Strawberry Pound Cake

For me, strawberries capture everything that is summer: they’re bright, sweet, sticky, and they’re not in season nearly long enough. This strawberry pound cake is one of my favorite things to enjoy in the summertime; it’s unfussy but beautiful, and it always delights.

It’s the most perfect base for No-Churn Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (or gelato!), and it tastes like you spent all day working on it.

this recipe

Family, this does not take all day to come together. But it will challenge your patience during the cooling time, since that intoxicating aroma will have you wanting to dig in immediately after it’s done baking.

Be patient though. It’s worth it.

My Hot Take on Strawberry Pound Cake

Here’s the thing, friends. Fresh strawberries, all by themselves, don’t lend a lot of flavor to baked goods. By the time you get to the finished product, you’re often left wanting for that big punch of strawberry flavor.

It’s more like a love tap at that point.

And when I’m eating a STRAWBERRY dessert, I want that strawberry flavor to come roaring through. 🦁

Some solve this issue by adding additional strawberry extract. I solved the problem with this strawberry pound cake by using freeze-dried strawberries.

Yes, family. I used freeze-dried strawberries in this cake. Freeze-dried strawberries deliver a huge strawberry flavor to, well, everything, and it actually solved two problems: 1) it allowed my greedy self to have strawberry-flavored desserts all year; and 2) it gave a huge, satisfying punch of strawberry flavor to this cake.

Also, for food scientists who are control freaks about liquid content in their cakes, freeze-dried strawberries don’t add any additional liquid. This eliminates the problem of strawberries sinking to the bottom of your baked goods and making your cake a two-texture mess.

We want ONE texture throughout our cakes.

The result: BIG strawberry flavor in our strawberry pound cake.

Beginners Start Here

If you’re new to baking, or if you want to brush up on basics, here are a couple of super helpful articles from the BwB site that will help you get on the good foot with this incredible Strawberry Pound Cake!

• Meet Your Kitchen BFF–Your Digital Kitchen Scale!
• Technique Tips for the Best Pound Cakes (& Big News!)
• How to Cream Butter and Sugar (With New Video!)
• Baking 101: How to Measure Ingredients
• The Best Tools for Perfect Pound Cakes
• Knowing When to Stop a Technique

These resources are never mandatory reading, but they are super useful to help you understand the techniques that you’ll need to successfully execute this amazing cake. Happy Reading!

Important Tools Used in this Strawberry Pound Cake

Below, you’ll find some tools that I used for this pound cake. These are the tools that I use in my kitchen for just about everything that I bake. **I get paid a small commission if you purchase directly from some of these links, but they are truly amazing products that you’ll find in my kitchen.**

If you have them already, great! Think of this as a checklist to help you build the confidence that you’ll need to execute this recipe!

• Oven Thermometer
• Digital Food Scale
• KitchenAid Hand Mixer
• KitchenAid Stand Mixer
• Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl Set
• OXO Spatula Set
• Sifter

I’m ready for summer! Let’s get to the recipe!

Easy Strawberry Pound Cake

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This Strawberry Pound Cake is deceptively easy and incredibly decadent.  Freeze-dried strawberries give it a huge strawberry taste that’s perfect for any time of year!

• Total Time: 5-7 hours
• Yield: 18 servings 1x

Ingredients

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For the Batter:

• 352 grams (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 34 g (~1 1/2 cups, NOT 10.67 cups) freeze-dried strawberries
• 173 grams (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 58 grams (1/4 cup) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil (avocado, vegetable, canola work well)
• 500 grams (2 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
• 250 grams (1 cup) buttermilk
• 1–2 teaspoons red food coloring (optional…I opted out)

Vanilla Simple Syrup

• 67 grams (1/3 cup) water
• 84 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Strawberry Glaze

• 240 grams (2 cups) confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons whole milk, plus more if needed
• 2 tablespoons strawberry preserves or The Best Strawberry Sauce

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Instructions

To Make the Batter:

1. Preheat your oven to a true 325°F. A true 325° is necessary to help you get a proper result from this cake.
2. Sift together the flour, kosher salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.
3. Place the freeze-dried strawberries in a zip top bag. Lie the bag flat and use a rolling pin to gently crush the freeze dried strawberries until they are uneven in size. You’ll want some to be pulverized and some pieces the size of a pea. 
4. Add room-temperature butter, cream cheese, and oil to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix until butter is completely smooth.
5. Slowly add sugar and cream until light and fluffy.  (Not sure what this means?  Check out this resource!)
6. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
7. Add vanilla and strawberry extracts and mix thoroughly.
8. Add 2/3 of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined.
9. Add all of the buttermilk and mix on low speed until nearly combined.
10. Add the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture and the freeze-dried strawberries. Mix on low speed until nearly combined.  Finish with several turns of a stiff spatula.
11. Place prepared batter into a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan and bake for 55-70 minutes, or when the center of the cake reads 212°F with an instant-read thermometer.
12. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to rest on a cooling rack for ten minutes.

To Make the Simple Syrup:

1. Add the sugar, water, and salt to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Allow to boil just until all of the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
4. Once the cake is completely cooled, use a pastry brush to brush the cooled simple syrup over the entire cooled cake.

To Make the Strawberry Glaze:

1. Add the confectioner’s sugar, fine sea salt, vanilla extract, and strawberry preserves to a large mixing bowl. Add two tablespoons of whole milk.
2. Using a 9” whisk, stir gently until all of the confectioner’s sugar is moistened. If necessary, add up to 1 additional tablespoon of whole milk, but do so 1/2 – 1 teaspoon at a time.
3. Pour over cake using a spouted measuring cup or squeeze bottle.
4. Top with additional crushed freeze-dried strawberries, if desired, and enjoy!

Equipment

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Notes

1. This cake can be kept at room temperature for up to three days, or refrigerated for up to a week.
2. Freeze-dried strawberries give this cake an incredibly summery strawberry flavor without sacrificing fresh strawberry taste.
3. You can absolutely use fresh strawberry sauce in the strawberry glaze. 
4. You can absolutely add 1-2 tsp of red food coloring if you’re looking for a more pink strawberry pound cake.  I opted to omit it from my cake, but make it your own!

• Author: Shani
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 55-70 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 slice
• Calories: 378
• Sugar: 47.6 g
• Sodium: 187.7 mg
• Fat: 11.3 g
• Carbohydrates: 64.8 g
• Protein: 5.2 g
• Cholesterol: 87.9 mg

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