A vintage coffee cake, Sour Cream Somersault Cake starts with a yellow cake mix and a package of instant vanilla pudding and includes sour cream (thus, the name!) and then layers in a mixture of cinnamon-sugar and nuts that creates swirls of sweetness throughout the cake.
I love this cake with the fun name! Sour Cream Somersault Cake is definitely a vintage cake as my mom got the recipe from a friend more than 50 years ago. Baked in a bundt pan, it makes for a very pretty AND delicious coffee cake.
Like a lot of the best cakes in my opinion, this one starts with a yellow cake mix and a package of instant vanilla pudding. There is just something about those two ingredients together that seem to result in pure cake perfection.. If you don’t believe me, you must try this Golden Rum Cake, which is one of the easiest cakes I have ever made and one of the biggest people-pleasers!
The Sour Cream Somersault cake batter adds sour cream (thus, the name!) and then layers in a mixture of cinnamon-sugar and nuts that creates swirls of sweetness throughout the cake. It’s simple and easy and for that reason, this is my kind of cake that works as well for breakfast menus as it does for afternoon coffee or an anytime dessert.
One thing I noticed about a lot of vintage cake recipes is that the cake mix package sizes they call for are not available anymore. For instance, this original recipe calls for a 18.25-ounce yellow cake mix but today’s cake mixes are typically 15.25 ounces. In fact, the Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix I recently purchased is 13.25 oz. The cake still turned out fine for me even with the smaller-size cake mixes.
UPDATE: I went straight to the expert, Miss Betty Crocker herself. Here is what I learned regarding the smaller-sized mixes of today: “We know that affordability is important to our consumers- and that great taste is even more important. The package was previously 18.25 oz., and is now 15.25 oz., (with the exception of SM white cake mix, which was reduced to 16.25 oz.). This innovation bakes virtually the same size cake in the same 9×13 pan, while continuing to deliver great taste, high quality, and real value. Betty Crocker created this category and we are committed to ensuring it remains affordable for consumers.” Now you know!
2 Comments
Rita Hollander
December 22, 2023 at 4:55 pm
Do you swirl the cinnamon nut mixture?
Sarah
December 24, 2023 at 1:31 pm
That’s a great idea! I typically just kind of spoon it on top of the cake batter and layer it in. But I think a “swirl” sounds lovely and would probably make for an even prettier cake! If you try it, let me know how it turns out!