Five Flavor Pound Cake is made with five different extracts, both in the cake and in the optional glaze.

Tips for making the perfect five flavor pound cake

All ingredients should be at room temperature. This is particularly true for butter, eggs and milk.
Although you can use all-purpose flour, but cake flour is a more desirable choice for more tender crumbs.
Do not use store-brand sugar, flour and butter. Store-brand sugar is more finely ground than name brand sugar. Store-brand butter contains more liquid fat, and store-brand flour contains more hard wheat. Store-brand will affect the pound cake negatively. In fact, these are good to remember when you are baking any cake.
Use Pan Release to ensure that your cake removes easily from the pan.
When you use a loaf pan, you should bake your cake at 350 degrees F. When you use a Bundt pan, you would bake your cake at 325 degrees F. In both cases, the baking time will be at least one hour.
Always bake five flavor pound cake on the middle rack of the oven.
Use the wooden pick test to test for doneness, but avoid the middle crack as this can mislead you because of its moistness.

Five Flavor Pound Cake

Five Flavor Pound Cake is made with five different extracts, both in the cake and in the optional glaze.

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a 10-inch tube pan or Bundt pan with our Pan Release.

Cake

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, shortening and sugar until fluffy. Stop mixer and scrape sides. Mix again.
Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stop mixer and scrape sides. Mix again.
Add the extracts to the milk.
Add the salt and baking powder to the flour.
Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the creamed sugar mixture beginning and ending with the flour. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides. Mix until well combined.
Pour batter into your prepared pan. Smooth the top.
Bake for 75 to 85 minutes or until done.
Carefully insert a wooden pick into the center of the cake. The cake is done when dry crumbs or no crumbs stick to the pick. The internal temperature of the cake will be 200 degrees F when fully cooked. During the last 5 minutes of baking, make the glaze.

Glaze (optional)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the sugar, butter and water. Bring to a slow boil, reduce heat, and simmer for three minutes, whisking about every 30 seconds.
Remove the pan from the heat source and whisk in the extracts.
When the cake is done cooking, remove from the oven and use a long skewer to poke holes all over the cake while it is still in the pan.
Using a butter knife, loosen the cake around the edges of the pan as well as the center hole. Carefully pour the hot glaze over the cake allowing the glaze to seep into the cake. Allow the cake to set for 10 to 15 minutes to soak in the glaze.
When all of the glaze has been absorbed, loosen the edges and center of the cake again using a butter knife. Flip cake over onto a cake platter.
Store in an airtight cake taker either on the counter or the refrigerator. It will stay fresh on the counter for 3 to 4 days and in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.

Do NOT use margarine in this recipe.

The key to a good pound cake is in the mixing process. Pound cakes like to be mixed a lot whereas layer cakes don’t.

Photo credit: (c) Can Stock Photo / fahrwasser