September 7: Five-Flavor Cake

It has been Calendar Girls tech week for me so my Saturday Cake has spilled over to a Monday Cake instead.  Although, it IS a three-day weekend, so I think I can get away with it on a "tech-nicality."

Tech week is the final week in the production period of a play when all of the elements come together on stage for the first time.  For weeks, the actors have been working in rehearsals, the scenic crew has been building the set in the shop, lighting and sound crews were plotting instruments and running cable, the properties designer has been shopping for the perfect thingamajig to sit on the perfect table in that one scene, etc...  The costume designer has been shopping for the perfect costume pieces, altering them to fit, building them when an (insert name, color, texture of piece here) doesn't already exist and has finally had a short break from dress rehearsals to bake a cake.

Sign at gelateria, Greenville

A time of bringing together different elements to make a cohesive whole seemed like the right time to try the Five-Flavor Cake.  In April, I took Autumn on a college visit to Furman University and afterward, she wanted to investigate downtown Greenville.  Greenville has a charming downtown with a nice variety of shops and restaurants.  We took a break for gelato and coffee before hitting the road back to Atlanta, and that is how I first laid eyes on a Five-Flavor Cake.  I thought it was so unusual that I took a picture of the sign to keep for future reference.

About a week after the Greenville trip, Keith and I attended a sale at the estate of Mary Nell and Dante Santacroce.  Mary Nell Santacroce was an award-winning, Atlanta actress best remembered for her portrayal of Miss Daisy in Driving Miss Daisy by Atlanta playwright, Alfred Uhry.  Mary Nell Santacroce taught theatre and speech at Georgia Tech and was a longtime leader and mentor for DramaTech theatre there.  Uhry is an alumnus of Druid Hills High School where our Autumn is a senior, taking theatre class in the Alfred Uhry Theatre.  This tech week has been especially busy for our family, because Keith has begun rehearsals for Othello, which he is directing at Dramatech.

At the estate sale, along with some drama books and vintage buttons, we bought Ramblin' Chefs from Georgia Tech a recipe book published by the Georgia Tech Women's Forum in 1985.  Lo, and behold, what recipe did I find, but one for a Five-Flavor Cake!  The recipe calls for one teaspoon each of coconut, vanilla, butter, rum and lemon extracts.  It seems the Greenville cake used almond instead of butter flavoring, but I decided to follow the recipe in the Tech cookbook.  There is also a glaze added after baking that requires another teaspoon of each flavor.

The cake went together easily and the batter was very fluffy and "frosting-like" according to Keith.  That fluffiness is probably due to the use of both butter and vegetable shortening in the cake.  There was a light, cookie-like crust around the edges of the top of the pan (I was tired and slightly over-filled the bundt pan).  Those little crunchy bits were scarfed-up in a hurry by Keith and Colin.   After taking a bite of the cake, Keith said "WOW."  It tastes like pound cake with a little something extra and it is superbly moist from the glaze.

Encore!  Encore!

Next week:  Lady Fingers for Tiramisu