Sock It To Me Cake

What You’ll Need for This Recipe

Unsalted butter: If you’d like to use salted butter then decrease the added salt by 1/2 tsp. Pecans: Make sure to toast your pecans, it really brings out the flavor.

How to Make Sock it to Me Cake

1. Set oven to 325F and grease the inside of your bundt pan with baking spray or butter and flour it. Combine the chopped toasted pecans, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a small bowl then mix together and set aside.

2. Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl then whisk together and set aside.

3. Cream the butter and sugar together on high for about 4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Make sure to scrape the bowl down half way through because you want a nice homogeneous mixture.

4. Add the eggs one at a time while mixing on medium, scrape the bowl down and mix once more. 

5. Add the flour mixture to the batter and mix on low until the incorporated. 

6. Scrape the bowl down then add the sour cream and vanilla. Mix on low until just combined.

7. Add half of the batter to your prepared bunt pan then sprinkle the pecan filling over the surface evenly. Add the remaining batter and smooth the top. Bake at 325F for about 65-70 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Rest in pan for 5 minutes then invert onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

8. While the cake cools make the vanilla icing by adding milk and vanilla to powdered sugar in a bowl. Whisk until smooth adding more milk as needed for consistency then spoon over the cooled cake.

Pro Tips for this Recipe

Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. Do not over-mix the batter! The key to a light fluffy cake is mixing until Just combined, otherwise you’ll activate the gluten in the flour and your cake will be dense and gummy. You can add other spices to the filling like nutmeg, allspice, or even cardamom.  Chopped candied or toasted pecans can be sprinkled over the icing for added crunch and visual appeal. When you enjoy this cake the next day give it 20 seconds in the microwave to warm up the butter in the batter. It will have that fresh out of the oven tenderness and be that much more delicious. 

Why is it called Sock It To Me Cake?

Sock-it-to-Me was a catchphrase in the Seventies popularized by the comedy show Laugh In. It was originally printed on the back of the Duncan-Hines Golden Cake mix box and it still found there today. This cake packs a powerful punch of flavor that makes the name quite appropriate though perhaps a bit odd.

Can you make this with box cake mix?

Yes! Many recipes use boxed butter or yellow cake mix to make this bundt cake. You can definitely do that if you’re in a rush or have some boxed cake to use up. If using box mix then you’ll add 1 cup of sour cream, 1/4 cup water, 4 eggs, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar to make the bundt cake.

How many boxes of cake mix do I need?

For a standard sized bundt pan you will need one package of boxed cake mix. 

What can I add to this cake?

Try adding about half a cup of chopped toasted pecans to on top, they bring so much flavor and texture to the cake. You can also substitute some of the milk in the icing for maple syrup or even bourbon for a twist on the classic vanilla. If you love this recipe try these out!Coffee CakeRum CakeBanana PuddingYellow Cake RecipePound Cake If you’ve tried this Southern Sock it to Me Cake recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!