Sock It To Me Cake Recipe From Scratch

Sock It To Me Cake is an ole Southern stand-by that’s perfectly moist and so easy to make from scratch. Enjoy a scrumptious slice with your morning coffee.

sock it to me cake slice

A cross between a coffee and pound cake, this Sock It To Me Cake is a great cake to have with coffee but is an equally good dessert. A Southern specialty, this butter bundt cake with an enticing streusel filling is complete with a sweet glaze drizzled on top. Most importantly, it is moist and easy to make, since it starts with a Duncan Hines cake mix.  It is said that Duncan Hines made this cake famous in the ’70s and ’80s by putting its recipe on the back of the box, so we certainly don’t want to break with tradition!

However, you can also make this Sock It To Me Cake recipe from scratch. Follow this easy from scratch cake recipe and simply use a bundt cake pan instead of a regular cake pan. Now let’s get to some baking!

sock it to me cake ingredients

Recipe Ingredients

  • Yellowcake mix
  • Oil
  • Dark brown sugar (you can also use light brown)
  • Sour cream
  • Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Water
  • Pecans
  • Cinnamon
  • Vanilla

Add all the dry ingredients in a bowl

Making the streusel mixture

Place 3 tablespoons of cake mix, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans in a small mixing bowl.  Stir until well combined and set aside.

Mixing streusel mixture in bowl

It will look like this.

Sock It To Me Cake ingredients in mixing bowl.

Making the Batter

Put the remainder of the cake mix, sour cream, oil, water, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.  

Mixing ingredients with electric mixer.

Blend with mixer for 1 minute, scrape down sides and continue mixing for 2 more minutes on medium speed.

Cake ingredients being mixed with electric mixer.

The batter should be thick and creamy like this.

pour half batter in pan

Pour half of the batter into a greased and floured bundt pan.

sprinkle struessel over batter

Sprinkle streusel mixture over cake batter.

pour rest of the cake batter over struessel

Pour the remaining cake batter over the streusel filling.

spread it gently

Spread gently to the sides of the pan.

bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes

Bake this at 350 for 50-55 minutes.  

Let cool in pan about ten minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Making the Glaze for the Cake

add milk to confectioners sugar

Our glaze ingredients are confectioners sugar and milk.

mix together until drizzle consistency

Place the powdered sugar in a bowl and add milk a tablespoon at a time while whisking.  Add enough milk to make a glaze thin enough to drizzle over the cooled cake.

Glaze drizzling down sides of cake.

Isn’t she a beauty?  I think she is worthy of a bakery case.  And the great part is, she tastes equally as amazing. Enjoy!

sock it to me cake slice

Storage

  • You can store your Sock It To Me Cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week or at room temperature for up to four days.
  • If you want to freeze slices, double wrap them and store them in the freezer for up to three months. When it’s time to enjoy, simply thaw the slices overnight in the fridge.

Recipe Notes

  • I find using sour cream with cake mixes helps to ensure a thicker, more moist cake result.  It’s one of those ingredients that really compliments almost any cake or brownie mix.  You can also use greek yogurt, coconut yogurt or buttermilk.  This article shows some other ways to spruce up box cake mixes too.
  • If you want your glaze to just be a drizzle on top and soak into the cake some, make it thinner. But if you want your glaze to really sit thick atop the cake like icing, you want it to be the consistency of school glue. If it gets a little thin, just add a tablespoon or two more of sugar. Alternatively, if it’s a little thick, add a tablespoon more milk.

fork picking up bite of Sock It To Me Cake

Recipe FAQs

Where Does the Name Sock It To Me Cake Come From?

There are questions about the origin of the cake itself but many who are old enough will remember the show “Laugh-In” in the ’60s and ’70s.  They made the term “Sock It To Me” quite popular and since it means, “give it to me now”, I am thinking that is why the cake got its name.  Because when you see it, you just want whoever made it to give it to ya right now!  

You might also enjoy these other delectable cake recipes:

Apple Dapple Cake

Red Velvet Bundt Cake Recipe Sooo Good!

Lemon Angel Food Cake Roll A Heavenly Dessert

Chocolate Pound Cake with Fudge Glaze

sock it to me cake slice

Sock It To Me Cake

Sock It To Me Cake is moist and easy to make. It's origins aren't as clear but your family won't care since the cake is usually gone in no time.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cake
Servings: 4
Calories: 418kcal

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1 package plain yellow cake mix
  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans optional
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Glaze

  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease and flour tube pan or bundt pan. Set aside.
  • For the streusel filling, place 3 tablespoons of cake mix, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans in a small mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
    1 package plain yellow cake mix, 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • Place the remaining cake mix, sour cream, oil, water, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
    1 package plain yellow cake mix, 1 cup sour cream, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, 4 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • Beat for one minute with your mixer and stir down the sides as needed.
  • Continue beating for two minutes on medium speed.
  • Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan.
  • Top with streusel mixture.
  • Pour the remaining cake batter over the streusel and spread gently to the sides of the pan.
  • Place in oven and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until golden and cake springs back when lightly pressed with your finger.
  • Let cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto rack to cool completely.
  • To make the glaze, place sifted confectioners sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, and whisk until smooth. More milk can be added if needed until the glaze is thin enough to drizzle over the cake.
    1 cup confectioners sugar, 2 tablespoons milk

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 418kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

 

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71 Comments

  1. I may have missed it, but has someone already suggested using a toothpick (or cake tester) to make little holes in top of the cooled, turned-out cake to allow some of the glaze to drip into the cake? I would opt to do that just a little inside the top of the cake so that the holes don’t show too much. Such a pretty cake!

  2. I had to write and let you know that someone made 2 of these cakes to share with our adult Sunday School class today. All I heard were rave reviews about how great the cake is. We attend church in Memphis, TN and all I could think was, “I bet she reads the Southern Plate” blog. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

  3. Great comments today on Snowday fun, cakes…All the cold, snowy days, brings back a lot of good memories my daughter has about how excited she and her brother would get when they woke up to SNOW on the ground! Having just moved from Wichita, Kansas with lots of snow, (no snow days) to Central Arkansas where we might get a dusting of the white stuff, she still relives the excitement of awaking to SNOW and she was reliving and remembering this week from Northeast Alabama where she is a family and urgent care medical doctor, back to her “roots” pre-Civil War. “Get up,,,get up! Look out the window! It SNOWED last night! No school! (As a teacher in my school, I was excited, also.) Honestly, a snow day was better than Christmas! We had a day to make cookies, watch TV, time for our son to work on his model car kits, playing outside. She still sounded like a kid again, just thinking about it. They are both grandparents now; she is in Alabama and loves it there and her job, he is in Texas, retired Air Force and working in a related field of work. Snow days ARE sacred days to enjoy and remember. Yes, Christy, your kids will never forget the snow day with friends. If it does not snow, take a day if you can with them..have fun. You cannot get the time back.

  4. Sock it to me and 7-up cakes were my two favorite ones growing up in the 70’s. Thanks for bringing it back to mind. Also, I just LOVE your cake serving set!!!

  5. My Mom used to make this cake but I haven’t thought if it in years!! Working in the cotton mills of Gastonia was hard work but Mom always made time to cook special meals on Sunday and we always had dessert! This was cheap and easy and we loved it.. Thank you so much for your recipes and family stories. I have all of your cookbooks but still love seeing things posted on your site.

  6. My grandmother was a nurse in our small town hospital when I was growing up. This is one of the recipes she came home with, and everyone had to try. I also remember the 7 Up cake about that time. And they were always good! We also watched Laugh In, though looking back, it and Hee Haw were both a bit “racy” at the time. Times, they were a changing. Look where we are now!

  7. Wow! this Sock It To Me Cake looks delicious, haven’t tasted one since potluck days at work,one of my co-workers Donna, would always bring a Sock It To Me Cake. Thanks for the nice recipe!

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