My strawberry swirl pound cake adds bright berry flavor to the classic sour cream pound cake recipe for all the summer feels! It's surprisingly simple to make from scratch and a hit every time.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my old-fashioned sour cream pound cake and Neapolitan pound cake with chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla swirls, too!
Jump to:
- What is pound cake?
- ❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
- What You'll Need for this Recipe
- Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Old Fashioned Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake
- Pro Tip #1
- Pro Tip #2
- Strawberry and Cream Pound Cake Youtube Video
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Serve
- More Favorite Strawberry Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
What is pound cake?
Pound cake is called such because the recipe uses a pound each of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. Easy to remember, right? Oftentimes, cream cheese, sour cream or buttermilk are incorporated for texture and a balancing tang of flavor.
This strawberry sour cream pound cake recipe starts with a sour cream pound cake base and takes one swirly yet simple turn for strawberry short cake vibes but with the buttery, dense mouthfeel of a good ol' southern pound cake!
❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Easy to Make - This is just as simple as making a regular pound cake so don't be intimidated by the strawberry swirls. And you don't need any fancy tools or techniques--just kitchen basics so it's beginner friendly.
Fresh Strawberry Flavor - You'll taste fruity berries in every single bite of my strawberry and cream pound cake! And serving it with fresh whipped cream and macerated strawberries takes everything over the top.
I inherited my grandma's flair for southern desserts, particularly pound cakes, so I have plenty for you to try. Get into my sweet potato bread pudding, red velvet layer cake, butter pecan pound cake, bourbon sweet potato pie, and cast iron skillet peach cobbler!
I made this pound cake for a baby shower and everyone RAVED about it. Tastes just like strawberry shortcake but better! I'm already getting requests to make it again. Thanks for the great recipe!
-reader review from Jessica
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Freeze Dried Strawberries provide the fresh strawberry flavor without introducing extra moisture to the cake. Using freeze-dried berries is a great shortcut to fresh strawberry pound cake flavor without anything artificial or extra steps!
Sour Cream adds a little tanginess that balances out the flavor profile of this cake. Use full fat sour cream for the best results.
Vanilla Extract or vanilla paste will add that bakery flavor note so don't skip it! You can also use fresh vanilla beans or vanilla paste instead.
For the Toppings
Powdered Sugar also called confectioner's sugar combines with heavy cream and vanilla extract to make fresh homemade whipped cream for topping this cake.
Fresh Strawberries are tossed in sugar and almond flavor to draw out their juices so they add color, flavor, and moisture to this dessert. You can make them up to two days ahead of time!
Almond Extract adds a little extra oomph of flavor that I personally love so much in this recipe. But if you have a nut allergy, feel free to omit it.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Fresh Strawberry Puree - I like using freeze-dried strawberries here because they maintain the texture of the cake and those strawberry swirls bake into a pretty pink color, whereas fresh strawberries sometimes turn gray when baked. That said, you can certainly substitute with strawberry puree or strawberry jam.
Peep my fresh strawberry sheet cake for an idea of what the color tends to look like when baking with fresh strawberries!
How to Make Old Fashioned Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake
Step One: Cream the butter followed by the other wet ingredients. Meanwhile, whisk the dry ingredients together.
Step Two: Combine wet and dry ingredients into a uniform batter then divide it in half and mix in the strawberry powder.
Pro Tip #1
Don't over mix the pound cake batter. This will activate the gluten and you'll wind up with a tough cake. Stir and scrape your batter bowl until everything is just combined and no dry pockets remain.
Step Three: Drop half of each batter in the pan in alternating dollops then swirl them together with a butter knife.
Step Four: Repeat with remaining batter.
Pro Tip #2
This cake bakes beautifully in a bundt pan. Be sure to grease and flour it before you pour the batter in so that the cake comes out easily and in one piece.
Step Five: Bake the cake until it has a deep golden brown crust and is cooked through on the inside.
Step Six: While the cake bakes, beat the whipped cream ingredients until thick and fluffy and slice and mix the strawberries with almond extract and sugar.
Step Seven: Once cake is cooled, dust it with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream and strawberries.
Strawberry and Cream Pound Cake Youtube Video
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can bake this cake up to four days ahead of time with good results. Just be sure to follow the proper storage instructions below and store the strawberries and whipped cream separately.
Pound cake typically keeps well at room temperature for a few days and I recommend storing in the refrigerator to store for up to one week. Wrap it snugly in plastic wrap or cut into pieces and place in an airtight container to retain moisture as the fridge can dry it out.
To freeze, wrap the fully cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap then again with aluminum foil before putting in the freezer. You can do this with either a whole or half cake or with individual slices. Keeps for up to three months.
How to Serve
The picture-perfect finishing touches for this strawberry pound cake recipe from scratch are so simple. A dusting of powdered sugar, fresh whipped cream, and a side of sugared strawberries. No frosting or glaze is necessary, which contributes to the strawberry shortcake feels.
Enjoy this cake warmed up, at room temperature or even cold straight from the fridge. All taste delicious--ask me how I know!
Show up to the next summer cookout with this bundt cake in tow and you just might become the designated pound cake person from that point forward. That's a big deal in Soul Food cooking circles!
More Favorite Strawberry Recipes
Want more recipes like this one? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy a hunk of my strawberry marble pound cake soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so please pin this sour cream pound cake with strawberries on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Swirl Sour Cream Pound Cake
Equipment
- 1 bundt pan or tube pan
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
- 1 knife
- 1 whisk
- 1 silicone spatula or kitchen spoon
Ingredients
For the Pound Cake
- 1 pound butter softened to room temperature
- 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 6 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 4 cups flour sifted
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ½ ounces freeze-dried strawberries
For the Sugared Strawberries
- ½ pint strawberries
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
For the Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- powdered sugar sifted
Instructions
To make the strawberry marble pound cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan and set aside.
- Cream butter in a stand mixer or food processor until smooth and a slightly lighter shade of yellow (about two minutes). Add sugar and continue to cream for three minutes. Then add eggs, one at a time, followed by sour cream, and vanilla extract and continue mixing until uniform.1 pound butter, 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar, 6 eggs, 1 cup sour cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In another bowl, whisk together flour and sea salt. Add this dry mixture to creamed butter mixture in two batches and mix until just combined. Give the batter a few stirs by hand to make sure no dry pockets remain.4 cups flour, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Add freeze-dried strawberries to a blender or food processor and pulse until ground into powder. Divide cake batter in half and mix ground strawberries into one half of the batter until it is a uniform bright pink color.1 ½ ounces freeze-dried strawberries
- Scoop batter into prepared pan, alternating between plain batter and strawberry batter. Once pan is about halfway full, use a butter knife to swirl the two batters together. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Place pan on middle rack of oven and bake for about an hour and 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into multiple parts of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove cake from oven and let it sit in pan for about 10 minutes then carefully invert it onto a plate to finish cooling to room temperature.
To make the strawberries and cream
- While pound cake bakes, prepare macerated strawberries: Hull and slice strawberries and add to a small bowl, followed by sugar and almond extract. Stir to coat strawberries then set bowl in refrigerator until ready to serve.½ pint strawberries, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- While the cake cools, make whipped cream: Add heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to a bowl and beat at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form (3-4 minutes).1 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dust cooled pound cake with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream and macerated strawberries.powdered sugar
Chenée says
I'm making this cake tomorrow for the second time in two weeks! Everyone loved it and asked for seconds! It's definitely one of my favorite pound cakes.
Crystal DaCruz says
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe, Jazz! The tips you included were so helpful!
Lilly says
OMG I could eat this for dessert every single day! I love how buttery the cake is and the strawberries are such a great addition. My family loved the cake and it was gone in a day!
Katrina says
This pound cake is delicious and a family favorite!
Robin says
Pound cake is one of my favorite desserts so I was excited to try a new twist on the classic cake. We all loved it!
Kate says
My strawberry pound cake turned out so moist and delicious! Thank you for the useful recipe tips!
Marta says
This poundcake was everything, but can we please talk about how well that almond extract went with the strawberries?!?! This is going to be my go-to recipe. Hot girl summer body be damned.
Stephanie Williams says
Such a delicious dessert! The family loved it!
Jessica says
I made this pound cake for a baby shower and everyone RAVED about it. Tastes just like strawberry shortcake but better! I'm already getting requests to make it again. Thanks for the great recipe!