Strawberry Pound Cake made with Fresh Strawberries

Name: Strawberry Pound Cake made with Fresh Strawberries
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 113 grams strawberries; ½ lemon ((juice and zest)); 227 grams unsalted butter ((65°F, softened)); 227 grams sugar; 227 grams all-purpose flour; 3 large eggs ((room temperature)); 1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt ((use half as much of any other brand)); 1½ teaspoons baking powder; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; 50 grams sour cream ((full fat)); 70 grams powdered sugar; 2 teaspoons strawberry lemon juice ((from step #7)); 1 teaspoon milk; 30 grams powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon milk

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This easy strawberry pound cake is all about that fresh strawberry goodness, delivering a moist and tender loaf cake that just screams strawberry season.

Even better, it's topped with a simple pretty-in-pink strawberry icing, for an extra oomph of sweetness.

a cross section of a loaf of strawberry pound cake with pink icing on top and two strawberry halves in front of it.

Like all my best cake recipes, this strawberry pound cake is so good served with a scoop of ice cream (strawberry or vanilla pair very nicely!) but I also love serving it with a dollop of whipped cream, fresh sliced strawberries, and a drizzle of homemade strawberry syrup!

If you've made my lemon-blueberry pound cake or old fashioned vanilla pound cake this recipe will feel very familiar to you. I used the latter recipe as a base, with a few modifications to help support the weight and moisture from the added strawberries.

I replaced one of the eggs with a dollop of sour cream to make this strawberry pound cake extra moist and tender.

When it comes to berries in baked goods, I always like when the cake texture compliments the berry texture. I didn't want a firm pound cake with sudden bites of soft, wet berry. The moist cake texture with the bursts of bright, fresh strawberry is a much better fit.

I also added a bit of baking soda along with increasing the baking powder for extra rising power against the weight of the strawberries.

a loaf of strawberry pound cake with pale pink and white striped icing on top. one slice has been cut off the front showing the fresh strawberry pieces inside.

Keeping Strawberries Red when Baking

To preserve the strawberries' bright red color and prevent them from turning brown when they bake, we're going to toss them with a bit of lemon juice before mixing them into the cake batter.

This is a trick I learned recently from my friend Sarah, a food scientist who shares helpful videos and recipes with science-backed baking tips at Half Batch Baking.

The acidity of the lemon juice lowers the pH of the strawberries and keeps them bright red during baking. No brown strawberries here!

Since I never like to let anything go to waste, I turned the few teaspoons of strawberry lemon juice I strained off the berries into a pretty pink strawberry icing with a white striped top. The icing is technically optional, but very worth it if you've got a serious sweet tooth or are just feeling a bit extra!

Ingredient Notes

Here are the ingredients that you'll need to make this strawberry pound cake recipe! See recipe card for quantities.

the ingredients for strawberry pound cake measured out and labeled.

Strawberries - Fresh strawberries! You'll need about 6-8 small strawberries, 4-5 medium strawberries, or 3 very large strawberries. You'll be measuring them by weight, but the stems aren't included in that measurement.
Lemon - Lemon zest goes in the cake batter, and lemon juice gets mixed with the strawberries to help keep them bright red when they bake!
Unsalted Butter - This recipe uses unsalted American-style butter (e.g. not European butter like Kerrygold). If using a salted butter, cut the amount of salt in the recipe in half.
Sugar - Plain old regular granulated white sugar.
Eggs - This recipe uses large eggs. Extra large eggs will also work.
Flour - Regular all purpose flour. Gluten free cup-for-cup all purpose flours should also work, but I haven't personally tested them.
Sour Cream - Full fat sour cream (or full fat Greek yogurt) adds a ton of moisture and makes this cake very tender.
Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt which half as salty as other brands. If measuring by weight, it doesn't matter what brand of salt you use. But if you're measuring by volume and using a different brand of salt, even a different brand of kosher salt, cut the amount of salt in half.
Baking Powder - Double acting baking powder helps ensure a dramatic rise on this old fashioned pound cake. For a true old fashioned pound cake you omit it and rely instead on the aeration of the butter and sugar to provide that lift, but the baking powder is an insurance policy that also gives the cake a little extra boost.
Baking Soda - The moisture and weight of the strawberries makes it harder for this cake to rise so we're adding baking soda to give it a little extra oompf.
Powdered Sugar - Also called "confectioner's sugar" this is needed only if you plan to make the icing on top.
Milk - Also for the icing. You only need about a couple teaspoons of it, so any type of milk you have on hand is fine.

🍽 Mise en place (aka "the setup")

Mise en place is a French culinary term that literally translates to "putting in place."

It basically means: Measure all your ingredients and make sure you have all the right tools and equipment ready to go when you need them before you start working.

This can make a huge difference in a) how enjoyable you find the baking and cooking process and b) the success of your recipe!

Here's the mise en place you'll need before you begin this recipe:

Bring the butter to room temperature. Let the butter sit out at room temperature (70°F) for an hour or two prior to baking. To speed this process up you can microwave the cold, wrapped sticks of butter for about 4 seconds per side. The butter should still feel slightly cool to the touch but and soft enough to press a finger into, but not so soft that it's greasy or melty — you're looking for a temperature of about 65°F.
Bring the eggs to room temperature. Submerge the eggs in very hot water for about 10-15 minutes prior to mixing. This helps them incorporate into the cake batter easily and will allow your cake to rise. If they're cold when you add them to the butter and sugar, they'll cool down the butter, causing the batter to break and separate instead of emulsifying into the mixture.
Mix the dry ingredients together. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.

How to Keep Strawberries from Turning Brown

Before you start making the cake batter, we need to weigh and prep the strawberries. Remove the stems before you weigh them (you're aiming for 113 grams) and then mince the strawberries into small ⅛" pieces.

Then, we're going to toss the fresh strawberry pieces with lemon juice. This will prevent the strawberries from turning brown when they bake.

using a silver citrus juicer to squeeze lemon juice over minced strawberries in a white bowl.

stirring minced strawberries in a white bowl with lemon juice.

And because we never want anything to go to waste, we'll save the juice we strain off the strawberries later and use it to make a pink strawberry-lemon icing for the cake.

TIP: If you're planning on adding lemon zest to your cake batter (and I think you should), you'll want to zest before you juice! It's just easier that way.

How to Make Strawberry Pound Cake

Just like my old-fashioned vanilla pound cake, this strawberry pound cake uses the creaming method of mixing. You can read a lot more about that process in detail there, and I do recommend it if you're new to this mixing process!

butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. they have only just begun to be combined.

Cut the butter into chunks and beat them a bit in the bowl to soften them up. Then add the sugar and the lemon zest and beat on medium speed.

This rubs the oils from the lemon zest into the sugar and butter for an intense lemon flavor.

properly creamed butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. it is pale, thick, and fluffy.

Pause and scrape down the bowl and beater at least 3 times (about every 90 seconds). Make sure you get all the way down to the bottom of the bowl!

Be patient — it can take up to 7 minutes for the butter and sugar to reach the right texture.

During the creaming process, the sugar granules tear lots of tiny holes in the butter (aerating it), which are then sealed up, trapping air inside. This trapped air helps the strawberry pound cake rise when we bake it.

When properly creamed together, the butter and sugar mixture will be pale yellow, light, and fluffy. If you rub it between your fingers the sugar granules should be almost entirely dissolved but still feel slightly gritty.

The next step is to add the eggs one at one at a time, giving the butter plenty of time to incorporate each egg (about 45-60 seconds) before adding the next one.

Scrape down the bowl and beater before adding each egg, and then again before you add the dry ingredients.

half the dry ingredients added to the mixing bowl.

On lowest speed, the dry ingredients in two batches, adding the sour cream in between them. Wait for the first batch to incorporate, scrape everything down, then add the sour cream and mix until almost combined, then add the rest of the flour and mix until there are just a few streaks of flour left.

straining the lemon juice out of the minced strawberries in a wire mesh sieve.

Strain the lemon juice out of the minced strawberries using a mesh strainer. Don't press the berries through the mesh, just lift and stir them around to strain the juice off.

Save the small amount of strawberry lemon juice, we'll use it in the icing!

Turn the strawberries out onto a paper towel and gently blot and pat them dry with a paper towel to remove any excess surface moisture.

It's impossible to get the strawberries completely dry, but even a quick pat-pat-pat with a paper towel can make a big difference. Blotting the berry pieces dry helps prevent excess moisture from getting trapped inside the cake, where it can cause giant air pockets or gummy cake batter around each strawberry piece!

the minced strawberries stirred into the cake batter with a spatula.

Add the strawberries, and mix by hand just until everything evenly distributed. Stop mixing as soon as everything is combined nicely.

using a mini offset spatula to smooth out the cake batter in the baking pan.

Use a mini offset spatula to press the batter down into all the corners and edges of an 8x4" loaf pan then smooth it out across the top.

Pressing the cake batter down into the pan is important for pressing out any air bubbles that might be hiding inside. Then smooth out the top so it bakes evenly.

Bake the cake at 350°F for 60-65 minutes, until a toothpick or small knife inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it. You're looking for an internal temperature of 209°F.

Let the strawberry pound cake cool in the pan on a cooling rack for about 15-20 minutes. Then run a knife around any sides of the pan without parchment paper and use the parchment sling to lift it out and onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

NOTE: The cake must be completely cool before you add the strawberry icing or the glaze will melt off the top.

Strawberry Lemon Icing

Let me say this right off the bat: This strawberry icing is very sweet. If truly sweet things aren't your thing, you may want to just do a simple icing drizzle instead of the full icing layer.

Personally I just couldn't help myself, the pink color was so pretty and I love the contrast of the sweet icing with the slight tartness of the strawberries in the cake.

Start by sifting the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. I know it's tempting to skip this step, but I wouldn't tell you to sift if it wasn't truly necessary. Powdered sugar is notoriously lumpy and clumpy and if you don't sift it, those lumps will be there even after whisking it.

whisking the strawberry lemon juice into sifted powdered sugar.

Whisk 2 teaspoons of the strawberry lemon juice into the powdered sugar, gradually adding more sugar from the sides. It will be very thick and might even collect inside the whisk. Add the milk ½ teaspoon at a time.

using a mini offset spatula to smooth thick and glossy pale pink icing over the cake.

The icing should be thick and glossy but not runny. Pour the icing over the center of the cake, then use a mini offset spatula to gently push and spread the icing on the cake all the way to the edges.

Depending on the brand of powdered sugar, the fat content in the milk, how much strawberry lemon juice you were able to get, etc. there can be some variety and you may need to adjust.

To thicken the strawberry icing, whisk in 1 tablespoon sifted powdered sugar. To thin it out, whisk in ½ teaspoon liquid (milk or strawberry juice) at a time.

To make the white icing zig-zag, it's the same process — sift, then whisk in the milk!

Let the pink strawberry icing set for 10-15 minutes, then use a fork or a piping bag with the very tip snipped off to drizzle the white icing on top.

using a piping bag to zig zag white icing lines across the cake.

Your strawberry pound cake is now ready to serve!

I usually like to let the glaze sit for an hour or two before serving so that it forms a crust, but you can definitely serve it shiny and freshly glazed too.

TIP: For a less sweet icing option, use the strawberry lemon juice instead of milk and follow the instructions for the white icing drizzle. It will be pink instead of white, but you can drizzle it over the cake with a fork or piping bag instead of spreading it as a thicker frosting.

Suggested Equipment

Here's the equipment I use to make this strawberry pound cake. You don't need to have all of these same tools, but they may make the process easier!

Electric Mixer - I use a KitchenAid stand mixer with the paddle attachment. An electric hand mixer will also work — the creaming stage may just take a little longer.
1 Pound Loaf Pan - A "1 pound" loaf pan is approximately 8 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 3 inches tall. A 1.25 pound loaf pan (9x5x3) will also work but your cake may not have the same height that mine does in these photos as there's more room for the batter to spread out. Metal pans work best for getting that golden brown crust. You may need to adjust baking time and temperature if using a glass pan (King Arthur Baking recommends lowering the temperature by 25°F and adding 10 minutes to the bake time).
Quarter Pan Pre-Cut Parchment Sheets - I use these pre-cut parchment sheets to create a parchment sling that lines the pan to make the pound cake easier to remove. You'll have to trim about an inch off one of the long sides for it to fit, but they work very nicely!
Metal Binder Clips - To secure the parchment paper in place so it doesn't fold in on top of the cake in the oven. Do not use plastic binder clips in the oven. I repeat, no plastic in the oven.
Mini Offset Spatula - For smoothing out the cake batter in the pan. Trust me, you'll think a regular spatula or a knife can do the same job, but once you try using a mini offset spatula, there's no going back.
Wire Mesh Strainer - For straining the lemon juice out of the strawberries.

USA Pan Bakeware Aluminized Steel Loaf Pan, 1 Pound

Dimensions: 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75. Durable construction with corrugated surface for optimal airflow. Non-stick finish is PTFE, PFOA and BPA free.

Amazon

Crate & Barrel

Williams Sonoma

Storage Notes & Freezing

This strawberry pound cake can be stored at room temperature with an airtight cover for 4-5 days. You can also refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to a week.

The pound cake itself can be frozen for up to 3 months without icing. Defrost in the fridge, then add icing (you'll have to use a plain icing or glaze instead of the strawberry one since you won't have the reserved strawberry juice) and let come to room temperature for serving.

two slices of strawberry pound cake cut off the loaf with their tops facing the camera.

a strawberry cut in half sits on top of a slice of strawberry pound cake on a small white plate.

Practical Tips and Recipe Notes

If the cake batter begins to look split or curdled as you're adding the eggs, don't sweat it too much. It will come back together when you add the flour.
When in doubt, SCRAPE DOWN THE BOWL. If it feels like you're stopping too often to scrape down the bowl, that means you're doing it right. You don't want any ingredients to go unincorporated or you'll end up with large air bubbles or clumps in your final cake.
Mixing the dry ingredients on the lowest possible speed and stopping as soon as they're all combined is super important. The goal is to avoid developing gluten in the cake batter, which would make your old fashioned vanilla pound cake dense and tough, with lots of trapped tunnels of air bubbles inside.
To keep the cake from sticking to the pan, spray the pan with non stick spray, then line with a parchment paper sling. The non-stick spray helps the paper stick to the walls of the pan. I use metal binder clips to help hold the paper in place, but this is optional.
The lemon zest gives the cake a bit of tart lemon flavor which I really like; it's giving strawberry lemonade cake vibes. It's not so much that it overpowers the strawberry flavor, but if you don't like lemon flavor, you can leave the zest out of it. You'll still need the lemon juice for the strawberries though! It doesn't add any lemon flavor, just acidity. On the other hand, if you want to really lean into the strawberry lemonade cake vibes, use twice as much lemon zest in the batter.
Make sure your baking powder is fresh! If you aren't sure, it's probably not. Baking powder is good for about 6 months, after that it loses its potency. To check if it's still good, Epicurious recommends mixing 1 cup very hot tap water with 2 teaspoons baking powder: "If there’s an immediate fizzing reaction that dissipates all of the powder, you’ll know it still works. If there’s no bubbling, the baking powder is no longer potent and needs to be swapped out."

Why Temperatures Matter

Make sure you pay attention to the temperature directions in this pound cake recipe.

If your butter is too warm, it won't incorporate enough air. If the butter is too cold, it will take much longer to cream properly.
If you use cold eggs, they will cause the butter to firm up in the mixer and you risk it curdling or splitting, resulting in a flat, dense, tough cake.
If your oven runs hot or runs cold, this can affect the cake's rise, the thickness of the crust, the texture, and the baking time. I recommend using an oven thermometer to make sure you're baking it at the right temperature!

Recipe FAQ

Why is this recipe in grams? I want to use cups!

A kitchen scale is more accurate than cup measurements and will give you the right ratio of dry and liquid ingredients so that the cake batter behaves the way we want it to. The name of this cake is literally pound cake — it's super important that you have equal amounts of flour, butter, and sugar by weight to get the best results.

I tested and developed this recipe using weight measurements. If I were to convert it to volume measurements, I would be using an online conversion calculator — just like you would. There's no set standard for how much "1 cup" of flour weighs (I use 120 grams, like King Arthur Baking does, but other recipe developers use as much as 150 grams as "1 cup"), which means this will produce wildly varying results. Use a kitchen scale for best results!

Can I make this strawberry pound cake with almond flour?

No. Almond flour is just ground almonds. It will definitely change the texture and rise of the cake. I recommend finding a pound cake recipe designed to use almond flour if that's all you've got.

Can I use frozen strawberries in this pound cake?

I haven't personally tested this with frozen strawberries, but I asked Sarah how she would advise using frozen berries with the lemon juice technique to keep the berries bright red. She suggests defrosting the frozen berries, patting them dry with paper towels, then tossing them with the lemon juice, and then following the recipe instructions to strain the juice off and pat the berries dry again before adding them to the batter.

She also says you definitely shouldn't mix frozen berries directly into the cake batter. Frozen berries have a ton of moisture in them and if you don't defrost and pat them dry first, they will release water as they bake. Since the water can't evaporate, it gets trapped and can make the dough mushy or even raw around the berry pieces. Yuck!

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