Wake and Bake
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[Photograph: Carrie Vasios]

This tastes like butter, vanilla, and strawberries: a simple cake that's perfect for spring. I like to serve it plain for breakfast, but it also makes a lovely dessert whens sliced and topped with fresh whipped cream and berries.

About the author: Carrie Vasios is the editor of Serious Eats: Sweets. She likes to peruse her large collection of cookbooks while eating jam from the jar. You can follow her on Twitter @carrievasios

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

About This Recipe

Yield: makes 1 loaf
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Special equipment: 4 1/2- by 8 1/2-inch loaf pan, electric mixer

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups (about 7 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (about 7 ounces) sugar
  • 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 2 cups diced strawberries

Procedures

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350&degF. Butter loaf pan. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. Add 1/2 dry ingredients, followed by milk. Add remaining dry ingredients, then cream, beating until just combined. Fold strawberries into batter with a spatula.

  3. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes then turn out to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve, garnishing with additional strawberries or whipped cream if desired. Leftover pound cake can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week.