Strawberry Pound Cake
This easy Strawberry Pound Cake is a moist vanilla cake with fresh strawberries. It's baked in a loaf pan and is a super quick and easy recipe for breakfast or dessert!
Servings: 16 slices
Calories: 264kcal
Equipment
- 1 9x5 inch loaf pan or a 8.5x4.5 inch (1 pound) loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest from 1 lemon, this recipe only uses the zest, not the juice
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1⅔ cups all purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon for tossing the strawberries
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sour cream full fat, room temperature, or use plain Greek yogurt or buttermilk
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries washed, patted dry, tops removed, chopped, about 1¼ cup whole strawberries
- ¼ cup 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 freeze dried strawberry powder
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons 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
Butter: Use unsalted room temperature butter. Vegetable oil or canola oil can be used in place of butter.
Sour cream: Use full fat Greek yogurt or buttermilk as a substitute.
Strawberries: Wash strawberries and pat completely dry with paper towels.
Tarragon (optional): Use the leaves of the tarragon. Discard the stems. Use 1/4 cup fresh tarragon leaves. Finely chop the leaves just before making the batter. Once chopped, the tarragon should equal 2 and 1/2 to 3 teaspoons. If you can't find fresh tarragon, use fresh basil or leave it out. You can also swap in the zest of 1 extra lemon in place of tarragon.
Icing: Instead of strawberry icing, top cake with a simple lemon icing. Combine 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice. Add more lemon juice or powdered sugar as needed for consistency. You can also enjoy the cake without icing or serve it with whipped cream and extra strawberries.
Recipe Update: This recipe was slightly modified in July 2025. Please email us if you'd like the original version.
Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 130mg | Potassium: 90mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 482IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg
