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!
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
I followed everything, but it stuck terribly to Bundt pan… what would you suggest?
I used cooking spray, cooled according to directions, etc. taste is awesome!
A few recommendations I have for bundt pans, as I used to have bad luck turning cakes out as well. I use this pan (https://rstyle.me/+WidlErffTWAQNVM2N1Yydw). It’s the best bundt pan I have tried. Also use baking spray instead of nonstick spray, which has flour mixed in to aid in cake release. Also a tip I have found that really helps is spraying the pan right before you add the cake batter.
Also if none oof these help, I suggest breaking out the vegetable shortening and heavily greasing the pan with that and dusting with flour or powdered sugar 🙂
With all that said, ever since I got that Nordic Ware Gold Pan I have never had an issue!
This cake turned out beautifully! I was a bit concerned that the strawberries might add too much liquid to the batter, but it seems my worries weren’t justified. My entire family LOVES this! Thanks for sharing!
Hey! I’m looking for an alternative Christmas cake and love your bundt cakes. Could this cake batter take dried fruit and marzipan through it or do you have another one that would? Thanks
This recipe for Kentucky Butter Cake will hold up nicely to dried fruit! https://cookiesandcups.com/kentucky-butter-cake/
Thanks so much! I’ll insta the result when the time comes!
Can this be done in a 9 x 13 pan
Looking forward to making this today! If I use a loaf pan (8.5 by 4.5 by 2.5 inches) will the baking time and temp. still be the same?
That pan will be too small for this recipe unfortunately.
Is that 16 oz strawberries by weight or volume?
weight 🙂
Can you use self rising flour and skip the baking powder/salt step for this cake? Would it turn out ok?
I don’t use self rising flour for cakes, so I can’t speak to how it will turn out, so sorry!
Made this cake this morning and I could be more overjoyed. It was absolutely perfectly beautifully delicious. Thank you will make over and over again
So glad you enjoyed!
Your recipe calls for 2/3 cup of buttermilk. The substitution for buttermilk you noted was 1tbsp white vinegar and milk till both ingredients measure 1 cup. With that combination does it equal the 2/3 cup the recipe requires? Thank you
The substitution is for 1 cup of buttermilk. You could decrease it slightly, as it doesn’t have to be exact, or you could just toss the extra 1/3 cup.
Shelly,
When you said a cup of butter, did you mean 2 sticks?
Thank you,
Lisa
If your sticks are 8 tablespoons each, yes 🙂