Moist Strawberry Pound Cake with Sour Cream

This moist Strawberry Pound Cake has loads of fresh strawberry flavor in every bite. To ensure each bite actually tastes like strawberries, a homemade strawberry jam is layered between the batter. And while a pound cake should be somewhat dense, it should also be moist (and stay moist for days), and the simple addition of sour cream takes care of that. Then to bring it all together, it gets a vibrant strawberry glaze over top. It’s an impressive bake you’ll have fun making!

I have opinions about pound cakes, especially those flavored with fruit. For starters, I think all pound cakes should be made in loaf pans. It’s traditional, casual, and most everyone has one. A pound cake is meant to be a simple, homemade dessert. Why get fussy with the cake pan?

Second, if you say it’s going to taste like strawberry, it better taste like strawberry. None of this nonsense of berries being folded into the batter. Add too many and they make the cake dense, wet, and stodgy. Add too few and you can’t taste strawberry at all. (I will say, the mixed berries folded into this cake does, in fact, work however.)

I promise you, this strawberry pound cake with strawberry glaze tastes like strawberries.

Through my rounds of testing I found a homemade strawberry jam (similar to the one I use in my Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie) was the best way to achieve this. It allows the texture of the cake to stay true to a pound cake, while infusing it with tons of flavor.

Key Ingredients

Aside from some basic pantry ingredients (flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt) you’ll also need the following ingredients. I’ve included a few helpful notes on each.

• Fresh strawberries: you’ll need a pound of ripe strawberries. You can use frozen strawberries. If you do, increase the cornstarch to 2 teaspoons.
• Freeze dried strawberries: if you plan on making the strawberry glaze then you’ll need a bag of freeze dried strawberries which you’ll grind into a powder using either a spice grinder or a mini food processor. I also like to dust some over the top of the cake.
• Vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste: I like to use both in this recipe, but you can just use one or the other if you want. You’ll need a tablespoon (yes) of vanilla extract for the batter and a ½ teaspoon of vanilla bean paste in the strawberry jam. 
• Butter: I recommend using unsalted butter, is allows you to control the seasoning level. I developed this recipe using standard supermarket butter. You don’t need to use European cultured butter, though if you do, let me know how it turns out.   
• Sour Cream: use full fat sour cream. This is not the time to skimp on fat!
• Eggs: it’s important to use eggs labeled as “large” not medium, not Jumbo, you need large eggs. A large egg, out of shell, should weight about 50 grams.
• Half-and-Half: just a splash is needed for the glaze. You can also use whole milk or a combo of cream and milk.  

How to Make Pound Cake with Strawberries

1. Make a quick strawberry jam by cooking chopped strawberries, sugar, salt and vanilla paste until it’s thickened and measures about 1 cup, this will take about 20 minutes. Whisk a cornstarch slurry into the strawberry mixture and cook just until thickened.
2. Transfer the jam to a bowl and place chill completely. Pop the jam in the freezer for a quicker cooling time—just don’t let it freeze.

5. Add in the Dry Ingredients: Gradually add in the flour mixture (flour, baking powder and salt) and mix on low speed just until incorporated.

Finish mixing the batter by hand to ensure it doesn’t get over-mixed (over-mixed=dense and tough cake).

8. Bake the Cake until the edges are golden brown, the cake is tall and round, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

9. Allow the cake to cool then drizzle with the strawberry glaze. Let the glaze to set then serve! 

Why Is My Pound Cake Dry?

There are three things that could cause your cake to be dry.

1. Too much flour: I recommend measuring ingredients by weight using a food scale (it’s the most accurate). If you don’t have a food scale, make sure you spoon the flour into your measuring cup(s) and level it off with a flat edge. Do not scoop the measuring cup through the flour, or pack the flour into the cup—this will result in too much flour. 
2. Over-baked: this could be from an oven that runs too hot (this is the oven thermometer I use to monitor my oven temp) or from being in the oven too long. To avoid a dry cake, start checking the doneness after about an hour of baking. This’ll give you quite a bit of leeway should your oven run hot.
3. Wrong size of eggs: all of my recipes, and those developed by trustworthy recipe developers, are tested with large-sized eggs. If you’re using smaller eggs, this will likely impact the texture of the cake. For reference, one egg, out of shell, should weigh 50 grams. 

Storage

The cooled strawberry pound cake can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

I do not recommend refrigerating pound cake—it will make for a very dry and dense cake. 

Moist Strawberry Pound Cake with Sour Cream

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4.91 from 10 votes

Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Cooling Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Yield 1 cake (8 servings)

Category Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Lauren Grant

Description

A moist Strawberry Pound Cake featuring three layers of fresh strawberry jam, buttery vanilla pound cake, and a vibrant strawberry glaze.

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Ingredients

Strawberry Layer

• ▢ 1 pound (450g) fresh strawberries, finely chopped (~2 ½ cups)
• ▢ ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste, optional
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

Pound Cake

• ▢ 2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour*
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon (4g) baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 16 tablespoons (226g; 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ cup (123g) sour cream
• ▢ 4 large eggs (200g), at room temperature
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Strawberry Glaze

• ▢ ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground freeze dried strawberries **
• ▢ 5 teaspoons half-and-half
• ▢ Pinch salt

Instructions

Strawberry Layer

• Cook 1 pound chopped strawberries, ½ cup (100g) sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste, if using, in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring and mashing frequently, until thickened and mixture measures about 1 cup, about 20–22 minutes.
• In a separate small bowl, stir together 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch and 1 ½ teaspoons water.
• Stir cornstarch slurry into strawberry mixture. Cook until thickened, 30 seconds–1 minute (mixture should measure ~1 cup).
• Transfer filling to bowl and refrigerate until no longer warm, about 1 hour. (Filling can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)

Pound Cake

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325ºF (163ºF). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan*. Line pan with a 12-inch x 8-inch piece of parchment paper, making a sling in pan. Fold and crease parchment over edges.
• Whisk 2 cups (260g) flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt together; set aside.
• Using stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat 16 tablespoons butter and 1 cup (200g) sugar on medium to combine. Increase speed to high and cream until pale and fluffy, 5–7 minutes, scraping down bowl twice throughout process.
• Beat in ½ cup (123g) sour cream.
• Scrape down bowl and mix in one egg at a time (4 eggs total), followed by 1 tablespoon vanilla.
• Scrape down bowl and mix again for about 30 seconds to ensure the eggs are fully incorporated, mixture will look slightly curdled, that’s OK.
• With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture just until incorporated. Use a spatula to give it one final stir.
• Spread ⅓ of batter (1 ½ cups; ~338g) into prepared pan, dollop ⅓ of jam (~¼ cup; ~75g) over top and spread into an even layer as best you can, leaving a ½-inch border around pan. Repeat layering with another ⅓ batter and ⅓ jam.
• Spread remaining batter over top and remaining jam over top, use a spoon to swirl jam into batter slightly.
• Bake until edges are golden brown, cake is tall, and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour 15 minutes–1 hour 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
• Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Using parchment overhang, lift cake from pan and let cool completely on rack, about 1 hour.

Strawberry Glaze

• In a small mixing bowl, combine ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, 2 teaspoons ground freeze dried strawberries and a pinch of salt. Add 5 teaspoons half-and-half and whisk until smooth. Adjust with additional half-and-half or confectioners’ sugar as needed to reach desired consistency.
• Drizzle glaze over cake. Optional, but I like to also dust with additional strawberry powder.

Equipment

9×5-inch loaf pan

stand mixer

parchment paper

saucepan

Notes

Storage: Cooled cake can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. I do not recommend refrigerating pound cake—it will make for a very dry and dense cake.

*Measuring Flour: measure the flour by weight or the spoon and level method. Don’t scoop the flour with the cup—this will result in too much flour.

**Freeze Dried Strawberries: find freeze dried strawberries in the dried fruit or health food section of your grocery store. You can also buy them online. To make a powder, add the strawberries to a coffee or spice grinder or mini food processor and process until a fine powder is formed. 

Pan Size: a 9×5-inch loaf pan is best (and traditional) for a pound cake. If you’re using a 8.5×4.5 pan then you’ll need to hold back some of the plain batter. Use the batter to make mini pound cake cupcakes or pancakes (yum!).

Bundt Pan: I’ve not tested this recipe in a bundt pan, so I can’t guarantee it’ll work. That being said, I think it would work. I recommend making one and a half times the recipe. Bake at 325ºF (163ºC) for about 90 minutes (check the cake at 75 minutes and adjust timing as needed since this is an educated guess). 

Kosher Salt: I develop recipes using Morton kosher salt. If you’re using Diamond Crystal, use a heaping ½ teaspoon for both the strawberry layer and the batter.

Eggs: use room temperature large eggs. Cold eggs will cause air pockets in the cake.

Store Bought Jam Shortcut: I tested this and it *works* to use store bought jam in place of the homemade jam, but it’s not as good. The layers of strawberry will be a bit softer and slightly drippy/wet in the cake.

Frozen strawberries: you can use frozen strawberries to make the jam. If you do, increase the cornstarch to 2 teaspoons. Frozen berries release a lot more moisture than fresh and will need more cornstarch to thicken the juices.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 450kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 8gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 120mgSodium: 265mgFiber: 1gSugar: 35g

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