Classic Buttery Southern Pound Cake with Strawberries
There’s something timeless about a classic Southern pound cake, especially when it’s paired with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. This dessert embodies the essence of Southern hospitality, offering a moist, buttery cake complemented by the natural sweetness of ripe strawberries. Whether you’re hosting a gathering or simply indulging at home, this pound cake is sure to impress.
This recipe combines simple ingredients to create a delightful treat suitable for any occasion. The cake’s rich texture and vanilla flavor serve as the perfect backdrop for the juicy strawberries and light whipped cream, making it a family favorite.
This recipe is from Gumbo Love, a cookbook by Lucy Buffett that celebrates the food, hospitality, and traditions of the Gulf Coast. If you enjoy classic Southern cooking, it’s worth adding to your cookbook collection.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: Provides a rich, creamy base for the cake, ensuring a tender crumb.
- All-Purpose Flour: Gives the cake its structure while maintaining a soft texture.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cake and macerates the strawberries, enhancing their natural flavor.
- Fresh Strawberries: Adds a burst of freshness and color, elevating the dessert’s appeal.
- Vanilla Extract: Imparts a warm, aromatic flavor that complements the buttery richness of the cake.
How To Make Pound Cake with Strawberries
- To make the cake, start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan (a tube pan is preferred, but if you use a Bundt cake pan instead, you’ll need to make sure to leave 1 inch of space at the top of the pan, so you may end up with a small amount of leftover batter). [I like to use Baker’s Joy for this step.]
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar over the sliced strawberries. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve the cake.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
Add the remaining 3 cups sugar, ½ cup at a time, and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Reduce the mixer to low speed and alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk, starting and finishing with the flour mixture. Add the vanilla and mix until well incorporated.
I recommend that you use a rubber spatula so that you can easily scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure the batter is properly mixed.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn the cake out onto the rack to cool completely.
Serve each piece of pound cake with a spoonful of chilled strawberries and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
If you’re a fan of old-fashioned desserts, there are plenty more Southern favorites to try. A scoop of Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream is always a delicious partner for a warm slice of pound cake, while my Strawberry Cake and Strawberry Bread are wonderful ways to make the most of fresh berries when they’re in season. If cobblers are more your style, don’t miss my Easy Peach Cobbler or Blueberry Cobbler – both are simple, comforting desserts that are just right for family dinners, potlucks, or whenever you’re craving a little taste of home.
Classic Southern Pound Cake with Strawberries
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan (a tube pan is preferred, but if you use a Bundt pan instead, you’ll need to make sure to leave 1 inch of space at the top of the pan, so you may end up with a small amount of leftover batter).
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar over the sliced strawberries. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve the cake.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the remaining 3 cups sugar, ½ cup at a time, and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk, starting and finishing with the flour mixture. Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minute, then turn the cake out onto the rack to cool completely. Serve each piece with a spoonful of the chilled strawberries and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
- Place a medium metal bowl in the freezer to chill.
- When ready to prepare the whipped cream, place the cream and vanilla in the chilled bowl. With an electric mixer, whip the cream on medium speed, gradually adding the sugar. The cream will begin to thicken.
- Whip the cream until it begins to form stiff peaks. Be careful not to overwhip or the cream will separate.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!How To Store Pound Cake
- Room temperature: 3–4 days wrapped tightly.
- Refrigerator: up to 1 week.
- Freezer: wrap in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight on the counter while still wrapped to retain moisture.
Tips & Tricks
- If the cake starts to brown and is still “jiggly” inside, cover the cake with aluminum foil and continue baking.
- Use room-temperature butter and eggs for best results.
- A stand mixer, such as a KitchenAid, makes creaming the butter and sugar much easier, although a sturdy hand mixer works well too.
- You can use either the whisk or paddle attachment to make the batter.
- While fresh strawberries are the perfect complement to this homemade pound cake, any type of fresh fruit or fresh berries should work well, like blueberries, peaches, etc.
FAQs
A good pound cake starts with properly creaming the butter and sugar until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. Using room-temperature ingredients, avoiding overmixing after adding the flour, and baking slowly at the correct temperature all help create a tender crumb and rich buttery flavor.
Traditional pound cake has a denser texture and richer flavor because it contains more butter and fewer leavening ingredients than most layer cakes. Regular cakes are usually lighter and fluffier thanks to additional baking powder or baking soda.
Classic pound cake earned its name because it originally called for:
*one pound butter
*one pound sugar
*one pound eggs
*one pound flour
Modern recipes, including this one, often include milk, vanilla, salt, or baking powder for improved texture and flavor.
In fact, many people think pound cake tastes even better the next day because the buttery flavor has more time to develop.
Bake the cake:
*1–2 days before serving
*Store tightly wrapped at room temperature
*Add the strawberries and whipped cream just before serving.
Gumbo Love by Lucy Buffett
Lucy Buffett has done it again – she has published another delicious cookbook that highlights the best of Gulf Coast cooking: Gumbo Love: Recipes for Gulf Coast Cooking, Entertaining, and Savoring the Good Life. You have to love a cookbook that starts the recipe section off right – with desserts. Among the recipes is Classic Southern Pound Cake with Strawberries, a recipe that has already won the hearts of my family.
Yes, it starts the recipe section with desserts, but there is so much more. After the forward at the beginning of the book is a letter from Lucy. In it, we learn how the book is a continuation of the conversation that she began in LuLu’s Kitchen. It’s an homage to her coastal Southern food culture. There are stories throughout the book as well as Lucy’s inspirational Ten Grateful Ingredients For a Bright Life And a Happy Kitchen. Gumbo Love would not be complete without Lucy’s notes on how to make gumbo, which is included in the book.
Getting into the meat of the book, the recipe chapters include:
- Life is Sweet: Eat Dessert First
- Starters and Snacks
- Gumbo Love and Other Heartwarming Soups
- Main Dishes
- Vegetables and Sides
- Deep-Fried Favorites: A Southern Must
- Salads
- Sandwiches
- Vacation Libations and Mocktails
- Sauces and Dressings
At the end of the book, there is a section Coasting the Gulf Party Menus which is an inspiration for planning dinner parties.
Look for Gumbo Love: Recipes for Gulf Coast Cooking, Entertaining, and Savoring the Good Life at your local bookstore or get it online at Amazon.com.
Last Bite
Nothing says Southern comfort quite like a slice of homemade pound cake topped with fresh strawberries. If you try this recipe, let me know how it turned out in the comments below! And don’t forget to share or pin it – someone you know needs a little sweet inspiration, too.
Like the recipe I have used for years except, instead of whole milk, it calls for a 3 ounce can of evaporated milk which you add water to in order to make one cup. This is convenient for me since I use 2% milk and don’t have to buy whole milk.
Will it still work if I substitute the whole Mille for 2% or oat milk?
I do not know about the oat milk, but I suspect that it probably would with 2%.
I recently tried this recipe as well – and it’s delicious!
Shelley
It really is quite amazing.
YUM!!!!