Classic
pound cake gets an upgrade with swirls of strawberry jam throughout and iced with tangy strawberry glaze. This streamlined recipe relies on a few crucial ingredients to maximize the flavor while the method remains extremely simple. A few punchy additions and approachable techniques take this cake from basic to brilliant—here’s everything you need to know:
The strawberries:
The shining star in this recipe is freeze-dried strawberries. Though they may seem like a specialty ingredient with a high price point, they are worth seeking out to bring out a deep strawberry flavor throughout the cake. They’re ground into a fine powder and used to amp up the bright berry notes in the jam and the glaze. Store-bought jam and confectioners’ sugar-based glazes can often be one-note and cloyingly sweet, but the freeze-dried powder provides a bright berry flavor, balances out the sweetness, and adds gorgeous color. Any leftover strawberry powder is a great addition to your morning Greek yogurt, whipped into a compound butter to slather on biscuits, and mixed into dough and batter applications as you would a flavor enhancement like espresso powder.
The vanilla:
Though optional, the vanilla bean adds elegance and nuance to a typical pound cake. By rubbing the seeds into the sugar, the vanilla flavor permeates the cake. Vanilla bean paste can be used as a direct swap for the vanilla bean if you can find it. Not optional is the vanilla extract, which brings home the classic pound cake flavor. The combination of the two is highly encouraged!
The method:
Most pound cakes require an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This recipe uses just a bowl and a whisk to whip up the batter with ease thanks to melted butter. The key is to radically undermix—stopping the moment the lumps begin to fade for an ultra-plush and tender cake.
The swirls:
Speaking of undermixing, the downfall of marbled cakes is the innate need to over-swirl the batter. When going to combine the batter and jam, a light hand when swirling the mixture will yield the most definition. Stop one swirl before you feel done and you’ll be happy with the results. To ensure the jam doesn’t burn, be careful to not get any jam too close to the edge of the pan or exposed on the surface.
Did you try the recipe? Let us know in the comments below!