What comes to mind when you hear “Sock it to me?” Aretha Franklin’s “Respect?” Richard Nixon’s “Laugh-In” cameo? Or a tender yellow Bundt cake with a brown sugar and pecan filling and a shiny vanilla glaze?
For me, it has to be the cake, a retro classic that’s just as good today as when the recipe first appeared in the 1970s on the back of a cake-mix box. Millie Peartree brings us her homemade sock-it-to-me cake as the delicious finale to her Juneteenth feast. Keep this recipe bookmarked because people will be asking you to sock this to them all summer long.
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Sock–It–to–Me Cake
Also on Millie’s lovely menu — fit for any summer celebration — is a sticky, savory, caramelized baked chicken with hibiscus barbecue sauce that singes at the edges in the oven. The ruddy sauce is a nod to the red hibiscus drinks traditionally served on Juneteenth. The drinks’ vivid hue is a symbol of resilience and a reminder of the hard-won path to freedom.
Millie pairs the chicken with hush puppies made from a buttermilk cornmeal batter, and a tangy-sweet chow chow that swaps in watermelon for the usual summer vegetables.
But that’s not the only neat thing about Millie’s chow chow. She seasons it with jalapeño and a quick hibiscus simple syrup, giving it a deep, almost spicy tartness. The recipe makes more syrup than you need, so save the extra for stirring into cocktails and seltzer, or drizzling over strawberries and raspberries. It makes everything rosier.
In the spirit of Juneteenth abundance, here’s a bonus dessert recipe suggestion for you: Nicole Taylor’s excellent strawberry slab pie. Sporting a filling enhanced with fresh ginger and a crust spiked with cracked pepper, this summer classic walks the line between savory and sweet. Personally, I’d nudge it to the sweet side with a scoop of ice cream. Or serve it alongside the Bundt cake for a one-two punch!
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A Hibiscus Zinger
You can find dried hibiscus flowers (sometimes called sorrel or jamaica) in Caribbean, Mexican and African markets, as well as supermarkets and spice shops, and they’re great to have in the kitchen. I throw one in a mug, splash in some boiling water and let it steep into a heady, scarlet-colored tea.
Don’t have any on hand? In most recipes, you can substitute Red Zinger tea, which is mostly hibiscus. It’s not quite as red or as strong as the dried flowers alone, but it works well in a pinch.
