Lusciously dense and ultra-moist strawberry pound cake recipe is made with cream cheese. It's firm enough to use in stacked wedding cakes but easy enough for every day. Sugar free strawberry Kool Aid gives it its vibrant color and fresh berry flavor. Freezes well, too.
Ingredients for this recipe: butter, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, strawberry Kool Aid (the unsweetened packets), all-purpose flour, kosher salt
FAQs
This easy cake is absolutely the best! It's a show stopper where ever it goes and people invariable ask for the recipe. They're always shocked when they find out there're no berries in it at all!
The lack of berries actually helps the cake maintain the dense texture needed for heavy cakes -- keeps them from collapsing.
Can you use strawberry Jello?
You can. It works in a similar way to the Kool Aid but I didn't like the texture as much.
Can you use strawberry cream cheese?
No - you need to use the regular cream cheese block. The other types are not firm enough to give the cake the right texture.
How to make strawberry shortcake with this
This cake is especially good for strawberry shortcake! Just cut it in slices, add a spoonful of macerated strawberries, then a scoop of ice cream, then more berries. Top with a little whipped cream.
Kool Aid is a great flavoring
So, this easy pound cake has nary a fresh strawberry in it but the flavor and texture are unbeatable. This has opened up an entire world of possibilities to me, which no-doubt you'll be seeing on the blog in the weeks to come.
Be careful not to over mix the batter or you'll run the risk of the cake being tough. This is baked in a slow oven for a long time but the resulting cake will knock your socks off.
Related recipes
I love cake - you, too? Here are some of my favorite recipes. I hope you love them as much as I do!
- Chardonnay & Lemon Pound Cake is fresh and delicious for summer. This is another good one to use as a base for strawberry shortcake.
- Margarita Pound Cake has great flavor and a salty pretzel crust on the outside of it - keeping it real!
- Marble Pound Cake has all of my favorite flavors - for when I can't decide what I want.
- Bourbon Pound Cake is full of bourbon and pecans. It probably lasts a long time but I have no idea - it disappears the first day here.
- Sweet Corn Pound Cake has a unique flavor ... sweet and delicate vanilla with a touch of something everyone loves but no one can put their fingers on... SO good.
- Buttermilk Pound Cake is a good, basic pound cake recipe that everyone loves.
Equipment
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A heavy bundt pan makes all the difference in cakes like this. It keeps the outside from browning too badly and helps it cook evenly. I love the classic Nordic Ware pan for most thinks (link in recipe) but I have to say that this fancier pan has my heart 4-ever.
Kaffeeklatsch
My eldest daughter's best friend got married a earlier this month and she had asked me to make the cake. I don't make wedding cakes often anymore - usually just for family and close friends.
They are time intensive and I charge a crazy high amount for other people. Anyway, after discussing various flavor combos she decided on strawberry with ganache filling. I was cool with that.
I was cool with that until I realized that there is no strawberry pound cake recipe that I know of that would stand up to the rigors of wedding cake -- being stacked, being transported an hour and a half in Texas heat, etc. I thought about it for days and just before I was about to tell her we had to go with a vanilla cream cheese poundcake I got an idea.
Why not try strawberry Kool Aid?
I made a test cake, using my favorite pound cake recipe and adding the strawberry Kool Aid powder for flavor. It came out perfectly! The color was a little intense but very pretty but best of all, one of the people who tasted the test cake said, "I can tell you used fresh berries in this!"
It just doesn't get better than that. The cake held up perfectly and tasted delicious.
I love this strawberry pound cake for summer parties because it's so vibrantly pink and the color matches the flavor. It's a Pinterest favorite and I'm sure it will be a favorite at your house, too.
If you're looking for a cake with real, fresh fruit flavor try this triple layer orange cake with orange buttercream. It's spectacular!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📋Recipe
Tangy Strawberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Print Add to CollectionEquipment Needed
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, unsalted - room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 packets strawberry Kool Aid, the kind you add sugar to.
- 3 cups flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Grease a bundt pan thoroughly and then dust with flour.
- Pour out excess flour, tapping the pan lightly to get the as much out as possible.
- Set aside.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter on the lowest speed of the mixer until well blended.
- Add the sugar and continue to beat until blended.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each in thoroughly before adding the next one.
- Add the Kool Aid mix, vanilla, and the sour cream and blend.
- Add the flour and salt.
- Mix just until blended and smooth.
- Spoon into bundt pan and smooth top.
- Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in halfway between the edge and the center comes out clean. Start checking at 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan.
- Remove from pan and drizzle with a glaze or let cool and dust with confectioner's sugar.
- Cool completely before slicing.
KATHY A VICKERS
okay, so I went to the store to buy strawberry kool-aid & they do not have it or strawberry extract--the cooking gods are working against me. So I have fresh strawberries which would make the cake to wet (not a good cake) and I have freezed dried strawberries (a good option) but I need to know the ratio as a good substitution. Please help, I really want to make this cake. Can it be prepared as a 2 layer cake or bundt cake is my only option?
Marye
I have never used anything but Koolaid so I can't help there. I have no idea. I'd powder the freeze dried berries and add them to the batter, tasting often until it seemed right. You can make this into layers - I used it as a wedding cake once. About 25 minutes at 350F for a 9" layer but check it at 20 minutes.
KATHY A VICKERS
This cake looks wonderful, I would like to use Freeze Dried strawberries in it, what would the ratio be & would it substitute the strawberry kool aid?
Marye
Kathy, I've never tried that so I can't really say. Sorry!
Kathy
Is this all purpose flour or self rising. I’m nervous about not using any leavening if it’s all purpose.
Marye
It is all-purpose. This recipe does not require leavening.
Barbara N
I’ve made this a couple times. But have used strawberry jello instead. It’s really thick but moist as a pound cake should be!
Thank you
Marye
Try it with the koolaid! I like the texture even better. Thanks for stopping by, Barbara!
Ronda
I made this cake yesterday! Delicious. So moist and tasty and beautiful. I did add some baking soda. I have trouble resisting this in cake recipes! This is a versatile recipe because you can try different flavors of kool aid. I am going to try pink lemonade next time! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Marye
so glad you liked it!
Debbie
Hi! I never can get a pound cake without baking soda/powder to turn out right! May I ask how much baking soda you used?
Marye
None. This recipe doesn't call for leavening.