This strawberry pound cake is dense and buttery and is made with fresh strawberries, fresh lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Strawberry pound cake is a delicious cake that combines the rich, buttery flavor of traditional pound cake with the sweet, juicy taste of fresh strawberries.
The bright colors of the strawberries and the citrusy aroma of lemon make this pound cake not only delicious but also visually appealing.
The cake's dense yet moist texture complements the burst of flavor from the strawberries and lemon zest, creating a harmonious balance of sweetness and richness.
The cake is finally topped with a cream cheese and strawberry glaze that creates a perfect balance of flavors.
Whether enjoyed on its own or topped with whipped cream or a dollop of ice cream, this pound cake is a delicious treat for any occasion.
For more strawberry desserts, check out my strawberry bundt cake, strawberry crumble, strawberry danish, strawberry brownies, strawberry filled cupcakes, and strawberry shortcake cake.
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Why this recipe works
- Texture- this cake has a tender, buttery, and moist crumb that melts in your mouth in every bite with the sugary strawberry cream glaze topping.
- Strawberry flavor- this cake is made with fresh strawberries and fresh lemon zest which gives this cake the best flavor. It is perfect for strawberry lovers!
- Strawberry glaze- this loaf is topped with a cream cheese strawberry glaze that is made with freshly chopped strawberries.
- One bowl- this cake comes together in just one bowl! So there are minimal dishes to wash and makes minimal mess.
- Freezer friendly- this cake freezes great and can be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight freezer friendly container.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- for this recipe, use unsalted butter only. Margarine and coconut oil are not suitable replacements, as margarine can alter the flavor of the cake with its peculiar taste.
Eggs- you will need eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Strawberries- we used fresh strawberries for this. Frozen strawberries have too much liquid in them and will not work for this recipe. Wash your strawberries well and chop them.
Lemon juice- For the best results, use fresh lemon juice in this recipe. Fresh lemon juice will make the flavor pop, so I don't recommend using store-bought lemon juice.
Vegetable oil – we used vegetable oil for this recipe. canola oil will work great for this recipe.
Lemon zest- you will need ½ teaspoon of lemon zest. I recommend zesting the lemon first and then juicing it.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking powder– baking powder allows the cake to rise. Make sure that your baking powder is not expired.
Granulated sugar– I like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Sour cream or Greek yogurt- you can use either Greek yogurt or sour cream. Get your sour cream to room temperature. Any percent of fat will work for this recipe.
Vanilla extract- vanilla extract adds extra flavor. For extra vanilla flavor, use vanilla bean extract or an actual vanilla bean!
Milk- use whole milk for this recipe.
Kosher salt- you will need about ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the strawberry glaze
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Strawberries- you will need to finely chop your strawberries for the glaze.
Cream cheese- make sure that you are using whole-fat cream cheese that is at room temperature.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, add the room-temperature butter, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and kosher salt, and mix with an electric hand mixer until it's creamy.
Add the eggs, and mix until the mixture is well combined.
Add the sour cream and mix until smooth and creamy. Then gradually add the oil while you are constantly mixing.
Add ½ of the milk, and ½ of the flour, lemon juice, and baking powder, and mix it until almost combined.
Add the other half of the flour and milk and mix until just combined.
Add the chopped strawberries and fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula until the batter is combined.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it with an offset spatula.
Bake in a 180c (350f) oven for about 55-60 minutes (depending on the oven) or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool at room temperature for about an hour.
Meanwhile, make the strawberry cream cheese glaze. In a small mixing bowl, add the chopped strawberries, cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and mix until it's smooth.
Top the cake with the glaze and let it sit for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy is essential for a tender crumb in your pound cake. Take your time with this step for the best results.
- Use fresh lemons! the key to a flavorful pound cake is using fresh citrus. Zesting and juicing the lemons yourself will give the cake a vibrant citrus taste.
- For the strawberry glaze, if your strawberries are extra juicy, you may need to add more powdered sugar to thicken up the glaze until you reach the right consistency.
- Avoid opening the oven door to check if the cake is ready. This can cause the cake for sinking in the middle.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently to ensure that you have a homogeneous mixture that has no lumps.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
Faq's
The term "pound cake" comes from the traditional recipe that used a pound each of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. This classic ratio creates a dense, moist cake with a tight crumb structure.
Pound cake usually consists of equal parts of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs, creating a dense and rich texture. While regular cake recipes have varying ingredients and ratios, resulting in a lighter and fluffier consistency.
Start by creaming the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time for a tender texture.
Sift the flour before gradually incorporating it to create a smooth batter. Finally, baking at the correct temperature will result in a moist and delicious pound cake every time!
We used a 12x5-inch loaf pan. This loaf pan is quite big. You can also use two smaller loaf pans.
Storing
Store it for up to 3 days at room temperature. Make sure that you store this cake in an airtight container so it won’t dry out.
Freezing
This cake is very easy to freeze. After baking, allow the cake to cool to room temperature, transfer it into a freezer-friendly Ziplock bag, or wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To thaw: place the cake at room temperature for a few hours until its completely thawed.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter.
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Variations
White chocolate- add mini white chocolate chips to the cake batter for a delicious white chocolate flavor.
Powder sugar- top this cake with powdered sugar instead of the glaze.
Lemon zest- add even more lemon zest for a stronger lemon flavor and aroma.
Cream cheese frosting- you can swap the strawberry glaze with cream cheese frosting. I recommend this recipe from my pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting.
Spiced cake- infuse warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into the batter for a cozy, aromatic treat.
Almond crunch- top this cake with sliced and toasted almonds for a delicious nutty flavor and crunch.
Berries- add 1 cup of fresh or frozen berries to the batter, and throw them in flour before adding them to the cake batter.
Serving Tips
Whipped cream and lemon zest- serve a slice of this pound cake with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and a sprinkle of grated lemon zest on top.
Vanilla ice cream- add a large scoop of ice cream next to a slice of this cake.
Strawberry Compote- top slices of this pound cake with a generous spoonful of homemade strawberry compote.
Equipment
- Mixing bowls- best glass mixing bowls.
- Whisk set- our favorite copper whisk set.
- Loaf pan
- Rubber spatula
- Electric hand mixer
More pound cake recipes
Orange Pound Cake- This orange pound cake is loaded with orange flavor and is moist, buttery, dense, and topped with a delicious orange glaze.
Lemon Pound Cake- This lemon pound cake is dense and moist and made with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest that makes the flavor pop! It is topped with lemon glaze and tastes so delish.
Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake- This chocolate sour cream pound cake is moist, chocolaty, and easy to make. It's topped with a silky smooth chocolate ganache that makes this cake irresistible.
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If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Pound Cake w/ Strawberry Glaze
Ingredients
For the cake
- ¾ cup Butter softened
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 ⅓ cups Granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon Lemon zest fresh
- 4 Eggs
- ⅓ cup Sour cream
- ⅓ cup Vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice fresh
- ½ cup Milk Unflavored
- 3 cups Flour AP or cake flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 ½ cups Strawberries chopped
For the cream cheese strawberry glaze
- 4.5 oz Cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup Strawberries Finley chopped
- 1 ½ cups Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the room-temperature butter, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and kosher salt, and mix with an electric hand mixer until it's creamy.
- Add the eggs, and mix until the mixture is well combined.
- Add the sour cream and mix until smooth and creamy. Then gradually add the oil while you are constantly mixing.
- Add ½ of the milk, and ½ of the flour, lemon juice, and baking powder, and mix it until almost combined.
- Add the other half of the flour and milk and mix until just combined.
- Add the chopped strawberries and fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula until the batter is combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it with an offset spatula.
- Bake in a 180c (350f) oven for about 55-60 minutes (depending on the oven) or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool at room temperature for about an hour.
- Meanwhile, make the strawberry cream cheese glaze. In a small mixing bowl, add the chopped strawberries, cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and mix until it's smooth.
- Top the cake with the glaze and let it sit for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy is essential for a tender crumb in your pound cake. Take your time with this step for the best results.
- Use fresh lemons! the key to a flavorful pound cake is using fresh citrus. Zesting and juicing the lemons yourself will give the cake a vibrant citrus taste.
- For the strawberry glaze, if your strawberries are extra juicy, you may need to add more powdered sugar to thicken up the glaze until you reach the right consistency.
- Avoid opening the oven door to check if the cake is ready. This can cause the cake for sinking in the middle.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently to ensure that you have a homogeneous mixture that has no lumps.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
Anna says
I made this last night and it was so delicious! The strawberries aren't even at their prime right now in our area so I can only imagine how good this will be when they are. This would be the perfect dessert for a special spring occasion (it's also very pretty!) but we thoroughly enjoyed it on a standard Tuesday night. Followed the recipe exactly, and it did need about 5 more minutes of baking which is typical with my oven. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!