This Five Flavor Pound Cake is one of my fave recipes from my cousin Johnnie Mae! She was from Mississippi so you know she could get down in the kitchen. Her recipe combines vanilla, lemon, rum, coconut and butter extracts in a sour cream cake batter. You might wonder if the flavors are too overpowering but they end up blending together perfectly. It’s very rich and moist too. And there’s a nice glaze that ties it all together. Give it a go and see what you think.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Five Flavor Pound Cake Ingredients
For the Cake
- Butter: Unsalted is my go to but you can grab salted as well. Just leave out the salt. Make sure this is room temp before mixing.
- Sugar: Sweetens the batter. For a deeper flavor, you can use half granulated sugar and half brown sugar.
- Eggs: Make sure these are room temp.
- Cake Flour: I don’t suggest swapping this with all-purpose. If you don’t have it, make your own homemade cake flour with all-purpose and cornstarch. Don’t forget to sift.
- Sour Cream: Plain greek yogurt also works here.
- Salt and Baking Soda: Grab kosher and you can even leave out the baking soda if you want a denser tighter crumb. Totally optional.
- Flavorings: Johnnie used vanilla, lemon, rum, coconut, and butter extracts but you can mix and match with whatever you like! Almond extract can easily replace rum, and vanilla works as a solid stand-in for butter extract.
For the Glaze
- Powdered Sugar: You can also blend granulated sugar in a blender until it becomes powdered.
- Milk: Grab any milk you want.
How to make Five Flavor Pound Cake
1
Add
butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix for 3-4 minutes on high speed until very pale yellow and fluffy.
2
Add
eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides of your bowl as needed.
3
Turn your mixer down
to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments then add salt and baking soda. Be careful not to overbeat.
4
Add in
sour cream and all of the extracts, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
5
Mix
until just combined and turn off the mixer.
6
Pour
cake batter into the prepared bundt pan.
7
Bake
for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check that a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. If it doesn’t let it cook another 5-10 minutes then check it again with a toothpick for doneness.
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
8
Whisk
the confectioners’ sugar, milk and all the extracts (vanilla, lemon, rum, coconut and butter) together in a small bowl. The icing should be thick, but pourable where you can still drizzle it over the cake with the whisk.
9
Pour
over cooled cake and let sit for about 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Five Flavor Pound Cake
Y'all ain't ready for this Five Flavor Pound Cake! We got vanilla, lemon, rum, coconut, and butter all up in there – it's so good you'll be ready to fight.
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Servings: 16 slices
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 3 cups cake flour sift after measuring
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon rum extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 teaspoon butter extract
For the Glaze:
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar sift after measuring
- 1 tablespoon milk + 2 teaspoons
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon lemon extract
- ¼ teaspoon rum extract
- ¼ teaspoon coconut extract
- ¼ teaspoon butter extract
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Start by preheating your oven to 325°F then liberally spray a 12 cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray that has flour.
- In your stand mixer or a large bowl if using a hand mixer, add butter and sugar and mix for 3-4 minutes on high speed until very pale yellow and fluffy.
- Next add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides of your bowl as needed.
- Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments then add salt and baking soda. Be careful not to overbeat.
- Lastly add in sour cream and all of the extracts, scrape down sides and mix until just combined and turn off the mixer.
- Pour cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check that a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. If it doesn’t let it cook another 5-10 minutes then check it again with a toothpick for doneness.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes then invert the cake on a serving plate for at least an hour or until the cake is cool to touch.
For the Icing:
- After the cake has completely cooled, make the glaze. Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, milk and all the extracts (vanilla, lemon, rum, coconut and butter) together in a small bowl.
- The icing should be thick, but pourable where you can still drizzle it over the cake with the whisk. If it is too thick, add more milk starting at 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Pour over cooled cake and let sit for about 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
-
- Start Low, Then Go High: Begin creaming your butter and sugar on low speed if you’re using a hand mixer to keep that splatter in check. Once it’s combined, you can turn up the speed.
-
- Sift That Flour: Even if it’s cake flour, give it a good sift after you measure it. It helps everything mix together smooth.
-
- Don’t Overbeat the Batter: When you’re mixing in the flour, salt, and baking soda, keep the mixer on low and stop as soon as everything’s just combined. Overmixing can make your cake dense, and you def don’t want that.
-
- Test the Glaze: If your glaze is too thick, don’t stress boo! Add more milk one teaspoon at a time and whisk until it’s the perfect consistency for drizzling.
How to store Five Flavor Pound Cake
To keep it moist and delicious, wrap your cake tightly in plastic wrap or pop it in an airtight container. Leave it on the counter so it stays nice and fresh. No need to refrigerate unless you’re planning to keep it longer!How long will Five Flavor Pound Cake last?
At room temp, this cake will stay fresh for about 3-4 days. But honestly, I’d be surprised if it even lasts that long!Can I freeze 5 flavor pound cake ?
Yep, you can freeze this beauty! Wrap the whole cake (or slices) in plastic wrap and then foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to dig in, let it thaw at room temp until it’s soft and yummy again.Nutrition
Serving: 1 slice | Calories: 481kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 194mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 712IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @GrandbabyCakes or tag #grandbabycakes!
Recipe Tips
- Sift That Flour: Even if it’s cake flour, give it a good sift after you measure it. It keeps the batter lighter.
- Don’t Overbeat the Batter: When you’re mixing in the flour, salt, and baking soda, keep the mixer on low and stop as soon as everything’s just combined. Overmixing can make your cake dense.
- Test the Glaze: If your glaze is too thick, add more milk one teaspoon at a time and whisk until it’s the perfect consistency for drizzling.
Frequently asked questions
How can I make this cake gluten-free?
Easy, boo. You can swap the cake flour for a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend that’s made for baking.
My glaze is too thin. How can I fix it?
Just add more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until it thickens up. Whisk it well so it stays nice and smooth.
Why did my five flavor pound cake sink in the middle?
That usually happens if you opened the oven door too early or if you overmixed the batter. Keep that oven door shut until it’s close to done, and remember to only mix the batter until it’s just combined.
pinterest 
facebook 
twitter 
email
Hi! Can you use lemon zest instead of lemon extract
Oh absolutely! Sounds delish!
Girl I made the 5 favor pound cake last night it was delicious!!! It was everything you said and more it was moist and my husband is not a cake eater and he said it was very good he likes his cake when its still warm and the 1st day. I always take my 90yr old aunt cake so she can have it with her coffee and she already called me to say it was delicious just to know she enjoyed it was made me happy. So thank you so much for sharing!!!
Awe, that is amazing. I am so happy to hear that she loved it, and thank you so much for sharing it with her.
Let me tell you, when I say this cake was moist and delicious!!! I made this cake for Thanksgiving, my 1st time ever making a pound cake, and it came out PERFECT!! It was a big win in my household.
Yay! So happy to hear it!!
OMG… Listen, this cake literally caused a fight between my two sons. One is 7 years old, and the other is 16. It got down to the last slice, and the 16-year-old took it without knowing I had already promised it to the 7-year-old. By the time I turned around, the 7-year-old had leaped from the couch onto the 16-year-old’s back. It was like watching Wrestle Mania with somebody coming off the top rope. Pure chaos ensued. Needless to say, there was no way to make enough of this cake to keep everybody happy. Bakers, please tread lightly on this one. It is “slap ya momma” good, but it’s bound to be treacherous in the end!
Made this for Sunday dessert. It’s an instant hit! So moist delicious and flavorful. It’s my new favorite
Oh fantastic. So glad you enjoyed this.
Hi so looking forward to trying this… Quick question, imma lil bit of a nerd when when it comes to baking so im always looking at the science…can you tell the reason for the baking soda and salt over baking powder. Is it merely more enhancement of flavor and BP may rise it too much? Also, if I swapped tsp of rum instead extract will it affect the bake? Or do you advise saving that tsp of real rum for the icing?
Hi, Lashonda! Pound cakes are supposed to be dense and don’t have the same leavening as a traditional sponge cake. You can try rum extract, it might be too strong though so I would start with more of 1/4 teaspoon and build the flavor from there. Hope you like it!
Lashonda, baking soda can be used in place of baking powder whenever you have other acidic ingredients in your batter that should be neutralized. Baking soda brings with it properties to neutralize acid. If deciding to use baking powder along with other acidic ingredients, you would have to add some additional ingredient(s) to perform this function. Baking soda provides this for you while also being a leavener. Keep in mind that swapping between baking powder and baking soda is not a one-for-one substitution in terms of quantity. Baking soda is 3 times stronger than baking powder. Therefore, one tablespoon of baking powder would be equivalent to 1 teaspoon of baking soda (i.e., exactly one-third of the former’s quantity).
I have a question, what does dense mean in a cake? Please help me
In the context of cakes, dense refers to the texture and structure of the cake. A dense cake is typically heavier and less airy than a light, fluffy cake. This happens because there is less incorporation of air into the batter, resulting in a firmer, more compact crumb.
Hummmm, sounds good. I’ll give it a try but will use loaf pans as a bundt is too large for hubby and me. Sooo, I’ll freeze one and frost it when needed. Thanks for the recipe.
Love that idea! Hope you guys enjoy!
Can you leave a flavor out? Do you need to increase other flavors? Not a fan of coconut…..
Sure you can leave one out, no need to increase the others! Hope you enjoy!