Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat 350F.
Lightly mist a 10" tube pan with vegetable oil spray;
then dust with flour.
Shake out the excess flour; then set aside.

Place the cake mix, sour cream, oil, water, sugar, eggs
and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 min.
Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Increase to medium and beat 2 min.,
scraping down when needed.
The batter should look thick and smooth.
Pour batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out.

Bake cake until it is golden and springs back
when lightly touched with your finger 50-55 min.
Remove from pan and let cool for 20 min., and invert on plate.
Cool completely before frosting.

Store cake unfrosted, covered in aluminum foil
at room temperature for up to 4 days
or in the icebox for up to 1 week.

NOTE: A very basic cake that is easily modified
with spices and flavorings. To make as a layer cake,
9" layers bake for 27-32 min.
For a 9x13" pan, bake for 30-45 min.
To bake as a cake that will be torted:
bake in a springform pan for 60-75 min.
When completely cool, slice into 3 layers

Variations: Made with almonds in the batter and
add 1 1/2 tsp. cake spice and frosted with
Brown Sugar Caramel Glaze that had coffee extract included.
To substitute for cake spice, use a combination of cinnamon,
nutmeg and ground anise.