A simple, sweet vanilla cake with strawberry pieces that get jammy after baking. The crumb stays dense and moist for several days, and the cake can be frozen. The strawberry glaze adds a stunning color and extra sweetness. A solid cake recipe you'll come back to every strawberry season.
Pound cake is an old-fashioned recipe where the small details make all the difference, and after 40 years of baking them, I share the ones that actually matter.
Twist on a classic
As a lover of pound cake recipes, I wanted to add a fresh strawberry pound cake recipe to this category.
This is a classic pound cake base (butter, sugar, eggs and flour) with cream cheese for extra moisture and a denser, richer crumb. The orange zest is subtle but ties everything together.
Chop the strawberries into small pieces so they distribute evenly and don't sink or create soggy pockets.
The glaze is optional, but I'd encourage it. It's just strawberry juice and powdered sugar, and it takes the cake from good to worth sharing. Using fresh berries adds an extra punch of strawberry flavor.
This is a versatile cake that you can use this cake for strawberry trifle, or go the fancier route and cover it with whipped cream and whole strawberries or berry sauce, similar to these popular strawberry cupcakes.
Testing notes
Fresh strawberries work best: Seasonal berries with great flavor before you bake them (when they actually taste like something) will render the best cake. Frozen strawberries can sometimes release too much moisture and can make the batter wet, but they can work if fresh ones are unavailable.
Pan size matters: Don't overfill past ¾ full. A too-small pan leads to overflow and uneven baking. This recipe doubles well into a bundt pan if you're feeding a crowd.
Heavy or dense texture: Usually a mixing issue, either under- or over-beaten batter. Cream the butter and sugar until genuinely light and fluffy before adding anything else, and don't overwork it once the flour goes in.
Don't overbake: Pull it as soon as a toothpick comes out clean. Pound cake dries out fast once it's gone too long, and there's no coming back from that.
Make ahead: It keeps well for two days at room temperature, wrapped well to avoid dryness, and freezes beautifully for a month. If you're making it ahead for a gathering, store it plain and add the glaze an hour or so before serving; it holds its shine better that way.
Cream cheese swap: Sour cream works in equal amounts, and the crumb will be similar in texture. Greek yogurt makes it slightly less dense and a touch tangier; still great, just different.
Citrus swap: Orange is what I use here, but lemon or lime both work well with strawberries. Use whatever you have.
Glaze ahead: If storing with the glaze on, it will lose its shine in the fridge, but still taste good. For best results, glaze it close to serving time.
Ingredients
Quantities are listed in the recipe card toward the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands I use.
For the cake:
- Strawberries: Fresh, sweet, seasonal berries are always the best option.
- Cream cheese: the regular type, full-fat cream cheese, is needed for consistency and creaminess. I always use Philadelphia original cream cheese, but other premium brands work fine.
- Flour: all-purpose flour or cake flour, both work well.
- Baking powder: make sure it's active.
For the strawberry glaze:
- Pureed strawberries: You have to process fresh-sliced strawberries and make a strawberry puree.
- Powdered sugar: this ingredient can't be substituted.
How to make the pound cake batter
Using a hand-held electric mixer or a stand mixer (I use a mini Kitchen Aid mixer with the paddle attachment) is highly recommended to beat it properly and achieve the right consistency.
Dry ingredients
Sifting is important for easier mixing, as some ingredients can clump during storage.
They're added alternating with the cream cheese to integrate well.
Cake batter
It should be smooth and silky before adding the strawberries and flavorings.
If using a stand mixer, add the flour mixture at a low speed. Don't overbeat it, as it will produce a tougher crumb. I use a spatula to fold it a few times at the end and make sure there are no dry spots.
Strawberries
Chopped or sliced strawberries are added at the end and gently incorporated with a spatula. We don't want to break them up or have them stain the batter too much.
Prepare the pan
Butter or spray the pan and line it with a strip of parchment paper that covers the bottom and the two short sides. This will make it easier to remove the baked cake and transfer it to a cooling rack.
The batter is thick, so smooth it out before baking, so it rises as evenly as possible.
Pink glaze
A simple powdered sugar glaze never fails. And this one with fresh, processed strawberries is gorgeous and delicious!
Adding more or less strawberry puree allows you to adjust your glaze's consistency (thinner or thicker).
Drizzle the glaze on a completely cooled-down cake, and let it drip down the sides. Let the glaze dry out before cutting.
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Strawberry Pound Cake with Pink Glaze
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, about 9 ounces whole
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract, or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ cup cream cheese, at room temperature (see Notes for substitutions)
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose or cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the glaze:
- 3-4 fresh strawberries, or a few tablespoons of strawberry puree
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Butter or spray a 9x4 inch (10x24 cm) loaf pan, and, if you want, add a strip of parchment paper to cover the bottom and two shorter sides.
- Wash, dry and hull 2 cups fresh strawberries, and chop them into bite sizes.
For the cake:
- Beat 1 cup unsalted butter, softened, for 20 seconds in a large bowl with electric beaters or a stand mixer.
- Add 1 cup white granulated sugar gradually while you continue beating at medium speed, and then for 3 more minutes after adding all of it. The mixture will be light in color, fluffy, and the sugar will have partially dissolved.
- Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl regularly.
- Add 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract with 1 teaspoon orange zest and mix.
- Sift the dry ingredients (2 ¼ cups all-purpose or cake flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt) together in a bowl, or have them measured and sift them directly over the egg-sugar batter.
- Add them in 2 parts, alternating with ¼ cup cream cheese in 1 part. That means you start and end with the dry ingredients. Mix and integrate it well, but don't beat it much at this point. After adding the flour cake batter should be beaten *just* until fully incorporated, but no more.
- Add the fresh strawberry pieces and integrate them with a spatula. Just a few strokes, trying not to crush them much, or at all.
- Put the thick batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, until it rises, the top cracks, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Pound cakes are dense, so make sure it's fully baked. If the top is browning too quickly, but the middle is not done, cover it loosely with a piece of foil and continue to bake.
- Cool on a wire rack and remove carefully from the pan, removing the strip of paper.
- Drizzle the glaze over and let it dry before cutting. Serve with some extra fresh strawberries if you want.
For the glaze:
- Puree 3-4 fresh strawberries with an immersion blender or a fork if you have patience. It can be smooth or have small chunks if you like them. You should have 2-3 tablespoons.
- Mix half of the berry puree with 1 cup powdered sugar in a bowl and check the consistency. It should be like thick honey. Add more strawberry puree if needed to adjust.
Joelle Cripps says
I just chopped a ton of strawberries to freeze to stop them from going bad. Can I defrost them to make the cake or will frozen work alright in the cake batter?
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Joelle, you can use frozen strawberries for this cake straight from the freezer. The same goes for muffins and desserts like crumbles and cobblers.
JuiceyTwat says
I love poundcake! This recipe is perfect!
Eva Lee says
I did not see orange zest or sour cream in the ingredients. Amount of each, plz?
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Eva! It uses cream cheese, not sour cream. I added it to the Notes because both can be used. The orange zest was an oversight, a teaspoon is needed. I added it to the ingredients.
angiesrecipes says
Such a pretty loaf of cake! The pinky glaze makes the pound cake so much more appealing.