This easy Strawberry Pound Cake is a moist vanilla cake packed with fresh strawberries and topped with strawberry icing. It’s the perfect recipe for both breakfast and dessert!
This flavorful strawberry pound cake is filled with fresh flavor. It’s made with lemon zest, fresh tarragon, fresh strawberries and strawberry icing.
Tarragon adds a refreshing spring and summer flavor. It’s so good with strawberries!
This delicious quick bread comes together in minutes just like my my Blueberry Ricotta Pound Cake, Strawberry Basil Cake and Lemon Blackberry Cake!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This loaf cake is extra moist and delicious!
- It’s packed with fresh strawberries just like my strawberry filled vanilla cupcakes and banana strawberry cake recipe.
- It’s perfect for breakfast with coffee or for dessert.
- The fresh strawberries and tarragon make this for spring and summer. I love desserts with fresh herbs like my berry galette recipe.
- The simple strawberry icing is naturally pink and adds the perfect finishing touch.
Ingredients
Here are some useful notes on some of the ingredients needed to make this strawberry lemon loaf.
- Strawberries: Use 1 cup of chopped fresh strawberries. If you measure them whole before chopping, you’ll need about 1 and 1/4 cup. For more delicious strawberry desserts, try my strawberry mousse for and apple and strawberry crumble.
- Sour cream: Full fat, room temperature sour cream. It adds flavor and moisture just like it does in this neapolitan pound cake.
- 3 eggs: Use 3 large room temperature eggs.
- Lemon zest: The zest of 1 lemon. We aren’t using the juice for this lemon strawberry pound cake.
- Tarragon (optional): If you don’t have tarragon or don’t want to add it, you can leave it out. It’s an herb that has an anise, licorice flavor. It gives this cake it’s unique taste! Check out this article about Tarragon from Bon Appetit for more information.
- Powdered Sugar (optional): You’ll need this only if you plan to make the optional icing. You don’t need to sift it.
- Freeze dried strawberries (optional): You’ll need these only if you plan to make the strawberry icing. Freeze dried strawberries are sliced and dehydrated strawberries. Pulse them in the food processor or buy them in powder form.
- Milk (optional): Also for the icing. You only need about a couple tablespoons, so any type of milk you have on hand is fine. Heavy cream also works.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Instead of strawberry icing, swap in the lemon icing from my blueberry ricotta pound cake or make it without icing.
- Add fresh basil or the zest of an extra lemon in place of tarragon or just leave out tarragon.
- Use full fat Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream.
- Top with whipped cream and more fresh strawberries for the ultimate summer treat!
How to Make Strawberry Pound Cake
Quick Video Recap
Step by Step Instructions
Here are the directions on how to make and bake this lemon strawberry pound cake.
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Step 1: (See photo 1 above). Beat the butter with an electric mixer for about a minute, til creamy. Add the sugar and lemon zest. Mix until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Step 2: (See photo 2 above). Mix in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla.
Step 3: (See photo 3 above). Add the sour cream alternatively with the dry ingredients til just combined.
Step 4: (See photo 4 above). Stir in the strawberries and tarragon (if using) til just combined.
Step 5: (See photo 5 above). Pour batter into a buttered 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 60-70 minutes.
Step 6: (See photo 6 above). Allow cake to cool completely. Stir icing ingredients together. Drizzle icing over the cake.
Expert Tips
Chop the tarragon right before starting the cake. Remove the leaves from the stem. Discard the stems. Finely chop the leaves.
Avoid overmixing. Mix the dry ingredients and strawberries into the cake til just combined. Overmixing can give the cake a tough texture.
Scrape down the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula a few times while making the batter. This will ensure all the ingredients are incorporated.
Place a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the top of the cake if it’s browning too quickly while baking.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend a 9×5 inch loaf pan. A standard 8.5×4.5 inch (1 pound) loaf pan should also work.
This cake is delicious as is. You can also top it with lemon icing or whipped cream and extra strawberries!
Store this strawberry pound cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
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Strawberry Pound Cake
Equipment
- 1 9×5 inch loaf pan or a 8.5×4.5 inch (1 pound) loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (6 g) lemon zest from 1 lemon, this recipe only uses the zest, not the juice
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1⅔ cups (208.33 g) all purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon for tossing the strawberries
- 1½ teaspoons (6 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) salt
- ½ cup (115 g) sour cream full fat, room temperature, or use plain Greek yogurt or buttermilk
- 3 (3) large eggs room temperature
- 2½ teaspoons (2½ teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (144 g) chopped fresh strawberries washed, patted dry, tops removed, chopped, about 1¼ cup whole strawberries
- ¼ cup (12.75 g) fresh tarragon* optional, remove leaves from stems, discard stems, measure leaves only then finely chop, should be about 3 teaspoons finely chopped
Strawberry Icing
- ¾ tablespoon (11.09 g) freeze dried strawberry powder
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons (29.57 ml) milk any kind of milk, or heavy cream
Instructions
Strawberry Pound Cake
- Spray sides and bottom of a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with baking spray. Line pan with parchment paper. Leave an overhang of parchment paper on two sides. Spray parchment paper with baking spray. Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Wash and pat dry strawberries. Chop strawberries. Lay the chopped strawberries out on a few sheets of paper towels. Lightly pat them dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Set aside.
- Wash and dry tarragon. Remove leaves from the stems. Discard stems. Measure out about ¼ cup of tarragon leaves then finely chop tarragon. You should have about 3 teaspoons of chopped tarragon. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk to combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed til smooth, for around a minute. Add the sugar and lemon zest. Beat the butter, lemon zest and sugar with an electric mixer on medium high speed til well combined, light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl with a spatula.
- Mix in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract.
- Alternately add the dry ingredients with the sour cream beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Avoid overmixing. Mix just til there are only a few visible streaks of flour remaining. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
- In a small bowl, toss to coat the strawberries with 1 tablespoon of flour.
- Use a spatula to stir the strawberries and tarragon in until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula or an offset spatula.
- Bake 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes cout clean when inserted in the middle of the cake. Loosely tent cake with aluminum foil if the top of the cake is browning too quickly.
- Remove from oven and set pan on a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan and allow to cool on rack completely.
Strawberry Icing
- Stir ingredients together in a bowl. Pour over the room temperature cake.
- Pour over the room temperature cake.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
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