The Ultimate Strawberry Pound Cake with a Simple Three-Ingredient Glaze

Indulge in the delightful simplicity and elegant charm of this homemade strawberry pound cake, a truly versatile dessert perfect for any season. Each tender slice is bursting with sweet, concentrated strawberry flavor, beautifully complemented by a luscious, easy-to-make three-ingredient strawberry glaze. This isn’t just a cake; it’s an experience, promising to be a year-round favorite for its incredible taste and incredibly moist texture.

The classic pound cake, a true cornerstone of baking, earned its name from its traditional recipe calling for one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. While the purity of such traditional recipes is admirable, the joy of baking often lies in creating delicious variations that elevate the familiar to extraordinary. Our recipe takes the comforting essence of a classic pound cake and infuses it with vibrant strawberry flavor, resulting in a dessert that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly new.

My journey into crafting unique pound cake recipes began with an ultra-moist cream cheese pound cake, a testament to how rich and tender this dessert can be. Building on that foundation, I developed this easy strawberry pound cake recipe, originally conceived to celebrate the arrival of warmer weather. However, the true beauty of this particular recipe is its brilliant secret: it’s perfectly adaptable for enjoyment throughout the entire year!

Forget the hassle of spending 30 to 40 minutes reducing fresh strawberries on the stovetop. This innovative recipe achieves an intense, authentic berry flavor by harnessing the power of strawberry extract and freeze-dried strawberry powder. This smart approach means you can bake this delightful cake whether strawberries are in peak season or not, ensuring that crave-worthy strawberry taste is always within reach. The result is a strawberry glazed pound cake that tastes as though it were made with the ripest, most flavorful in-season berries, delivering a deep, sweet-tart profile that will surprise and delight your palate. Serve generous slices adorned with a scattering of fresh strawberries (if available) and an ample drizzle of the simple, yet decadent, strawberry glaze for an unforgettable treat that truly goes over the top.

Essential Ingredients for Your Perfect Strawberry Pound Cake

This scratch-made strawberry pound cake recipe utilizes a combination of pantry staples and a couple of specialized ingredients that truly make its strawberry flavor shine. While most of the list is straightforward, ensuring you have these key items on hand will guarantee the best results for your decadent dessert.

• Freeze-Dried Strawberries: These are the secret weapon for an incredibly concentrated and natural strawberry flavor without adding excess moisture to your cake batter or requiring lengthy reduction processes. You’ll typically find them in the snack aisle or with other dried fruits at your local grocery store. For this recipe, two 1-ounce packages (totaling 2 ounces or about 56 grams) should yield the necessary ½ cup for the cake batter and 2 tablespoons for the glaze. Simply pulse them in a small blender or food processor until they transform into a fine, vibrant powder. This method is significantly faster and more efficient than cooking down fresh strawberries, saving you 30 to 40 minutes of stovetop time.
• Strawberry Extract: Crucial for amplifying the berry notes, strawberry extract provides an extra layer of robust flavor that complements the freeze-dried powder beautifully. It’s usually located in the baking aisle alongside vanilla extract. Do not be tempted to omit it or substitute it with more vanilla extract; doing so will result in a less pronounced and less authentic strawberry taste in your final cake.
• Cake Flour: This type of flour contains a lower protein content compared to all-purpose flour, which is fundamental to achieving the signature light, tender, and fine crumb of a superior pound cake. Its delicate structure prevents the cake from becoming dense or tough. If you don’t typically keep cake flour in your pantry, don’t worry – we provide a simple DIY solution later in the substitutions section.
• Red Food Coloring: While entirely optional, a few drops of red food coloring can transform your pound cake batter into a lovely, appealing shade of pink, enhancing its visual appeal. I typically use about six drops of liquid food coloring to achieve a pleasing hue that visually signals the delicious strawberry flavor within. Gel food coloring can also be used for a more intense color with less liquid.
• Hot Water: For the smooth and shiny strawberry glaze, hot water is highly recommended over milk. The heat helps the freeze-dried strawberry powder and powdered sugar dissolve more efficiently, resulting in a perfectly smooth, lump-free glaze that drapes beautifully over the cooled cake. Using hot water ensures a more consistent and professional-looking finish.
• Unsalted Butter: Essential for richness, flavor, and texture. Ensure it’s softened to room temperature for proper creaming.
• Granulated Sugar: Provides sweetness, moisture, and aids in browning the crust. Creaming it with butter also incorporates air, contributing to the cake’s light texture.
• Large Eggs: Act as binders, provide structure, and add richness. Like butter, they should be at room temperature for optimal emulsification.
• Neutral Oil (Canola or Vegetable): Adds an extra layer of moisture to the cake, keeping it tender for longer.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: A classic flavor enhancer that beautifully complements and rounds out the strawberry notes.
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These leavening agents provide a gentle lift to the pound cake, ensuring it’s not overly dense.
• Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances all the other flavors in the cake.
• Sour Cream: A crucial ingredient for moisture and a subtle tang that enriches the cake’s flavor profile and keeps it incredibly moist. Ensure it’s at room temperature for best incorporation.

Baking Your Delicious Strawberry Pound Cake: A Step-by-Step Guide

Crafting this delightful strawberry pound cake involves two main stages: preparing and baking the cake itself, followed by drizzling it with the vibrant strawberry glaze once it’s completely cooled. Remember, patience is key – resist the urge to glaze a warm cake, or your beautiful icing will simply slide off!

• Prepare Your Bundt Pan with Care: Begin by preheating your oven to 350ºF (175°C). Next, generously spray a 10-inch bundt pan with a high-quality nonstick cooking spray, ensuring every crevice and intricate design is thoroughly coated. For best results and easy release, you can also lightly flour the pan after spraying, tapping out any excess. It’s crucial that your bundt pan has a 10 to 12 cup capacity to accommodate all the delicious batter without overflowing. A properly prepared pan is the first step to a perfectly shaped, effortlessly released cake.
• Combine the Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, meticulously whisk together the cake flour, freeze-dried strawberry powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisking ensures these ingredients are evenly distributed, which is vital for a consistent texture and rise in your cake. Once thoroughly combined, set this mixture aside.
• Cream Together Butter and Sugar for Fluffiness: This step is critical for a light and airy pound cake. I highly recommend using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for optimal results, though a sturdy handheld mixer will also work. First, beat the softened unsalted butter on medium speed until it’s smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Then, with the mixer on low speed, gradually add the granulated sugar. Once all the sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating for about 5 minutes. You’re looking for the mixture to transform into a light, pale yellow, and significantly fluffy consistency, indicating that plenty of air has been incorporated.
• Incorporate the Eggs: Add the large, room-temperature eggs one at a time to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Beat well after each addition, waiting until each egg is fully combined and no streaks of yolk remain before adding the next. This ensures proper emulsification, leading to a smooth batter and a stable cake structure. Don’t forget to stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl periodically with a rubber spatula to ensure everything is evenly mixed.
• Stir in the Remaining Wet Ingredients: To the butter and egg mixture, gently stir in the neutral oil (such as canola or vegetable oil), pure vanilla extract, and the all-important strawberry extract. If you’re using it, now is also the time to add the red food coloring. Mix these until they are just combined, ensuring the color is evenly distributed throughout the batter if you’ve opted for food coloring.
• Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients with Care: This is a delicate step. Add the dry ingredients (the flour mixture) to the wet ingredients in two alternating additions with the room-temperature sour cream. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. Mix each addition on low speed until just combined. The key here is to avoid overmixing the batter at all costs. Overmixing develops gluten, which can lead to a tough, dense cake rather than the tender crumb we’re aiming for. A few lumps are perfectly acceptable and even desirable. Use a rubber spatula to give the bowl a final scrape, ensuring no pockets of unmixed ingredients remain.

• Bake the Pound Cake to Perfection: Gently pour the prepared batter into your thoroughly greased and floured bundt pan, spreading it evenly. Bake for approximately 55 to 70 minutes. The cake is done when a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs attached. Avoid opening the oven door frequently, especially during the initial stages of baking, as this can cause the cake to sink.
• Cool the Pound Cake Properly: Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the bundt pan for about 30 minutes. This crucial cooling period allows the cake to set and firm up, making it much easier to handle without breaking. After 30 minutes, carefully run a thin knife or offset spatula around the edges of the cake to loosen it further, then invert the bundt pan onto a wire rack. Allow the cake to cool completely on the wire rack before attempting to glaze it. A fully cooled cake ensures the glaze sets beautifully and doesn’t melt or run off.
• Whip Up the Simple Strawberry Glaze: This exquisite glaze is incredibly straightforward. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, freeze-dried strawberry powder, and hot water. Mix until the glaze is smooth, free of any lumps, and has a pourable consistency. If the icing appears too thin, gradually add more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired thickness. Conversely, if it’s too thick, add a few more drops of hot water until it becomes drizzly.
• Glaze and Serve Your Masterpiece: Once the pound cake is completely cool, drizzle the vibrant strawberry glaze generously over the top, letting it cascade down the sides. Allow the glazed cake to sit for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. This gives the icing a little time to firm up slightly and set, preventing it from being too sticky when sliced. Once set, your magnificent strawberry pound cake is ready to be sliced, served, and savored!

Handy Recipe Substitutions to Tailor Your Pound Cake

While the freeze-dried strawberry powder and strawberry extract are truly indispensable for achieving the signature flavor of this recipe, several other ingredient swaps can be made to suit your pantry or preferences without compromising the overall quality of your pound cake. Remember, baking is often about adaptability!

• Cake Flour: If your pantry isn’t stocked with cake flour, there’s no need to make an extra trip to the store. You can easily create DIY cake flour at home. For every cup of all-purpose flour, remove two tablespoons, then replace those two tablespoons with cornstarch. Sift this mixture together thoroughly to ensure the cornstarch is evenly distributed, which helps to tenderize the flour.
• Unsalted Butter: This recipe calls for unsalted butter to give you precise control over the salt content. However, if you only have salted butter on hand, you can certainly use it. Just be sure to omit the additional ½ teaspoon of salt explicitly called for in the recipe to prevent your cake from becoming too salty.
• Red Liquid Food Coloring: The red food coloring is purely for aesthetic appeal, providing that lovely pink hue. If you prefer a more natural-looking cake or don’t have food coloring, feel free to omit it entirely. The taste will remain unaffected, though the batter and final cake won’t be as vibrantly pink as shown in the accompanying photos.
• Oil: The type of neutral oil used is quite flexible. Canola oil or vegetable oil are excellent choices due to their neutral flavor and high smoke point. Other suitable alternatives include melted and cooled coconut oil (ensure it’s refined if you don’t want a coconut flavor), or even a light olive oil, though canola or vegetable oil are generally preferred for their complete lack of flavor.
• Sour Cream: Sour cream is integral for providing moisture and a subtle tang. A fantastic and widely available alternative is plain, full-fat Greek yogurt. Its thick consistency and slight acidity make it an ideal substitute, yielding a similarly moist and flavorful cake. Ensure it’s at room temperature for seamless incorporation into the batter.

More Delicious Strawberry Desserts You’ll Love!

If you’re a fan of strawberry delights, be sure to explore these other fantastic recipes that celebrate the sweet, juicy flavor of strawberries:

• Strawberry Cupcakes
• Strawberry Shortcake
• Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes
• Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes

Recipe Video

Strawberry Pound Cake

4.67 from 3 ratings

Prep Time: 40 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 50 minutes mins

Strawberry pound cake is a simple yet elegant dessert perfect for strawberry season! It’s topped with a three-ingredient strawberry glaze that takes the berry flavor of this dessert over the top.

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Ingredients

Servings: 12 slices

Strawberry Pound Cake

• ▢ 3 cups cake flour spooned & leveled (345 grams)
• ▢ ½ cup freeze-dried strawberry powder (40 grams) see recipe notes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter softened (230 grams)
• ▢ 2 cups granulated sugar (400 grams)
• ▢ 4 large eggs at room temperature
• ▢ ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil (60 ml)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
• ▢ 6 to 8 drops red liquid food coloring or a small squeeze of red gel coloring
• ▢ 1 cup sour cream at room temperature (240 grams)

Strawberry Glaze

• ▢ 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (180 grams)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberry powder (10 grams)
• ▢ 3 to 4 tablespoons hot water use more as needed (45 to 60 ml)

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Instructions

 

• To make the strawberry pound cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Generously spray a 10-inch (10 to 12-cup) bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk the cake flour, ½ cup of freeze-dried strawberry powder (40 grams), baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until well combined. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the granulated sugar.
• Once all of the sugar is added, increase to medium speed and continue mixing for another 5 minutes or until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.
• Mix in the eggs, one at a time, making sure to stop and scrape around the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
• Mix in the oil, vanilla extract, strawberry extract, and red food coloring until fully combined.
• Add the dry ingredients in two additions alternating with the sour cream (begin and end with the dry ingredients) on low speed. Mix in each addition until just combined, making sure not to over mix the batter.
• Use a rubber spatula to scrape around the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is well combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and spread it around into one even layer.
• Bake for 55 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes. Slide a knife between the outside of the cake and the pan to loosen it, then carefully remove the cake from the pan, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the strawberry glaze: Add the powdered sugar, strawberry powder, and hot water to a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined and no lumps remain. If the icing is too thin, add more sugar. If it’s too thick, add more hot water.
• Drizzle the icing on top of the cake and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes so the icing has time to firm up slightly.

Notes

Freeze-Dried Strawberry Powder: I used two 1-ounce packages (2-ounces total) of freeze-dried strawberries and was able to get 1/2 cup for the cake and 2 tablespoons for the icing. You can blend them up in a small blender or food processor until they’re powdery.

Storage Instructions: Cake may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Freezing Instructions: To freeze the cake, wrap it in plastic wrap, then place it inside a freezer bag or freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw to room temperature before serving.

Cuisine: American

Course: Dessert

Author: Danielle Rye

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