Sock-it-to-Me Cake

1 yellow cake mix

4 large eggs

1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese + 2 Tbsp. milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

Streusel Filling:

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup finely chopped pecans

Glaze:

½ cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. melted butter

1 tsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.  Melt cream cheese in microwave until soft.  Stir in milk.  Combine cake mix, eggs, water and cream cheese.  Mix well for 2-3 minutes on medium speed.  Pour ½ of the batter into the pan.  In another bowl mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans.  Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter (save 2-3 Tbsp. for topping).  Add remaining batter over streusel mix.  Bake 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Glaze:  Mix the powdered sugar, melted butter and milk.  Drizzle over hot cake that has been placed on a plate.  Sprinkle with remaining streusel filling.

COMMENT:  I have a friend who is 99 years old and her favorite cake is the Sock-it-to-Me Cake.  I normally buy one but when I was getting ready to make something good to take to the nursing home on Sunday I spotted a Sock-it-to-Me Cake on the Duncan Hines site.  I checked it out and found it a bit hard to read due to the way it was written but decided to give it a try anyway.  The original recipe called for sour cream, which I normally keep but found that I was out and didn't want to go all the way to the store for just one cup.  Then I spotted the cream cheese.  I knew that if I microwaved it and added just a little milk it would end up the consistency of sour cream so I made that substitution.  It was one that I'll be using in the future for not only sweet dishes but also a few veggie dishes.  The original also called for a carton of their frosting mix.  I seldom use store bought frosting so I made up my own using the powdered sugar.  They also added 1/4 cup of sugar to the cake mix.  I couldn't see the need so I eliminated that.  My only other change was to save some of the streusel to sprinkle on the top.  All of these changes worked beautifully.  The taste the cream cheese gave the cake was so good.  This is a simple, yet one of the best cakes that would be great for the upcoming holidays.