Easy sock it to me cake recipe with sour cream is buttery, rich and tastes like it came from a bakery! A classic Southern style bundt cake but made easier with this hack with Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker box and a few simple ingredients!
You may have seen the Pioneer Woman make this and wondered if you could do it faster with a few tweaks, we got you!! Cake mix hacks are my thing y’all. It is a way to make a delicious dessert with a head start. (affiliate links present)
What is sock it to me cake?
This funny sounding dessert is a classic Southern-style bundt cake that features a buttery, moist yellow cake with a cinnamon sugar pecan filling swirled inside. It’s typically made using a doctored-up cake mix, making it easy to prepare while still feeling homemade. It was popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s featured in the show Laugh-In comedy show and the fun name stuck!
Why we love this funny named cake
I mean it is fun to say the name right? That is where it starts and makes everyone smile when you hear it you want to hear the story. Maybe it is something your Southern Grandmother used to make or you had it at a restaurant. There’s always some sort of story (if not make your own y’all). Homemade is great, but nobody will know the difference when they taste it this way…..
Ingredient Notes
You are going to start making the cake batter with 1 box of cake mix, yellow used here but white would work. If you wanted another version you could even make this as a Muffin Mix Cake. That version would be smaller in size and the flavors aren’t as diverse but yet another great tweak the original version.
Melted butter will make it super moist, a dairy free plant based product would work too. I will say that this alternative isn’t salted typically so you might want to add a pinch of that into the mix to bring out the sweetness.
Sour cream will add moisture to the dessert too, alternatives to this would be Greek yogurt, pumpkin puree if you were making a Fall flavor, or even mashed avocado works.
White sugar sweetens it a bit more, white granulated we are referring to. We like some additional vanilla extract, almond extract is another option. And you will need 4 eggs which are best added at room temperature.
Filling
The streusel filling starts off with Brown sugar for the center with Cinnamon and/or a bit of nutmeg if you like that flavor, and we like pecans but those are crushed and optional
Frosting
We make the glaze on top with Powdered sugar, it’s the base of any simple frosting in a small bowl added in with some regular or dairy free Milk, use more for thinner and some Butter, melted, just enough to become creamy and thick to your liking. Do not add until baked goods are cool completely out of the bundt pan and set on to a plate for serving.
Substitutions and Variations
If you need this to be dairy free that is pretty easy. Use plain or vanilla almond milk or cashew milk for the glaze. In the cake you can find lactose free sour cream that is fantastic and vegan plant based butter from Country Crock tastes amazingly similar when you bake with it. We have done this with our Coffee Cake with Yellow Cake Mix and nobody knew the difference. 😉
In the middle you can make this nut-free if you need it to be. Don’t like pecans? Use crushed walnuts instead, this is just the traditional listed below. I haven’t tried adding some diced fruit like in our Easy Peach Cobbler with Cake Mix but I think it would work, about 1/2 cup or so canned would be best.
For parties I like to make this and our Breakfast Bundt Cake for brunch items so one is savory and the other is sweet…..
Sock it to Me Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 bundt pan silicone style used
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 box cake mix, yellow used
- 3/4 c butter, melted
- 1 c sour cream
- 1/3 c sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 4 eggs
Filling
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 c pecans
Frosting
- 2 c powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp milk, more for thinner
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine cake mix, sugar, melted butter, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. Spray non stick spray in bundt pan.
- Spoon half of the batter into the pan. Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and chopped pecans in a different dish and sprinkle them on top of the batter (reserve 3-4 tablespoons of the nut mixture). Try not to let it touch the sides of the pan.
- Spoon the remaining batter on top and smooth it out. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer comes out mostly clean with moist crumbs attached.
- Then let the cake cool in the pan, on a cooling rack, for about 20 minutes. Then carefully flip the pan over with a wire rack or plate on top and slide out of pan to continue to cool.
- In a large glass, whisk together all the ingredients for the glaze. It should be neither too thick nor too runny, and should be easy to spread on the cake. Pour the glaze over the top and sprinkle with the remaining nut mixture. Let the glaze set.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Frequently asked questions
The cake’s name reflects this fun, punchy attitude, suggesting that it is so good it “hits you” with its deliciousness. A rich Southern-style bundt cake with a buttery texture, it often featuring a swirl of cinnamon, pecans, and brown sugar. Popular in the 1970s after it was featured on a comedy show, it was then that the recipe started appearing on the back of Duncan Hines cake mix boxes.
