Strawberry Pound Cake

This beautiful fresh strawberry pound cake recipe is studded with ripe, juicy berries and topped with a pink strawberry glaze! It’s everything you could ask for in a fruity quick bread – moist, lightly dense, and sweet with a tender crumb.

Why this recipe works

Strawberry pound cake makes one heck of a deliciously moist quick bread with a crumb so tender it makes you swoon. Dotted with fresh plump berries and topped with a sweet strawberry glaze, I can’t imagine a world without this cake in it!

Those strawberries on the counter are practically begging to be baked into a soft strawberry muffin, pound cake, or bundt cake. I heard them say it myself. Who are we to deny?

Ingredients you will need

Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.

Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions

STRAWBERRIES – A 1-pound container of strawberries will provide you with more than the needed amount of strawberries for this recipe. Choose ripe, bright red strawberries with fresh green caps for the best flavor. This is an excellent recipe to use your bounty of freshly picked berries from the garden or local farm!

Tips for Making Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake

• Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature, not doing so will result in a cake that won’t have the right texture.
• The most crucial step is the proper beating of the sugar and butter. Although 5 minutes may seem like a long time, your cake will have a nice rise with the extra time taken to aerate the sugar and butter.
• Check halfway through baking to make sure the top is not too brown, if so, loosely tent aluminum foil over the pound cake for the remainder of the bake.
• The strawberry glaze should have the consistency of toothpaste and be thick enough to hold a drip without it running straight down the sides of the cake.

How to Make Strawberry Pound Cake

These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch metal loaf pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and softened butter. Beat on high speed for five minutes until the mixture is very pale in color.
4. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until just combined.
5. Add half of the sour cream and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
6. Add 1 cup of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Repeat the process by adding the remaining sour cream and 1 cup of the flour mixture, mixing after each addition.
7. Add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to the 1 ½ cups of diced strawberries and toss to coat. Let the strawberries stand for 2 minutes and then transfer them to the remaining ¼ cup flour mixture. Stir until the strawberries are well coated.
8. Fold 1 cup of the coated strawberries into the batter using a soft silicone spatula.
9. Transfer three-quarters of the batter to the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle in the remaining coated strawberries.
10. Spread the remaining batter over the strawberries making sure to get into all the corners and smooth the top.
11. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
12. Remove the loaf pan from the oven and let it cool for 1 hour.

Making the Glaze

1. Add 1 cup of diced strawberries to a small bowl and sprinkle with the sugar. Allow the strawberries to sit for 10 minutes for the juices to accumulate.
2. Place the strawberries, (along with their juices) in a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl to collect the juice. You will need 3 tablespoons of strawberry juice (if you don’t have enough, you can muddle the strawberries to extract more of their juice).
3. Transfer 3 tablespoons of the juice to a measuring cup (or other pourable bowl) and stir in the lemon juice and powdered sugar until it is smooth and thick. If you want the glaze more runny, add extra juice in 1 teaspoon increments until you reach the desired consistency.
4. Remove the parchment from the pound cake and place it on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to collect any drips. Slowly pour the glaze over the top of the pound cake, letting it drip down the sides.
5. Allow the glaze to set before slicing and serving your strawberry pound cake.

Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips

Fresh strawberries work best in this recipe. Frozen berries take on too much water and will result in a gluey-textured pound cake.

A metal pan conducts heat better which allows the cake to have a better rise compared to its glass or ceramic counterparts. Therefore I would recommend sticking to a metal loaf pan.

One of the culprits in your pound cake collapsing during baking may be because the eggs were over-whipped, resulting in too much air that deflated during baking. Make sure to only mix them in until combined. Try not to open the oven door often when baking as both maintaining the proper temperature and closing the door too hard can also cause the pound cake to fall.

Store your strawberry pound cake in an air-tight container or wrapped well with plastic wrap. Keep at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 5-6 days.

Yes, absolutely. Firstly, I would recommend holding off on the glaze if you plan on freezing it that way it doesn’t get smushed when wrapped. To freeze, wrap the pound cake a few times in plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil (or place in a gallon size freezer bag) and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Serving Suggestions

Slice and serve baby, that’s all there is to it! Strawberry pound cake is divine with and without a glazed top. You can even swap the glaze for a dusting of powdered sugar if that’s your fancy. Enjoy a slice alongside a cup of coffee or tea in the morning, as a mid-day snack, or as a sweet treat after dinner.

More Strawberry Recipes

• Strawberry Lasagna
• Strawberry Slab Pie
• Strawberry Icebox Cake
• Strawberry Shortcake Trifle

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