This strawberry pound cake is a moist, dense bundt cake loaded with fresh strawberries and topped with a sweet icing. A slice of strawberry cake is perfect for a special occasion or holiday. This recipe is easy enough to bake every day with pantry staples!
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Who else is excited for strawberry season? Between the warmer temperatures, ripe, sweet berries, and strawberry desserts like this fresh strawberry pound cake, it’s one of my favorite times of the year. My strawberry pound cake is a version of a classic pound cake recipe, with a few necessary tweaks. I wanted to make sure the cake was extra moist and flavorful, with real, fresh strawberry flavor.
What Makes This Strawberry Pound Cake So Darn Good
- Real strawberries. This cake is sweet and packed with fresh berries, without any artificial flavors.
- Easy ingredients. I make this pound cake with classic ingredients, with the addition of buttermilk, which makes the crumb super rich and moist.
- Any occasion. Baked in a bundt pan, a homemade strawberry pound cake is a gorgeous dessert to serve for Easter and well into the summer months. It’s also easy enough for everyday baking, which I love.
These Are the Ingredients You’ll Need
These are the key ingredients in this strawberry pound cake recipe. Scroll to the printable recipe card for the full list and exact measurements.
- Strawberries – Fresh strawberries, sliced or chopped. You can also make this recipe with frozen berries. Make sure to thaw them fully and pat them dry before adding the strawberries to the cake.
- Butter – I always use salted butter. You can use unsalted if you prefer.
- Granulated Sugar – This cake gets a nice, deep color and flavor thanks to the strawberries, so brown sugar isn’t necessary.
- Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste. Try almond extract instead for a nice complement to the strawberries.
- Eggs – In typical pound cake fashion, this recipe uses 4 whole eggs. Bring the eggs to room temperature beforehand.
- Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Salt – Check the expiration date on your leavening agents! If you’ve made your cake with unsalted butter, you can add an extra pinch of salt if you’d like.
- Buttermilk – Adding buttermilk to this strawberry pound cake batter gives the finished cake an ultra-tender crumb. See below for easy substitutes that will achieve similar results.
- Flour – I recommend all-purpose flour when baking a pound cake. Pound cake is denser than a layer cake, so don’t worry about using cake flour; it won’t make a huge difference.
- Powdered Sugar and Milk – For the simple icing. Any type of milk will work to thin out the glaze.
Homemade Buttermilk Substitute
If you are ready to bake this cake but realize you’re out of buttermilk, you can make a batch of homemade buttermilk to stand in instead. To make a buttermilk substitute, combine 1 cup of regular milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Allow that to rest and curdle for 5 minutes, then stir. It’s ready to use!
Another easy swap to make up the ⅔ cup of buttermilk in this recipe is to use a scant ⅔ cup of plain yogurt or sour cream, thinned with water or milk.
How To Make Strawberry Pound Cake
This easy strawberry pound cake takes a while to bake, since it’s in a bundt pan. But it’s a great dessert to make in advance! Bake it the day before, and it’ll be soft and moist when it’s time to serve.
- Prepare to bake. While the oven preheats to 325ºF, grease the inside of a 12-cup bundt pan. You can do this with cooking spray or shortening, making sure it’s well-coated to avoid a stuck cake.
- Make the cake batter. Next, beat the butter and sugar together. After 2 minutes or so, mix in the eggs, vanilla, leavening, and salt. Slowly add the flour, alternating with the buttermilk, until the batter is just combined. Lastly, fold in the strawberries.
- Bake. This strawberry bundt cake goes into the oven at 325ºF for 85-90 minutes. To test if the cake is done, insert a toothpick into the middle. If the toothpick comes out clean, your bundt cake is done!
- Cool and invert the cake. Allow the cake cool in the bundt pan for 15-20 minutes. Don’t let it cool completely in the pan, or it’ll get stuck! To invert the cake, place a plate over the bundt pan. Grip the plate and pan firmly, and flip. If the cake doesn’t come right out, tap the outside of the bundt pan a few times to help it loosen.
- Ice the cake. When the cake has cooled to room temperature, whisk powdered sugar with milk to make the icing. You can make it more of a glaze by adding a little more milk, or thicken the icing by adding less milk. Pour the icing on top of the cake, and let it set for a bit before serving.
Ways to Decorate This Strawberry Bundt Cake
A thick blanket of creamy icing is my favorite way to dress this strawberry pound cake. That being said, there are definitely more options when it comes to decorating. Here are some suggestions:
- Strawberry glaze. Stir a spoonful or two of strawberry purée or strawberry jam into the icing.
- Frost the cake. Instead of icing, frost this pound cake with homemade buttercream frosting, heritage frosting, or double up the berry flavor with this strawberry frosting!
- Skip the icing. Instead of icing or frosting, give the cooled cake a dusting with powdered sugar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. To make this pound cake with frozen strawberries, thaw the berries completely and pat them dry with paper towels before you chop them. If the strawberries are too wet, the added moisture will make the cake gummy.
Nope. If you don’t have a bundt pan, you can bake this strawberry pound cake like my lemon pound cake recipe in a 9×5-inch loaf pan instead. The baking time will be a bit shorter and the oven temperature higher, about 50-55 minutes at 350ºF.
For sure. This pound cake would turn out delicious with other berries, like blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. It would also be great with chopped peaches or apple pie filling.
Yes! This strawberry pound cake batter is similar to my strawberry buttermilk muffins. This recipe makes enough batter for 12 or more standard muffins. Fill each muffin liner approximately ⅔ full and bake the strawberry muffins at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.
Serving Suggestions for Strawberry Pound Cake
I love to serve slices of this strawberry pound cake topped with fresh whipped cream and extra strawberry slices. It’s also delicious with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of homemade strawberry syrup.
Storage and Freezing
- Store the cake covered. Store the iced strawberry pound cake covered at room temperature for 1-2 days, or in the fridge for longer-term storage. I recommend refrigerating if you live somewhere warm or humid, due to the milk in the icing.
- Freeze. Allow the cake to cool completely and leave off the icing. Wrap the pound cake tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap it in a second layer of plastic wrap or foil, and freeze it for up to a month. To thaw the cake, allow it to come to room temperature. Pour the icing on, if desired, and enjoy!
More Strawberry Dessert Recipes
Strawberry Pound Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 85 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 12 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
This strawberry pound cake is an easy, ultra-moist pound cake recipe with fresh strawberries baked inside, topped with a blanket of sweet icing.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 16 ounces strawberries, sliced
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 – 3 tablespoons of milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a 12- cup bundt pan with baking spray and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix for 1 minute until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn the mixer to low and in alternating additions add in the buttermilk and flour, beginning and ending with flour, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix until just incorporated.
- Stir in the strawberries until evenly mixed in.
- Bake for 85-90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then invert the pan onto a cake plate.
- Once the cake is mostly cooled whisk together the powdered sugar and the milk for the icing. Pour this on top of the cake. The cooler the cake is, the thicker the icing will remain.
Notes
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 491
- Sugar: 52.5 g
- Sodium: 342.3 mg
- Fat: 17.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 78.1 g
- Protein: 6.3 g
- Cholesterol: 104.2 mg
Can you use frozen strawberries
Sure, just thaw them out and pat dry.
Love this recipe! I have made this cake many times. I always make it in two loaf pans because generally one Bundt pan is more cake than I need. The recipe fits perfectly in the two pans and I usually freeze them. Serve them with whipped cream and it tastes like strawberry shortcake. I will try the flour idea because the strawberries do sink.
The cake is very moist & tasty. However, a lot of the berries sunk to the bottom of the bundt pan & stuck to the pan in a gooey mess (I was able to spoon them off & spread it over the top after inverting). I’m wondering if it would help to dredge the berries in flour before adding to the batter, like other recipes for adding fruit/nuts/etc. suggest.
Thanks for the recipe Shelly. I make this almost every time I buy strawberries and I use your recipe just the way it is it’s really moist, delicious and plus it makes my house smell wonderful as it bakes! 🙂
I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. Usually pound cakes have equal parts of sugar and flour, so I was a bit concerned when the recipe called for 2 cups of sugar but 3 cups of flour. However since I don’t like using all that sugar I decided to give this a try. I read some of the comments about mixing the strawberries with flour – worked!!! Also I didn’t have buttermilk so used 2/3 cup sour cream as someone suggested. WORKED! The cake is delicious! And the strawberries didn’t fall. Really needs no glaze – sweet enough without it. Yum yum. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I baked this cake for Father’s Day. I cooked it for 90 minutes, toothpick inserted came out clean, however it was quite moist inside, almost like it wasn’t done. Any tips for my next try?
I tried baking this cake. Not sure what happened. I am an experienced baker. I followed the recipe to a T. I baked it for 85 minutes. Toothpick came out clean. It sunk in the center after I took it out of the oven and when I took it out of the pan after cooling it for 20 minutes, all the strawberries were at the bottom of the cake and it was a soggy mess. So disappointing.
Exactly the same happened to me. It tasted fine but a big soggy mess.
Hi Shelly, I made your marble # cake and it came out wonderful with my normal altitude adjustments (for 7400 ft.) this cake, however, fell a bit. The crumb is also not what I would say is akin to a pound cake. It had to large of air pockets (but not from overmixing, trust me, I am a professional). I plan to adjust some more for altitude next time, but I was wondering if you have tried it with sour cream instead of buttermilk. I think it needs to be richer and have a more compact crumb. Thank-you for your recipes.