Celebrate Black History Month with this vibrant pound cake, featuring symbolic black, red, yellow, and green colors beautifully swirled into the glaze and cake batter.
The colors of Black History Month have special meanings: black stands for people of African descent, red represents the blood shed for freedom, green symbolizes Africa’s land and wealth, and yellow stands for hope, justice, and equality. These colors are also found on the Pan-African flag, representing unity among African descendants worldwide.
To celebrate this special month, we’ve added these vibrant colors to the batter and glaze of our delicious Mile High Buttermilk Pound Cake.
More Pound Cake recipes ---> Dark Chocolate Pound Cake, Mile High Dark Chocolate Pound Cake, Red Velvet Pound Cake, Mile High Red Velvet Pound Cake, Mile High Sweet Potato Pound Cake with a Bourbon Caramel Glaze, Mile High Sweet Potato Pound Cake, Mile High Buttermilk Pound Cake, Mile High 7 Up Pound Cake
Ingredients needed to make the Pound Cake:
- All Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Unsalted Butter - room temperature
- Large Eggs - room temperature
- Buttermilk - room temperature
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Almond extract
- Vanilla extract or Vanilla bean paste
- Black, Red, Yellow and Green gel food coloring
Ingredients needed for the Buttermilk Glaze:
- Whole Milk - room temperature
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract or Vanilla bean paste
- Almond extract
- Black, Red, Yellow and Green gel food coloring
(Note: The full ingredient list is provided in the recipe card below.)
Recommended tools and equipment:
- Mile High Bundt Pan (this pan is needed for this volume of recipe)
- Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
- Gel food coloring
- Four Bowls
- Silicone Spatula
- Oven Thermometer
- Cake Keeper
- Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons
Steps to make the Pound Cake:
Preheat your oven to 315 degrees. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter together then slowly add in the granulated sugar. Mix on medium speed until creamy (approximately five minutes).
Add the almond and vanilla extracts. Then add the eggs to the bowl one at a time, mixing well after each addition before adding the next egg.
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the flour 1 c at a time, on low speed, until combined alternating with the buttermilk. Start with the flour and end with the flour.
Divide the batter equally into four separate bowls. Add 2-4 drops of the black food coloring to one bowl. Repeat the process in the separate bowls with the red, green and yellow food coloring.
Spray an 18-cup bundt pan with baking spray. Black is our dominant color, so start by pouring the black batter into the pan and spreading it evenly. Then, add the red batter and spread it evenly. Follow with the yellow batter, and finally, add the green batter, spreading each layer evenly as you go. (Watch the video for clarity)
Bake for about an hour and 30 minutes (or longer if needed). The cake is done once an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 15 - 20 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Allow the cake to continue to cool completely before adding the glaze.
Steps to make the Pound Cake Glaze:
Add the powdered sugar to a bowl. Slowly add in your milk until your desired glaze consistency is reached. (Add extract if you like. I simply forgot to add it this time, but the cake was still good without it lol).
Pour the glaze into four separate bowls, dividing it evenly. Add 2-4 drops of the black food coloring to one bowl. Repeat the process in the separate bowls with the red, green and yellow food coloring.
Then pour the glaze on your cooled pound cake as desired. (I first added the black glaze and allowed it to set for about 10 minutes. Then I added the green, yellow, and red glaze to the edge of the pound cake in three separate sections. Watch the video for clarity.)
Serve and enjoy once the glaze has set.
Helpful Guides for Beginners:
If you're new to baking I got you covered! Here are some helpful guides to help you along the way!
- How to make a moist Pound Cake
- Pound Cake Essential Tools
- Mistakes to avoid when baking a pound cake
- How to prepare Pound Cake ingredients
- How to Make a Pound Cake for Beginners
Pound Cake Tips + Tricks
Whether you are a beginner or have been in the baking game for a while, I hope these tips are helpful in making sure that your pound cake comes out great!
⇢ Always use room temperature ingredients – Standard pound cake ingredients include butter and eggs which should always be at room temperature to ensure that they properly blend into the batter and do not cause any clumping. Other common ingredients such as milk, cream cheese, etc should also be at room temperature. Make sure to allow enough time before baking to remove the ingredients from the refrigerator and sit them on the counter to allow them to come to room temperature.
⇢ Properly measure your ingredients – Always measure each ingredient before adding it to the cake to make sure that you have the accurate amount of each ingredient for the recipe. Baking requires exact measurements for the cake to come out correctly.
⇢ Properly cream the butter and sugar together– Once blended the texture should be light and fluffy. Blend the ingredients together at a moderate speed for at least two to three minutes.
⇢ Add the eggs one at a time– Eggs must be added one at a time blending well after each addition. Once you’ve added an egg to the batter and no longer see any yellow, then you can add another egg to the batter.
⇢ Don’t overmix your batter– Aside from creaming the butter and sugar together, once done adding an ingredient, immediately start adding the next ingredient. If you are not quite ready, stop the mixer until you're ready to add the next ingredient. After you have added the last ingredient, just mix until blended. If the batter still requires mixing, for example, if there is any unmixed batter on the side of the bowl, finish the mixing process using a spoon.
⇢ Spray the hell out of your bundt pan - My favorite method is using a baking spray such as Baker’s Joy which includes the flour and oil all in one can. It's always a no-fail method for me and the cake comes right out of the pan. You can also grease the pan with oil (solid or liquid) then dust the pan evenly with flour if you prefer that method.
Frequently Asked Questions:
That's up to you. I use pre-sifted flour and no longer sift my flour.
Sure. The type of flour used is preference.
Store the cake in an airtight container for up to five days. The cake can also be frozen for up to three months.
Ingredients
- Pound Cake Ingredients:
- 4 c All Purpose Flour
- 4 c Granulated Sugar
- 2 c Unsalted Butter - room temperature
- 10 Large Eggs - room temperature
- 1 ½ c Buttermilk - room temperature
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tsps Almond extract
- 2 tsps Vanilla extract or Vanilla bean paste
- Black, Red, Yellow and Green gel food coloring
- Glaze Ingredients:
- 2 c Powdered Sugar
- 2-4 tbps Whole Milk - room temperature
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract or Vanilla bean paste
- ½ tsp Almond extract
- Black, Red, Yellow and Green gel food coloring
Instructions
- Pound Cake Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 315 degrees.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter together then slowly add in the granulated sugar. Mix on medium speed until creamy (approximately five minutes).
- Add the almond and vanilla extracts.
- Then add the eggs to the bowl one at a time, mixing well after each addition before adding the next egg.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the flour 1 c at a time, on low speed, until combined alternating with the buttermilk. Start with the flour and end with the flour.
- Divide the batter equally into four separate bowls. Add 2-4 drops of the black food coloring to one bowl. Repeat the process in the separate bowls with the red, green and yellow food coloring.
- Spray an 18-cup bundt pan with baking spray.
- Black is our dominant color, so start by pouring the black batter into the pan and spreading it evenly. Then, add the red batter and spread it evenly. Follow with the yellow batter, and finally, add the green batter, spreading each layer evenly as you go. (Watch the video for clarity)
- Bake for about an hour and 30 minutes (or longer if needed). The cake is done once an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for about 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. Allow the cake to continue to cool completely before adding the glaze.
- Steps to make the Pound Cake Glaze:
- Add the powdered sugar to a bowl. Slowly add in your milk until your desired glaze consistency is reached. (Add extract if you like. I simply forgot to add it this time, but the cake was still good without it lol).
- Pour the glaze into four separate bowls, dividing it evenly. Add 2-4 drops of the black food coloring to one bowl. Repeat the process in the separate bowls with the red, green and yellow food coloring.
- Then pour the glaze on your cooled pound cake as desired. (I first added the black glaze and allowed it to set for about 10 minutes. Then I added the green, yellow, and red glaze to the edge of the pound cake in three separate sections. Watch the video for clarity.)
- Slowly add in your milk until your desired glaze consistency is reached. Then pour the glaze on your cooled pound cake as desired.
- Serve and enjoy once the glaze has set.
Video
Notes
- Recommended tools and equipment:
- Mile High Bundt Pan (this pan is needed for this volume of recipe)
- Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
- Basting Brush
- Gel food coloring
- Four Bowls
- Silicone Spatula
- Oven Thermometer
- Cake Keeper
- Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons
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