. You will still bake as long as is required in the Sour Cream Pound Cake recipe.
Sock It To Me Cake Without Sour Cream
If you would like to replace the sour cream in this recipe, you easily can. I like to substitute sour cream for Greek yogurt! It has a similar texture and thickness. You can also use buttermilk or coconut milk as a replacement.
Want more cake recipes that you will absolutely adore? Check out these!
Sock It To Me Cake
Equipment
- Bundt Pan
Ingredients
For the Cake Batter (Or to make from scratch, make my Sour Cream Cake)
- 1 box yellow butter cake mix 15.25 ounces
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup room temperature water
For the Pecan Filling
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
For the Glaze
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350. Liberally spray a 10-cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, sour cream, vegetable oil, sugar, eggs along with ¼ cup of room temperature water until completely smooth.
- Pour 2/3rds of batter into prepared bundt pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined. Evenly pour the filling over the batter then add the remaining cake batter over the top.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes then cool for 25 minutes.
- Whisk together confectioners sugar and milk and drizzle over cake and serve.
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I finally found someone else who has heard of this cake! I have this recipe that was given to me from a recipe card, from a recipe note, from someone’s memory years ago and whenever I mention it to people, I get “huh?” LOL! It is delicious, although we did not have the nutmeg in the filling mix. I just made one for Thanksgiving, but I am going to try the nutmeg next time I make one.
I made this for the first time today and my family loved it. It is so easy to make. The only adjustment I made was to double the icing. I will definitely be making this again and I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
I made this cake using just the cake batter recipe with every flavor cake mix i could fine. this is the moistest cake I’ve every baked. I have served it to many people, and they all rant and rave about it. All I have to say is Job well done!
Hey ,
I just found your site and this recipe. This was the first cake I ever made for my husband 45 years ago. Tomorrow is his 69th birthday and he asked me to make it ,one for him and one for everyone else! LOL. One thing I do that isn’t necessary but I think adds to it is I toast my pecans first. Happy cooking to you!
I made this cake for the first time Thanksgiving 2020, and it was an ABSOLUTE hit! Even set a little man trap with it, let’s just say that someone who is health conscious , works out regularly and watches his sugar intake begged for his own WHOLE cake! Cooking is the way to a man’s heart ladies on certain roads that is!
Can this recipe be turned into cupcakes?
This cake was absolutely fantastic. One of those “can’t stop eating” things. Only concern was it was a little mushy 🙂 Or maybe that wasn’t actually a problem as no one stopped eating it! My question is if you use the sour cream pound cake batter, does that necessitate a longer cook time than 45 minutes? It calls for 1 hour and 15-25. and I’m assuming cooling outside the pan? Really great site you’ve got. Your Lemon Pound Cake has become the gold standard for my entire baking rotation. Thanks so much for all this 🙂
Could I omit the nuts?
absolutely
I always do.
I have questions about the process…what size bundt pan should I use? Is whisk the same as mix, (as with a mixer) or you literally mean use a hand whisk? How long do I whisk or mix the batter?
You can use a hand mixer if you’d like, but that would probably be overkill, because it’s a small amount. If you don’t have a whisk, use a fork and stir well. Just make sure it’s well combined and there are NO lumps!
I am making this cake for the county fair and we can’t have dairy in our glazes as they will be sitting out and not refrigerated. Do you have any glaze recipes that would work with this cake that are dairy free? I can’t wait to bake this cake!
Yes you can even use water!