Strawberry Pound Cake is a riff on my favorite (and award winning) Vanilla Pound Cake and Strawberry Cupcakes.
The cake itself is a little lighter than most pound cakes, but with buttery flavor and in this case, pockets of caramelized strawberry goodness. Like little flavor bombs in a loaf cake; strawberry shortcake meets pound cake.
And in this case topped with muddled fresh strawberries for a glaze that is out of this world and adds just enough sweet for balance. And, instead of using a strawberry puree and/or strawberry extract, this cake uses fresh strawberries.
This Recipe for Strawberry Pound Cake is buttery and delicious!
Pound cakes, as a rule, are a little heavy. If you want a light, moist crumb, this isn’t your go-to cake. But when you need a comforting buttery dessert, they hit the spot.
They got their name because the original ingredient list was simple. One pound of butter, one pound of sugar and one pound of flour with a few eggs. Hence, pound cake.
But with no leaveners or other flavors, this also meant they were heavy and needed to be accompanied by sauce or fresh fruit. Since, many variations of pound cake have emerged. My strawberry cake recipe being one of them.
What you’ll need for Strawberry Pound Cake
The ingredients for strawberry cake are pretty straightforward and simple… but with fresh strawberries!
- Unsalted Butter– Salt dries things out and brands can vary on salt content. Always bake with unsalted and then add salt as needed. Also, don’t skimp with cheap butter- it is the base for the is cake. Use a good grade A butter.
- Sugar- This is a rich cake, but not an overwhelming sweet cake. While it seems like a lot of sugar, this is also a LARGE cake and needs to balance out unsweetened cocoa.
- Eggs- Creates structure and stability in the finished product.
- Vanilla extract– use a good quality vanilla extract, not the imitation stuff. I do prefer to balance the fresh flavors with vanilla, but if you really want to emphasize the strawberry goodness, use strawberry extract or for a fun twist, almond extract.
- All-Purpose Flour– Proteins that make up gluten and thus, structure and stability.
- Baking Powder- Leavener to add fluff and neutralize acids.
- Salt– Salt is essential in baking to bring out natural flavors and provide acidity.
- Milk– helps to keep things moist. Try to use a 2% or even full fat milk for the most impact.
- Strawberries– Fresh strawberries are best because they will melt and caramelizing during the baking process.
Frozen strawberries tend to be a little more watery to start with. If you do use frozen, make sure they are thawed and as dry as possible. Add another 2 tablespoons of flour to the mix to counteract the water content.
Tips for using Strawberries in Pound Cake
Adding strawberries to this classic recipe also adds moisture. One of the things to keep in mind is that you want your strawberries to be as dry as possible.
After washing the strawberries, dry them thoroughly with a paper towel or even let them sit, uncovered in the fridge to dry. You’ll need about 20ish strawberries, depending on size.
Baking Pans
This is discussed below, but it is so important that it needs to be discussed twice. USE THE PAN SUGGESTED FOR THE RECIPE which is a standard loaf pan.
This recipe calls for 2 standard loaf pans and while the batter will fit into a bundt pan or tube pan, it throws off the baking times. You can give it a whirl, but chances are that it will burn the strawberries along the edges a little. The cake will need more time to bake than the actual strawberries due to the size.
Some foodie friends have used a bundt cake pan, but I have not personally tested this. Make sure to spray it really well with cooking spray or use vegetable shortening and flour to prevent sticking. Cook times should increase by about 15-20 minutes.
How to make this Strawberry Pound Cake Recipe
- Preheat the oven and grease and lightly flour two 9×5-inch loaf pans.
- In medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, approximately 3-4 minutes. This incorporates air into the mixture and will help with a tender crumb. Add the vanilla and eggs, beating on high speed for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Add the flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with milk on low speed, beating just until smooth after each addition. Fold in chopped strawberries by hand. Do not overmix, this can result in a tough or dry cake.
- Evenly divide the cake batter between both prepared pans.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes; remove from pan(s) to wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
- When the cakes are cooled, make the glaze by muddling the chopped strawberries.
- Combine the strawberries with the powdered sugar and mix. Add the milk sparingly until it is a pourable consistency.
- Place the cakes on a cooling rack with aluminum foil or parchment underneath to catch the drips. Spoon glaze over cakes and let excess drip below. Let glaze set and then transfer to serving tray.
- For the cleanest cuts, use a serrated knife.
Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake Glaze
The simple cake glaze is just a mixture of 2 cups powdered sugar (confectioners sugar) with muddled strawberries and a touch of milk. Since the strawberries already have a lot of juice, you might not need much more liquid. This is where the intense strawberry flavor comes from.
Add sparingly. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually made the right amount of glaze. I almost always add too much liquid and then need to add more powdered sugar. Ha!
Mix together right before you are ready to ice, which should be after the cake is fully cooled. Then drizzle on top and allow to set or serve immediately.
I like to do this over a wire rack so the extra glaze drips off instead of pooling around the bottom of the cake. After it sets, transfer it to the serving dish.
Muddling Strawberries
You’ll need to muddle strawberries for the glaze. You can use an actual muddler if you have one lying around from making all those mojitos (you know who you are) or…
Use a pestle and mortar, mashed potato press or the back of a spoon in a plate. You do need to mash them somehow so they release juice, which will be the liquid to make powdered sugar into glaze. This creates a pale pink color without the use of red food coloring.
If you want to skip this step, just use powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of milk or simply dust with powdered sugar alone. Cream cheese frosting and whipped cream are other good options.
Serving Pound Cake with Strawberry Glaze
To serve, cut with a serrated knife. Top with homemade whipped cream or serve alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream or strawberry ice cream.
Of course, you can also serve it with a variety of desserts and other pound cakes.
Pound Cake With Strawberries Storage
Like most baked items, good pound cake is best enjoyed within a day of baking. The good news is that the strawberry glaze helps to keep it moist. Store at room temperature in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap.
It can be frozen, but freeze just the cake and add the icing after it thaws.
How Do You Keep a Pound Cake Moist?
Like many baked goods, they are best enjoyed within a day or two of baking while still moist. From then, air starts to naturally dry the crumb.
To keep cakes moist, wrap well in plastic wrap or aluminum foil or keep in an airtight container in a dry, cool place. They can be kept in the refrigerator, but the colder air will likely dry out the crumb even faster.
Strawberry Pound Cake FAQs
Cakes can become too dry when the flour isn’t measured properly and there is too much. This can happen when you scoop the measuring cup into the flour versus lightly spooning it on and leveling.
Dry cake can also be a result of over mixing. Too much air is incorporated into the batter, making it dry out.
Lastly, over cooking. Many cakes are done a few minutes before they start browning, so keep a watchful eye.
A gummy pound cake be the result of undercooking. Make sure it passes the toothpick test!
Many times the cake batter is exactly the same and many bundt cakes are pound cakes. It just depends on the shape of the pan it is being cooked in. A bundt pan is a circle with hollow center.
Pound cake can be kept moist by using a glaze or simple syrup baste, which this one already has. You can also microwave it on 50% power for 10 seconds to reactivate the gluten, making it soften a bit.
More Cake Ideas…
Let them eat cake! Here are some of our other favorite cake recipes.
Coconut Pound Cake Recipe
Raspberry Cheesecake Recipe
Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake Recipe
Strawberry Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Strawberry Cake:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup whole or 2% milk
- 2 cups fresh strawberries , chopped and blotted dry
Strawberry Glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh strawberries , chopped
- Milk , to consistency
Instructions
Cake:
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour two 9×5-inch loaf pans.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs, beating on high speed for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with milk on low speed, beating just until smooth after each addition. Fold in chopped strawberries by hand.
- Pour into the prepared pans.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes; remove from pan(s) to wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
Strawberry Glaze:
- When cakes are cooled, make glaze. Start by muddling the chopped strawberries.
- Add to the powdered sugar and mix. Add the milk very sparingly until a pourable consistency.
- Place the cake on cooling rack with aluminum foil or parchment underneath. Spoon glaze over cakes and let excess drip below. Let glaze set and then transfer to serving tray.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments and ratings!
Video
Nutrition
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Cake was a hit. Is it 2 1/2 cups of sugar or 2 1/4?
2.5- where do you see 2.25?
And thank you- people love this one!
Can you make this using a Bundt or tube cake pan?
I’m sure you can, but I haven’t tried it so I don’t know the baking times.
Can I use fresh strawberries that I have frozen?
Sure thing! Just defrost them first and drain out any moisture or juice. Too much will mess with the texture of the cake.
Very moist and delicious cake recipe. I used a little over 2 cups sugar and left out the frosting and I’m glad I did, the strawberries were sweet enough to give this recipe an A+ review at my church gathering.
I made a double batch and made 25 mini 4″ pound cakes with this recipe. I was looking for something with fresh strawberries and it was perfect. I think I might add more strawberries next time to get more of the flavor, but I did add a ton. They were very good. Thanks!
So glad to hear that and thank you for taking the time to come back and let us know.
What type of flour do you use
All purpose flour
I loved your recipe but it was freakingly annoying to have an ad going while I’m trying to read the recipe!!!
I’m sorry to hear that Nancy- we do have to have ads to pay the bills, but also want to make sure we are user friendly.
This is by far the best pound cake recipe I have cone across. It’s so light and moist but dense if that makes sense. I did not make the glaze because my husband cut the cake before I could. Also , I’m Italian so I added a 1/4 tsp of almond extract because that’s just what we do. I’m making 4 more loafs today. It’s that delicious!!
Thank you for coming back to let us know! Love the addition of almond- we are Italian too, so I totally get it 🙂
I tried this cake yesterday and it is delicious! Will definitely be making this again! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Yay! We love to hear that and thank you for coming back to let us know 🙂
What a perfect way to highlight delicious strawberries. This pound cake looks so moist and perfectly scrumptious.