Sock It To Me Cake

Sock it to me cake is the Southern Bundt cake with a cinnamon-pecan surprise running through its middle — a rich sour cream pound cake swirled with a brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecan filling, topped with a vanilla glaze. It was created for a Duncan Hines recipe contest in the late 1960s and won first prize; the name, borrowed from a then-famous catchphrase, stuck, and the cake has been a church cookbook staple ever since.

Why this recipe works: The sour cream in the batter makes the cake dense, moist, and tender — the ideal vehicle for a ribbon of cinnamon-pecan filling. The swirl is the whole show: a layer of brown sugar, cinnamon, and toasted pecans that bakes into a caramelized, slightly crunchy ribbon through the middle of every slice.

Key ingredients

• Butter, sugar, and eggs: the pound-cake base.
• Sour cream: the moist, tender crumb.
• Brown sugar, cinnamon, and toasted pecans: the swirl filling.
• A vanilla glaze: drizzled over the cooled cake.

Tips for the perfect sock it to me cake

Toast the pecans before adding them to the filling — it deepens their flavor. Pour half the batter into the Bundt pan, sprinkle the cinnamon-pecan filling evenly over it (avoiding the edges so the swirl stays in the middle), then top with the remaining batter. Bake at 350°F until a skewer comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Drizzle the glaze over the warm cake so it seeps into the top.

Variations and storage

Add chocolate chips to the swirl, swap the pecans for walnuts, or add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the glaze. The cake keeps 4 to 5 days at room temperature, covered, and freezes well for 3 months — it is a cake that travels and keeps, which is why it owns the potluck circuit.

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