Signature Strawberry Pound Cake

Indulge in the delightful simplicity of this Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake – a truly irresistible homemade dessert. Each slice offers a perfect balance of sweet, dense crumb and the spectacular, inviting aroma of strawberry jam. Born from the simple desire for a satisfying treat, this recipe transforms basic kitchen staples into a moist, flavorful cake that’s perfect for any occasion. Imagine the vibrant burst of fresh strawberries nestled within a rich, buttery pound cake – it’s a culinary dream come true!

With an abundance of fragrant, ripe strawberries in season and readily available eggs and butter, creating this lovely Strawberry Cake becomes a joyous and rewarding endeavor. It’s a celebration of fresh produce, yielding a dessert that’s both comforting and elegant.

Slices of Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake arranged on a square white ceramic plate with a red-handled knife resting beside them, showcasing the dense texture and visible strawberry pieces.

Contents

Why This Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake is Your Next Must-Bake Dessert

There are countless reasons to add this Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake to your baking repertoire, especially when you’re craving a dessert that’s both impressive and surprisingly simple to prepare. Imagine a recent scenario: Easter was just around the corner, and the snack drawer was already dwindling, leaving little beyond some white chocolate ice cream. The desire for a truly satisfying, homemade treat was strong, but the thought of embarking on a complex holiday baking project felt overwhelming. This is where the magic of a classic pound cake shines through, especially one infused with fresh, seasonal strawberries.

Drawing inspiration from a trusted pound cake formula, the idea was to incorporate chopped strawberries, carefully adjusting the moisture content by omitting some water, trusting the berries to add their juicy essence. The result? A perfectly baked, generous strawberry loaf cake that hit all the right notes, proving that simple adjustments can lead to spectacular outcomes. This recipe delivers a delightful dessert that is not only easy but also perfectly portioned and incredibly delicious.

Perfectly Portioned: This loaf-sized pound cake is ideal when you desire a homemade dessert without the commitment of a large, multi-layered cake. It’s perfect for smaller gatherings or simply to enjoy throughout the week.
Seasonal Delight: Infusing the cake with fresh strawberries makes it the quintessential dessert for spring and summer gatherings. Its bright, fruity notes evoke sunshine and warmth, making it a refreshing alternative to heavier options.
Elegant Flavor Profile: A subtle hint of almond extract elevates the taste, creating a delicious undertone that beautifully complements and enhances the sweet tartness of the berries. It’s a sophisticated touch that makes this cake truly stand out.
Easy & Rewarding: Despite its rich flavor and tender crumb, this pound cake is surprisingly straightforward to make, offering immense satisfaction with minimal fuss.

Essential Ingredients for Your Perfect Strawberry Pound Cake

Crafting an exceptional pound cake begins with selecting high-quality ingredients and understanding their roles. Each component contributes to the cake’s signature dense yet tender texture and rich flavor.

Kitchen Staples: You’ll need basic granulated sugar for sweetness and structure, and a pinch of table salt to balance and enhance all the flavors, preventing the cake from tasting flat.
Unsalted Butter: The foundation of any good pound cake. It’s crucial for your butter to be at room temperature (softened but not melted). This allows it to cream properly with the sugar, incorporating air that contributes to the cake’s rise and tender texture. High-quality butter makes a noticeable difference in flavor.
Eggs and Egg Yolks: Like butter, eggs should be at room temperature. This ensures they emulsify smoothly into the batter, preventing curdling and resulting in a cohesive, silken consistency. The added egg yolks contribute extra richness, moisture, and a beautiful golden hue to the cake, making it exceptionally tender.
Vanilla Extract: Always opt for pure vanilla extract. Its deep, aromatic notes provide a foundational warmth and complexity that imitation vanilla simply cannot replicate. Vanilla is a crucial flavor enhancer in almost any baked good.
Almond Extract: This powerful extract offers a distinct, nutty aroma that pairs incredibly well with berries, especially strawberries. Use it sparingly, as a little goes a long way, but it adds a wonderful depth and brightness that truly elevates the strawberry flavor.
Fresh Strawberries: The star of the show! Dice your fresh strawberries into small, uniform ¼-inch cubes. It’s important to drain them on paper towels before mixing them into the batter. This step removes excess moisture that could otherwise make your cake soggy or prevent it from baking evenly. Fresh berries are preferred for their vibrant flavor and firm texture.
Cake Flour: The secret to a truly tender pound cake. Cake flour has a lower protein content compared to all-purpose flour, which means less gluten development. This results in a softer, more delicate crumb that melts in your mouth, perfectly complementing the dense structure of a pound cake.

A freshly baked Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake still in its white ceramic loaf pan, showcasing its golden-brown crust.

Expert Tips for Baking the Best Strawberry Pound Cake

Achieving a perfectly moist, dense, and flavorful Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake is easily within reach with these expert tips and tricks. Pay attention to these details, and you’ll be rewarded with an irresistible homemade treat.

Room Temperature is Key: As with most successful cake recipes, starting with room-temperature butter and eggs is non-negotiable. This ensures that these ingredients incorporate easily and evenly, creating a smooth, well-emulsified batter. Cold ingredients can cause the batter to curdle, resulting in a dense, less tender cake.
The Creaming Method: Beat your room-temperature butter and sugar together for a full 5 minutes until the mixture is very light in color and fluffy. This process, known as creaming, incorporates crucial air into the butter, which helps the cake rise and contributes to its signature velvety texture after baking. Don’t rush this step!
Gentle Mixing of Wet Ingredients: While this recipe doesn’t follow the traditional alternating method of adding wet and dry ingredients, the texture remains perfect due to careful mixing. Slowly drizzle in the whisked eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and almond extract, mixing until just combined. Overmixing at this stage can develop too much gluten.
Incorporating Strawberries: Once the wet ingredients are integrated, gently fold in the diced fresh strawberries. Aim for about 1½ cups of ¼-inch pieces. I’ve found this quantity provides a wonderful distribution of fruit without overwhelming the batter. You could potentially use up to 2 cups, but I recommend testing that volume gradually to ensure the cake’s structure remains intact. Ensure your strawberries are well-drained to avoid adding excess moisture to the batter.
The Magic of Almond Extract: A mere ¼ teaspoon of almond extract profoundly enhances the strawberry flavor, creating a harmonious and sophisticated taste profile. Almond extract is potent, so measure carefully. One teaspoon of pure vanilla extract rounds out the overall flavor, providing a comforting base.
Flavor Variations: This pound cake recipe is incredibly adaptable. If you wish to omit the strawberries for a different fruit or citrus flavor, remember to reintroduce 1½ teaspoons of water into the batter. For example, a blueberry pound cake would be delightful with the zest of one orange, or a lemon pound cake with the zest of two lemons. These additions provide both flavor and a little extra moisture.
Preventing Overmixing with Flour: Add the cake flour in increments, sifting it over the batter and folding it in carefully with a spatula after each addition. The key here is to mix until just combined. Overmixing activates gluten in the flour, which is desirable for bread but will result in a tough, chewy cake. Cake flour, with its lower protein content, helps mitigate this, but gentle handling is still paramount.
Perfect Pan Preparation: To guarantee an easy release and prevent sticking, grease your 9x5x3½-inch loaf pan thoroughly. Then, line it with two strips of parchment paper, arranged perpendicularly to cover the entire inside surface. These parchment “slings” make lifting the finished cake out of the pan a breeze. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes after baking; this allows the exterior to firm up, helping it maintain its beautiful shape.
Mind Your Loaf Pan Capacity: Ensure your loaf pan has at least a 7-cup capacity. Overfilling can lead to batter overflowing onto the bottom of your oven. If you have excess batter, simply bake it off in a few ramekins or as mini cupcakes.
Smooth Top for Even Baking: Use an offset spatula to gently smooth the top of the batter in the pan. This not only creates an attractive, even crust but also promotes uniform baking. Leave a little space between the top of the batter and the rim of the pan to allow for expansion.
Doubling the Recipe: This strawberry loaf cake recipe can be easily doubled and baked in a 14-cup capacity Bundt pan. The baking time will generally remain similar (70-90 minutes), but always rely on the toothpick test inserted into several spots to ensure it’s fully cooked through.

A rustic image of a Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake loaf on a white ceramic tray, with half of it expertly cut into thick, inviting slices.

Frequently Asked Questions About Pound Cake

Why Is It Called a Pound Cake?

The term “pound cake” has a fascinating historical origin, stemming from its original recipe which literally called for a pound of each of its four main ingredients: a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of flour, and a pound of eggs. This straightforward 1:1:1:1 ratio made it incredibly easy to remember and reproduce, leading to its widespread popularity. Over centuries, pound cake recipes have evolved significantly. Modern variations often include extra egg yolks for richness, cream cheese or sour cream for added moisture and tang, or a variety of flavorings and mix-ins like fruits, nuts, and extracts. Despite these adaptations, the core characteristic of a pound cake – its dense, rich, and moist crumb – remains, honoring its humble yet ingenious beginnings.

How Long Can You Store a Pound Cake?

Proper storage is crucial for maintaining the freshness and deliciousness of your homemade pound cake. If tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container, a plain pound cake can typically be kept at room temperature for 4-5 days. However, because this particular Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake contains moist fresh strawberries, its room temperature shelf life may be slightly shorter, perhaps 3-4 days, due to the fruit’s moisture content which can encourage faster spoilage. For extended freshness, you can refrigerate the pound cake, where it will last for up to a week. Always remember to bring it back to room temperature before serving to ensure the best flavor and texture. For even longer storage, pound cakes freeze beautifully. Wrap the cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen pound cake overnight in the refrigerator, then bring it to room temperature before slicing and serving. This ensures you can enjoy a slice of this delightful cake whenever a craving strikes!

Explore More Delicious Pound Cake Recipes:

Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake from Call me McP
Tangy Key Lime Pound Cake
Bright Glazed Lemon Pound Cake
Comforting Streusel Coffeecake Pound Cake
Rich German Chocolate Pound Cake
Moist Sour Cream Pound Cake
Classic Vanilla Pound Cake
The Best Pound Cake Ever
Sweet Peach Pound Cake
Plus, discover loads of other terrific Cake Recipes for every occasion!

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The Recipe:

Strawberry Pound Cake

Prep Time
20 minutes

Cook Time
1 hour 20 minutes

Total Time
1 hour 40 minutes

Yield
10 servings

A simple pound cake loaf full of chopped, fragrant strawberries.

Ingredients

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 ½ cups fresh strawberries, diced (about 1/4-inch cubes), drained on paper towels
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 ½ cups cake flour, sifted

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 ½-inch loaf pan, then line it with two strips of parchment paper, positioning them perpendicularly to cover the entire inside surface of the pan. This creates “slings” for easy removal. Set the prepared pan aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the room-temperature butter for a few seconds until it’s smooth and creamy. Then, with the mixer on medium-high speed, slowly add the granulated sugar. Continue to beat for a full 5 minutes until the mixture is very light in color and fluffy. This creaming process incorporates air, essential for a tender pound cake. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed to ensure even mixing.
In a large Pyrex measuring cup or a small bowl with a spout, whisk together the room-temperature eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and almond extract until well combined. With the mixer still running on medium-low speed, slowly drizzle the egg mixture into the butter and sugar mixture. Mix until everything is well combined and smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. Stir in the salt.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Add the diced and drained strawberries to the batter. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the strawberries until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Be careful not to overmix at this stage to avoid crushing the berries and developing too much gluten.
Take ½ cup of the sifted cake flour and sift it evenly over the batter. Using your spatula, carefully fold the flour into the batter until just incorporated. Repeat this process with the second ½ cup of flour, and then with the final ½ cup of flour. Remember, gentle folding prevents overmixing and ensures a tender cake.
Carefully scrape the prepared batter into your lined loaf pan. Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to smooth the top of the batter, ensuring an even surface for baking.
Bake the pound cake for 70-90 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into a few spots in the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top browns too quickly, you can loosely tent it with aluminum foil. Once baked, remove the pan to a wire rack and let it cool for about 10 minutes. This allows the cake to set and firm up. Then, using the parchment paper overhangs, lift the cake out of the pan and place it directly on the wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Notes

The inspiration for this cake was a Master Recipe for Classic Pound Cake found in “The Best Recipe,” a highly acclaimed cookbook from the editors of Cook’s Illustrated. This foundation was expertly adapted to include the delightful fresh strawberries.

This versatile cake recipe can be easily doubled if you need a larger dessert. When doubled, it bakes beautifully in a 14-cup capacity Bundt pan. The baking time will be similar to the loaf cake, but always use a toothpick test to ensure complete doneness in several areas of the Bundt cake.

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