Dolly Parton Sock It to Me Cake
Dolly Parton Sock It to Me Cake starts with a cake mix and features a buttery cinnamon-brown sugar swirl for an easy, delicious Southern dessert.
If there was ever a cake that needed a little extra “sock” in its Sock It to Me, this might be it.
I’ve made plenty of doctored cake mix recipes over the years, but this one took an unexpected turn when I went digging through my pantry for a box of vanilla pudding—and discovered I didn’t have one. What I did have was cheesecake pudding.
And after tasting the batter? I’m not sure I’d go back.
This rich, buttery Bundt cake starts with Dolly Parton’s yellow cake mix and gets doctored with sour cream, butter, eggs, milk, and cheesecake pudding. A ribbon of brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans runs right through the middle.
It’s an old-fashioned cake with a little something extra—which seems entirely appropriate for Dolly.
Why a Sock It to Me Cake for Dolly?
The name alone made this one irresistible.
“Sock it to me” is one of those phrases that immediately takes me back to another era. And while this isn’t a cake directly associated with one particular Dolly Parton movie or song, I couldn’t resist connecting it to 9 to 5.
After all, Violet, Judy, and Doralee spend much of that movie being pushed around by their horrible boss, Franklin Hart. Eventually, the women decide they’ve had quite enough.
And things get...interesting.
If ever there were three women ready to sock it to somebody, it was those three.
There’s also something wonderfully retro about a Sock It to Me Cake. It’s the sort of Bundt cake that showed up on family tables, at church potlucks, and beside the coffee pot for decades.
And Dolly herself has always managed to combine those same things I love about vintage recipes: familiarity, nostalgia, Southern charm, and just enough sparkle to keep things interesting.
Check out the Master List of All of my Dolly Recipes!
If you're looking for all of the cakes, cookies, breads, and so on, follow this link to a wonderful Dolly-inspired post filled with new recipes, most of which start with Dolly Parton cake mixes!
What Is a Sock It to Me Cake?
A traditional Sock It to Me Cake is a rich yellow Bundt cake with a cinnamon, brown sugar, and pecan filling running through the center. Most versions finish with a simple powdered sugar glaze.
Think of it as somewhere between a buttery pound cake and a cinnamon coffee cake.
This version starts with a boxed cake mix, but we’re doctoring it considerably. Sour cream adds richness and moisture, while instant pudding gives the cake more body and that dense, tender texture I want from this type of Bundt cake.
And then there’s my accidental twist.
The Cheesecake Pudding Was an Accident—and I'm Keeping It
My original plan was to use vanilla instant pudding. There was just one problem: I didn’t have any. I did, however, have a box of cheesecake instant pudding, so into the bowl it went.
The minute I tasted the batter, I knew we had something. The cheesecake pudding gives the batter an almost custard-like richness. It doesn’t turn this into cheesecake, of course, but it adds another layer of flavor that works beautifully with the yellow cake, sour cream, cinnamon, brown sugar, and pecans.
So I'm calling it an extra sock in the Sock It to Me Cake. If you want to make a more traditional version, feel free to use vanilla instant pudding instead. But based on that batter alone, I highly recommend giving the cheesecake version a try.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 box Dolly Parton’s Favorite Yellow Cake Mix
- 1 small box (3.4-ounce) cheesecake instant pudding mix
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cinnamon-Pecan Filling
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped pecans
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
You'll find a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Dolly Parton Sock It to Me Cake
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Prepare a Bundt pan very well with Baker’s Joy or another baking spray containing flour. Be especially careful to coat all of those little grooves and the center tube. A cake this pretty deserves to come out in one piece!
In a large mixing bowl, combine the yellow cake mix and dry cheesecake pudding mix.
Add the eggs, melted butter, sour cream, milk, and vanilla. Mix until everything is thoroughly combined. The batter will be thick, creamy, and considerably richer than ordinary boxed cake batter.
In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped pecans.
Spread approximately half of the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan, smoothing it into an even layer.
Sprinkle the cinnamon-pecan mixture evenly over the batter, keeping it mostly toward the center of the cake rather than pressing it against the sides of the pan.
Dollop the remaining cake batter over the filling. Carefully spread it until the cinnamon-pecan mixture is completely covered.
Bake at 350°F for about 50 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown, the top is set, and a tester inserted into the cake portion comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Place the cake on a wire rack and allow it to cool in the pan for about 10–15 minutes before carefully turning it out onto the rack.
Make the Simple Cinnamon Glaze
Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and enough milk or cream to reach a thick but pourable consistency.
Drizzle the glaze over the completely cooled cake, allowing it to run naturally down the ridges.
And don't worry if you're making the cake ahead. You can cool it completely, wrap it well, refrigerate it overnight, and glaze it the following day.
Serve and Enjoy!
What to Expect From This Cake
This isn't meant to have the light, fluffy crumb of a basic yellow layer cake. We're taking a cake mix and pushing it firmly into pound-cake territory.
Between the butter, sour cream, eggs, and pudding, you should end up with a moist, rich cake with enough structure to hold that cinnamon-pecan ribbon in the middle.
The brown sugar mixture brings caramel notes, the cinnamon gives it that familiar old-fashioned coffee-cake flavor, and the pecans provide some much-needed crunch.
Then the cheesecake pudding comes along and gives the whole thing a little unexpected richness.
Sock it to me, indeed.
Variations
You can absolutely make this cake your own. Use vanilla instant pudding if you'd like to stick closer to the traditional flavor. Walnuts can replace the pecans, although I'm partial to pecans in a Southern Bundt cake. You can also add a little extra cinnamon to the filling if you want that ribbon to be more pronounced.
For an even richer glaze, use heavy cream instead of milk.
And if you don't want a glaze at all, a simple dusting of powdered sugar would work beautifully.
A Dolly-Worthy Cake
There’s something about these Dolly Parton cake mixes that has surprised me as I’ve worked my way through them. The flavors and colors seem a little softer than many traditional boxed cake mixes. They don't come across quite as artificial or intensely colored as I expected.
Which is perhaps a funny observation to make in a collection inspired by a woman who has spent decades happily joking about her own decidedly not-natural appearance.
That's part of what makes Dolly so lovable. She's always been in on the joke.
And maybe that's why this particular recipe feels right for this series. It starts with something familiar, changes considerably depending on what we put into it, and ends up becoming something different from what it was in the beginning.
A little like the women in Dolly's movies.
A little like the women in our own lives.
And sometimes, as I learned when I reached for vanilla pudding and came up with cheesecake instead, the unexpected version turns out to be the one worth keeping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely. Vanilla instant pudding is the more traditional choice and will give you a classic Sock It to Me Cake flavor. I used cheesecake pudding because that's what I had on hand, and I loved the extra richness it brought to the batter.
No. Add the dry instant pudding mix directly to the cake mix.
Yes. Simply leave them out. You'll still have a delicious cinnamon-brown sugar ribbon through the cake.
Sour cream adds moisture, richness, and density. It helps transform an ordinary cake mix into something much closer to a homemade pound cake.
Yes, and Bundt cakes are terrific make-ahead desserts. Cool the cake completely, wrap it well, and refrigerate it. I recommend waiting until the next day to add the glaze.
Use a baking spray containing flour and coat the pan thoroughly, including every ridge and the center tube. After baking, give the cake a short cooling period before turning it out. Waiting too long can sometimes make a Bundt cake more reluctant to release.
Yes. Freeze the completely cooled cake—or individual slices—well wrapped. For the prettiest result, freeze it before adding the glaze and glaze after thawing.
About This Recipe
This recipe is part of my collection of recipes inspired by Dolly Parton—Southern flavors, familiar desserts, vintage favorites, and a little storytelling thrown in for good measure.
For this one, I started with Dolly Parton’s yellow cake mix and turned it into the sort of rich cinnamon-pecan Bundt cake that feels right at home at a church potluck, family gathering, or around the kitchen table with a cup of coffee.
And because baking rarely goes exactly according to plan in my kitchen, the missing vanilla pudding gave us cheesecake pudding instead.
I think Dolly would approve. 💛
Other Dolly Inspired Recipes
If you loved the Sock it to me Cake you'll flip over these other Dolly inspired offerings!
- Dollywood Cinnamon Bread (Copycat Recipe)
- Dolly Parton Banana Bread
- Dolly Parton Banana Bread Cookies
- Dolly Parton Pineapple Coconut Cake
- Dolly Parton Coconut Cookies with Lemon Glaze
- Dolly Parton Apples & Bananas Dump Cake
- Dolly Parton Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with Nutella
- Dolly Parton Gooey Butter Bars
- Dolly Parton Mississippi Mud Cake
- Strawberry Pound Cake
- Dolly Parton Sock It to Me Cake
- Dolly Parton Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars
- Dolly Parton Snickerdoodle Cake (yet to be written)
- Dolly Parton Pecan Pie Brownies (yet to be written)
Thanks for Stopping By!
If you make this delicious cake and love it please leave a comment or review. And before you go, please pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!
Janice Thompson is a professional baker, cake designer, and author with over 20 years of experience creating unique cakes and desserts. She’s the creator of Out of the Box Baking, where she shares her favorite doctored cake mix recipes, tutorials, and baking tips. Learn more →
Dolly Parton Sock it to Me Cake
This easy Dolly Parton Sock It to Me Cake starts with a yellow cake mix and gets an irresistible ribbon of brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans through the center. It’s soft, buttery, and wonderfully simple—the kind of old-fashioned Bundt cake that’s just as good with morning coffee as it is for dessert.
Ingredients
- For the cake
- 1 box Dolly Parton Favorite Yellow Cake Mix
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the cinnamon swirl
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- For the glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons milk, plus more as needed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease and flour a Bundt pan, making sure to get into all of the grooves.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, sour cream, eggs, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Beat until the batter is smooth and well combined.
- In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, chopped pecans, and cinnamon.
- Pour about half of the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon-brown sugar mixture evenly over the batter, keeping it slightly away from the outer edges of the pan. Spoon the remaining batter over the filling and gently smooth the top.
- Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then carefully turn the cake out onto a wire rack or serving plate. Allow it to cool completely.
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Add a splash more milk if necessary to reach a pourable consistency. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
Notes
Don’t worry if that cinnamon-brown sugar layer looks like a lot when you add it—it creates that gorgeous ribbon through the center of the finished cake. Toasting the pecans first will give them even more flavor, but it’s completely optional.
For the best texture, keep the cake tightly covered at room temperature for 2–3 days. It can also be refrigerated, but bring slices back to room temperature before serving.
