Blast from the Past — Sock it to me Cake

I was lunching with my sister-in-law recently trying to think of a dessert to take to a party.  Something different, yet familiar.  I am not sure how we got on the subject of a Sock it To Me cake, but she thought that would be fun and something I could blog about.  I love taking vintage recipes from my past and bringing them back into play for my friends.

Despite popular belief, it wasn’t Goldie Hawn who coined the phrase “Sock it To Me.” It was Judy Carne during her stint on the popular 60s variety show Laugh In. I remember passing through the room when my parents would watch it thinking it was a dumb show.  But, back to cake…

In the 70s, the Sock it To Me cake was all the rage.  Every house wife across America was making it.  Mother made this cake at least once a week.  And then it fell out of popularity.  It’s been years since I ate one, and I don’t think I had ever baked the cake.  I found a recipe on Pinterest and it turned out pretty good.

Perfect for brunch with coffee or for dessert after dinner, it has a brown sugar and pecan filling sandwiched between yellow cake.  I don’t recall if Earnie iced hers, but I used the recipe’s recommendation for a glaze.

Over the weekend, I was looking for another recipe and guess what I found?  Earnie’s original recipe for the cake in her handwriting!  I’m kind of surprised it was on a recipe card, because she was famous for writing down recipes on envelopes, receipts and scraps of paper.  She was chatty on the phone and loved to exchange recipes with friends. 

Her version didn’t have much filling so if you want to make the one I found to modify your recipe check out my Pinterest Cakes Board.  That recipe calls for a little more cinnamon, brown sugar and 1/2 cup of pecans, which you can omit.

This recipe is going into a stack along with other recipes from my Aunt Helen and Grandmother for framing in my kitchen. That’s been on my to-do list for a while.  I promise to share it when I do.

Promise me one thing — right now, ask someone you love for their famous recipe and have them write it down for you to treasure always.  They may not always be with you, but a little piece of sweetness from their memory will last forever.