Sock It to Me Cake

This vegan Sock It to Me Cake is a Southern favourite: a super moist Bundt cake swirled with cinnamon-spiced brown sugar and chopped pecans, then finished with an irresistible vanilla glaze. You’re going to love it!

The South is known for its iconic cake recipes. There’s red velvet cake, of course, but also peanut butter cake, Coca-Cola cake, and this Sock It to Me Cake.

What Is Sock It to Me Cake?

Sock It to Me Cake is a dense, buttery Bundt cake with a moist, tender crumb—almost like a pound cake! It’s laced with a ribbon of cinnamon, brown sugar, and nutty chopped pecans, then drizzled with a vanilla glaze over the top.

This is one of those cakes that can transition seamlessly from breakfast to dessert, but in all honesty, you’re going to want to eat it all day long. (Cake for dinner sound like a great idea to me!)

When making a vegan Sock It to Me Cake, there’s a lot of dairy and eggs to replace, which is how the original gets its dense, rich texture. I’ve swapped the eggs with applesauce for binding and vinegar, which reacts with the baking soda to give the cake a nice lift, while vegan sour cream, vegan butter, and oil replace the sour cream and butter in the cake. 

Why Is It Called Sock It to Me Cake?

“Sock it to me” was a catchphrase in the late 1960s thanks to the TV show Laugh-In and Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” How this phrase got attached to this buttery Bundt cake is anybody’s guess, but around this time, the Sock It to Me Cake recipe began appearing on the back of Duncan Hines’s yellow cake mix boxes and the rest is history.

Notes on Ingredients

Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.

Sock It to Me Cake

• Soy milk
• Apple cider vinegar – White vinegar will work, too.
• All-purpose flour
• Cornstarch
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Turmeric – The original Sock It to Me Cake is made with yellow cake mix; a pinch of turmeric will help replicate the golden colour.
• Oil – Any neutral-flavoured oil suitable for baking.
• Vegan butter
• Sugar
• Vegan sour cream
• Unsweetened applesauce – Don’t buy the kind with added sugar or cinnamon—you want plain here.
• Vanilla extract

Filling

• Pecans – Buy cheaper pecan pieces instead of whole pecans since you’ll be chopping them anyway.  
• Light brown sugar 
• Cinnamon 

Icing

• Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioners’ sugar.
• Non-dairy milk – Be sure to use a non-flavoured variety.
• Vanilla extract

How to Make Vegan Sock It to Me Cake

Here’s what you’ll need to do to make a vegan version of the classic Sock It to Me Cake.

Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350ºF, then grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.

Make vegan buttermilk. Whisk together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.

Make the filling. Stir together the pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. 

Mix the dry ingredients. Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and turmeric into a large bowl. 

Cream the butter and sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer), beat the vegan butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes.  Scrape down the sides as needed.

Mix the wet ingredients. Add the oil and beat for another 1 or 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Whisk together the soy milk mixture, sour cream, applesauce, and vanilla together in a medium bowl, then add these wet ingredients to the butter mixture and beat for 60 seconds.

Finish the batter. Adjust the mixer to the lowest speed and add the flour. Mix until just combined. 

Assemble. Spread two-thirds of the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle the filling over the batter, then spread the remaining batter on top of the filling. 

Bake. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Cool. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely in the pan. Once cool, turn it out onto a plate.

Ice the cake. Combine all of the icing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour the mixture over the cake.

Tips for Success

These simple tips will help you make a perfect vegan Sock It to Me Cake!

• Use room temperature ingredients. The vegan butter, soy milk, and sour cream should all be room temperature. They’ll hold more air if beaten when they’re warmer, which means your cake will rise higher.
• Don’t skip flouring the pan. Bundt pans have lots of nooks and crannies; flouring ensures that when you turn the cake out, it will come loose easily.
• Cover up any breakage. Sometimes even with the best of efforts, your cake sticks to the pan a bit. No worries! Press it back together, then pour icing over those spots. No one will see them!

How to Store

Vegan Sock It to Me Cake is best enjoyed the day of baking, however you can store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

Can This Recipe Be Frozen?

Yes! This recipe can be frozen for up to 2 months. To freeze your vegan Sock It to Me Cake, store slices in an airtight container or freezer bag and let them thaw at room temperature before serving.

If you’d like to freeze the whole cake, I recommend adding the icing after you’ve thawed it.