This old-fashioned Strawberry Rhubarb Pound Cake is a simple, moist, lightly sweetened cake loaded with fresh fruit and summertime charm!
If you have a ton of strawberries leftover, lucky you! Learning how to make fresh strawberries last longer means you can use the rest to top off your homemade fat-free Greek yogurt or add it into a fruit salad with a honey and lime dressing. All of these deliciously light and fresh recipes work for both breakfast and dessert!
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Easy Pound Cake with Strawberries and Rhubarb
Once warmer weather is here, I love all things strawberry and rhubarb, including jams, pies, muffins, and of course cake! Rhubarb has this amazing sweet and sour taste to it when cooked down with sugar, which pairs so well with fresh juicy strawberries. They both share a sweet and tart flavor profile and the classic combination of the two is just magic!
Making a classic strawberry rhubarb pound cake is a simple way to have a dessert made from scratch with so little effort but sure to impress a crowd. It’s a summer treat that is subtly sweet which means not only does it make a scrumptious dessert but it’s also perfect for a quick morning breakfast or an afternoon snack. Thanks to the natural juices from both the strawberry and rhubarb this cake is so tender, moist, and buttery!
You can make this quick and easy pound cake in no time!
Why we love this recipe
- Quick and easy because most of the time spent is waiting for it to bake!
- Freezes well so you can even make an entirely separate loaf to freeze for later.
- Great way to use up fruits from your garden.
- Sweet but not too sweet which means you can eat it on its own or level up the dessert with a scoop of ice cream.
- Customizable in that you can use this same recipe and swap out the fruits for any other kind.
Ingredients/shopping list
- Butter – You want it softened to room temperature so it’s easy to work with. There is no added salt in this recipe so whether you use salted or unsalted butter is up to you.
- Sugar – Needed for added sweetness especially to counterbalance the tart rhubarb.
- Eggs – Bring these to room temperature when you take out the butter. It’ll help with even baking.
- Vanilla extract – Gives a lovely subtle vanilla flavor to this pound cake!
- All-purpose flour – Creates the foundation and structure for the cake. No sifting needed!
- Fresh rhubarb – Technically a vegetable, but used as a fruit. Washed and diced.
- Fresh strawberries – Washed and diced.
How to Make this Recipe
This recipe will come together in a few simple steps and is a great beginner recipe for those new to homemade desserts!
Step 1: Preheat the oven and lightly grease a loaf pan. Using a piece of parchment paper to line the pan can help with easy lifting.
Step 2: In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in one egg at a time and incorporate fully before adding the next egg. Then mix in vanilla and gradually add in the flour. Mix on low speed and be careful not to overmix.
Step 3: Gently fold in the diced strawberries and rhubarb and pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and bake on the middle rack until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
Step 4: Allow the loaf to cool for 5 minutes before removing it from the pan to continue cooling on a wire rack.
Variations/Substitutions
1: Add in chopped walnuts or pecans for a little extra crunch.
2: For lower calories, substitute 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce for one of the sticks of butter.
3. Feel free to make it with all strawberries or all rhubarb. Or another berry of your choosing!
Tips
- Fresh strawberries work best but use thawed frozen strawberries if needed.
- Use cake flour instead of all-purpose if desired.
- For more accurate ingredients, weigh the flour so you don’t mistakenly use too much making the batter denser.
- Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature prior to use. You can leave the butter sitting out for several hours on the counter.
- Be sure to mix the butter and sugar for a minimum of 3 minutes. Any quicker and there will not be enough air mixed in and result in a denser cake.
- Preheat the oven for at least 15 minutes prior to baking.
FAQ’s
This cake can be left at room temperature the day it’s made, covered to keep the moisture in. Any longer than that, keep it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Yes! If you’ve made more than one loaf or just want to freeze your leftovers, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and keep in a freezer friendly bag or airtight container and freeze it for up to 3 months!
There could be a few reasons to pay attention to for next time. First thing is to make sure you’re measuring out your ingredients properly. Baking is a science after all! If you’ve got too much flour that could be a contributing factor. You also need to make sure you’re beating the butter and sugar long enough to incorporate enough air into the mixture and not to overmix once everything is combined. Overmixing will allow the trapped air to be released which is not what you want. And last, adding in the flour gradually and the eggs one at a time is important in making sure not everything is combined too quickly.
Yes! If you’ve bought fresh rhubarb or picked a bunch and have some leftover, wash it, chop it up into 1 inch pieces and flash freeze them on a baking sheet. Then transfer them to an airtight freezer friendly bag and they will keep for up to 1 year.
Other Recipes Using Fruit
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Strawberry Rhubarb Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter softened
- 1 cup plus 2 additional tablespoons sugar divide
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup fresh rhubarb diced
- 1 cup fresh strawberries diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan. (you can also place a piece of parchment paper down the center of the pan to more easily lift the loaf out after baking).
- Add the butter and one cup of sugar to a large bowl and blend with an electric mixer (or a stand mixer)
- Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until fluffy.
- Add in one egg at a time and blend each one completely in before adding another one.
- Then add vanilla extract and blend in thoroughly.
- Gradually add in the flour and mix on low speed. After adding in all the flour, stop mixing to be careful not to overmix. It is okay to have some flour not completely mixed in.
- Add the diced fresh strawberries and rhubarb and gently fold into the batter.
- Continue turning the dough until flour is fully mixed in.
- Add the batter to the greased loaf pan
- Top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Bake 55-60 minutes on the middle rack or until a toothpick inserted into the center is clean.
- Allow it to cool in the loaf pan for 5 minutes. Then remove from the pan and place it on a wire rack to completely cool. You can use a knife to run around the sides of the pan to loosen the sides of the pan
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