Strawberry Pound Cake
This Strawberry Pound Cake is moist, tender, and packed with fresh strawberries, topped with a vibrant strawberry glaze made from real fruit and powdered sugar.
Servings
Ingredients
- For the loaf
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup finely ground pistachios or almond flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1¼ cups diced fresh strawberries
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour for coating the strawberries
- ⅓ cup roughly chopped pistachios
Strawberry Lemon Glaze
- ¼ cup mashed strawberries
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1½ to 2 cups powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- Chopped pistachios for topping optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, ground pistachios, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, ricotta, melted butter, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest until mostly smooth. A few tiny ricotta lumps are perfectly fine.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Stir gently just until combined. Don’t keep mixing once the flour disappears, or the loaf may become a little heavy.
- Toss the diced strawberries with 1 tablespoon of flour. Fold the strawberries and chopped pistachios into the batter.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If the top browns too quickly, loosely cover it with foil during the final 15 minutes.
- Let the loaf cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Transfer it to a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.
Make the Glaze
- Combine the mashed strawberries, lemon juice, powdered sugar, and salt.
- Start with 1½ cups of powdered sugar, then add more until the glaze is thick enough to sit on top of the loaf without running straight off the sides.
- Spoon the glaze over the cooled loaf and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.
- Let the glaze set before slicing.
Notes
To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend that contains xanthan gum. Ensure all other ingredients, including baking powder and powdered sugar, are certified gluten-free.