Poundcake and Strawberries

By Sam Sifton

Updated May 15, 2019

  • Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
2 hours
Rating
4(280)
Comments
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A hard man I know made this dessert once out of supermarket cake and industrial strawberries, to serve small children who were maybe slightly afraid of him. They gurgled with delight when he slid bowls of it before them: the cake cut into large cubes and served beneath the macerated strawberries, with fresh whipped cream. This formed a bond between them all. In the crowd in which I run, poundcake and strawberries has since become a spring and summer standard, the cake home-made and, when we're lucky, the strawberries gathered from fields nearby. But not always. A supermarket version is a worthy substitute.

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Ingredients

  • 1 pound unsalted, softened butter (4 sticks), cubed, plus extra for greasing the cake pan

  • 1 pound granulated sugar (2 cups)

  • 8 large eggs

  • 1 pound all-purpose flour (4 cups), plus extra for flouring the cake pan

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

  • Zest of 1 large lemon

  • Juice of 1 large lemon

  • 1 quart strawberries, rinsed and sliced

  • ½ cup white sugar

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

44 grams carbs; 112 milligrams cholesterol; 358 calories; 6 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 19 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 82 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 25 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl or a standing mixer, beat the butter until it is creamed, then add the sugar, beating until it is well mixed. Beat the eggs in a bowl and add them to the mixture. Add the salt. Add the flour, a little bit at a time, and then the vanilla, the lemon zest and juice, mixing to incorporate.

  2. Step 2

    Grease and flour a Bundt pan or two cake pans. Pour in the batter. Bake for approximately 1 ¼ hours, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Turn the cake out and allow to cool on a rack.

  3. Step 3

    Cut the cake into large cubes. Combine strawberries with sugar in a bowl and allow to sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Put strawberries on top of cake. Top with whipped cream.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
280 user ratings
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Comments

Carla

This is classic pound cake--1 pound each of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs, with no added leavening agent (other than the eggs).

If you want something moist, pound cake is not so far removed from classic Bundt (or loaf: 2 loaves = 1 Bundt). Use this recipe, but reduce the amount of flour to 3 cups (instead of 4, which will make it moister), and add 1 cup of milk (again, moist) and 2 teaspoons of baking powder (to lighten it up). Hope this works for you :-).

Susan L

Absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe exactly, baked it in a bundt pan and filled the hole in middle with whipped cream and the strawberries - beautiful and a big hit!

nandini's kitchen

Made 1/2 the recipe but per earlier notes - reduced the all purpose flour to 1 1/2 cups and added 1/2 tsp of baking powder. Incredibly soft, moist cake was the result. Also I replaced the sugar in the recipe with granulated brown sugar and added some sugar at the bottom of the cake pan - the result was a wonderfully robust and crunchy flavor without being over sweet. I will be making this cake a lot as it was divine...

mark

Found it very dry, kept,looking in the ingredients for a liquid, but trusted the recipe.

Monica

Simple brilliance! Used store-bought pound cake b/c I didn't have time to make one. I might use a little bit less sugar with the strawberries next time, mine were flavorful and right on the edge of juicy (thanks to my local Farmer's Market) and didn't need that much. Huge hit with the extended family. Thanks, Sam!

Anni

What size Bundt pan? 10 cup? 12? 15?

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