Strawberry Pound Cake

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This strawberry pound cake is dense, rich, and moist. It’s bursting with fresh berry flavor and will summon the lazy days of summer when you taste it. The sweet berry glaze adds to the flavor taking it over the top.

Overhead view of strawberry pound cake on cake plate.

Pound cake gets its name from its original recipe – which required a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of butter and a pound of eggs. Simple ingredients that were easily available in simpler times.

As rich and delicious as a true pound cake is, that’s a lot of butter and sugar. So pound cake recipes, thankfully, have evolved.

Not only are basic pound cake recipes now are a bit lighter than those that were made by Laura Ingalls Wilder, they are a little more sophisticated too. Some have almond extract, others have lemon juice. The basic butter, flour, sugar and egg combination makes a delicious base for all sorts of flavors.

I have made a cream cheese pound cake and a sour cream pound cake, which both have a delightful tanginess to them. I went a little fancy and experimented a bit with an orange pound cake with cream cheese glaze and a peach pound cake. What a success. They were delicious.

The original simple pound cake is the perfect canvas for the sweetness of the fruits. When I serve original pound cake, I almost always choose to serve it with fresh strawberries or strawberry sauce. So, it seems only natural to make a strawberry poundcake.

This strawberry pound cake recipe is to die for. It has all the flavor of a strawberry shortcake and is drizzled with a sweet homemade strawberry glaze. This cake can be served with fresh strawberries, whipped cream or ice cream with a drizzle of strawberry sauce.

I prefer to make it in a bundt cake pan. The shape elevates the sophistication of the cake.

The strawberry emulsion adds deep strawberry flavor to the cake, and I love it. But if you don’t have the emulsion or would rather not use it, the cake will be delicious without it.

This cake can be served at any time of year when you want a little taste of summer on your plate.


Recipe Snapshot

  • TASTE: Berry delicious
  • TEXTURE: Moist and dense.
  • EASE: Intermediate. There are a few extra steps in this recipe.
  • TIME: Just over an hour an a half.

What You’ll Need

Ingredients

  • All-purpose flour – Make sure you measure carefully.
  • Freeze-dried strawberry powder – Made from blending freeze dried strawberries. This will be used in the cake and in the strawberry glaze.
  • Baking powder and salt – for leavening.
  • Unsalted butter – Softened to room temperature
  • Sugar – Granulated sugar for the cake and powdered sugar for the glaze.
  • Eggs – At room temperature
  • Full-fat sour cream – For creamy, moist texture.
  • Strawberry emulsion – For intense berry flavor – both in the cake and in the glaze. Adds a bakery-like flavor.
  • Pure vanilla extract – Make your own using this recipe or use the best quality extract you can find.
  • Milk – Any type of milk works here, but it should be at room temperature.

Recommended Tools

  • Bundt cake pan
Slice of strawberry pound cake being taken out.

How to Make Strawberry Pound Cake

To prepare to bake the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan and dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Or use my homemade cake release.

  1. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour strawberry powder, baking powder, and salt together until well combined.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or handheld electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes until light, fluffy, and increased in volume. Stop and scrape down the sides as needed.
  3. Add the additional wet ingredients. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream, strawberry emulsion, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until combined. The mixture will look curdled; that’s ok– it will come together when you add the dry ingredients.
  4. Combine. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and begin mixing on low speed. As the mixer runs, slowly pour in the milk. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat until the batter is completely combined. The batter will be thick.
  1. Bake. Transfer the cake batter to the prepared pan and bake for 55-70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  1. Make the glaze. Add the powdered sugar, strawberry powder, and milk to a medium mixing bowl and mix until well combined and no lumps remain. If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar as needed. If the icing is too thick, add more milk as needed.
  2. Drizzle the glaze over the cake. Let sit until the glaze has set.

Handy tip:

Sour Cream: You can use ½ cup plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

Tips For Success

  • Strawberry powder: 2 ounces of freeze-dried strawberries is enough to make the powder for the cake and the glaze. Blend the strawberries in a blender until they are powdery.
  • Strawberry emulsion: I like the depth of strawberry flavor this adds. I use LorAnn Strawberry Bakery Emulsion purchased on Amazon. If you don’t want to use it, simply leave it out.
Side view of strawberry pound cake on white cake plate.

Storage & Freezing

  1. The cake will keep for up to 4 days wrapped tightly and stored at room temperature or for up to 1 week stored in the refrigerator.
  2. The cake can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

More Cake Recipes

Cakes are the ultimate sweet dessert and aren’t just for special occasions.

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Printable Recipe

Overhead view of strawberry pound cake on cake plate.

Strawberry Pound Cake

Yield: 10 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

This strawberry pound cake is dense, rich, and moist. It's bursting with fresh summer berry flavor. The sweet berry glaze adds to the flavor taking it over the top.

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
  • ½ cup (40 g) freeze-dried strawberry powder, see recipe notes
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 ½ cups (345 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
  • 5 large eggs, at room temperature
  • ½ cup (120 g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon strawberry emulsion, see recipe notes
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (240 ml) milk, at room temperature

For the glaze

  • 1 ½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberry powder
  • 4 to 5 tablespoons milk, use more as needed
  • ½ teaspoon strawberry emulsion

Instructions

Make the cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan and dust with flour, tapping out any excess; set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, strawberry powder, baking powder, and salt together until well combined.
  3. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or handheld electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes until light, fluffy, and increased in volume. Stop and scrape down the sides as needed.
  4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream, strawberry emulsion, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The mixture will look curdled; that’s ok– it will come together when you add the dry ingredients.
  5. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and begin mixing on low speed. As the mixer runs, slowly pour in the milk. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat until the batter is completely combined. The batter will be thick.
  6. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 55-70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.
  7. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes then invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze

  1. Add the powdered sugar, strawberry powder, and milk to a medium mixing bowl and mix until well combined and no lumps remain. If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar as needed. If the icing is too thick, add more milk as needed.
  2. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and let sit until the glaze has set.

Notes

Strawberry powder: 2 ounces of freeze-dried strawberries is enough to make the powder for the cake and the glaze. Blend the strawberries in a blender until they are powdery.

Strawberry emulsion: I like the depth of strawberry flavor this adds. I use LorAnn Strawberry Bakery Emulsion purchased on Amazon. If you don't want to use it, simply leave it out.

Sour Cream: You can use ½ cup plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. 

Make ahead tip

  1. The cake will keep for up to 4 days wrapped tightly and stored at room temperature or for up to 1 week stored in the refrigerator.
  2. The cake can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 642Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 176mgSodium: 190mgCarbohydrates: 78gFiber: 1gSugar: 49gProtein: 9g

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the values shown are just an estimate.

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2 Comments

  1. I made this tonight except as raspberry because that is the only type of emulsion my local store had, so I also substituted freeze dried raspberries. If anyone tries that, be sure to filter them twice through a fine mesh strainer as raspberries have large seeds.

    The glaze was incredible. The cake was also good and very moist, though I think next time I may try the cake without the emulsion. It smelled wonderful but the cake emulsion seemed to leave a slight perfume taste that made the overall effect a little on the too sweet side for me. Perhaps it turns out different with the strawberry flavor. Overall still an excellent recipe. Thank you!

  2. Cecelia Carr says:

    I love POUND CAKES; it’s the ONLY type of cake my grand-mommy and my ma-ma’ ever made. They were simply delicious, make you want to eat them as your meal; means to eat “hunks” not slices therefore killing the taste for anything else. Yes, I did learn how to make a few of their favorites and still do occasionally. I don’t make POUND CAKES to often because when it comes to a pound cakes that’s really good I have no restraint and eat too much!!
    but I have a niece that loves strawberry cake. I’ve always wanted to make her one for her birthday but I want mine to be a strawberry pound cake like yours!!! I have sooo happy you posted your recipe with such detailed instructions I’m almost certain I can make it. I’m going to do just that because my niece’s birthday is soon so maybeee just maybe this can be one of my gifts to her!!(?)