Strawberry Shortcake with Pound Cake

By Pat Nyswonger, Savor the Best

Strawberry Shortcake is one of our most-loved summertime desserts. Each year for the past several years we have been making a different type of Strawberry Shortcake. This year it is a Strawberry Shortcake with Pound Cake.

Baked in a loaf pan and sliced into thirds, this classic pound cake is all dolled up with bright, sweetened strawberries and a luscious creamy topping.

Did you know there is a national strawberry shortcake day? Yep, it is celebrated every year on June 14th. Imagine that!

Strawberry Shortcake history:

This old-time strawberry dessert first appeared in an English cookbook in 1588. By 1850 it was being served with biscuits, butter, strawberries and sweetened cream. I am thinking that it was a great way to use up leftover breakfast biscuits and create a dinner-time dessert. By 1910 the French began topping the strawberry shortcake with heavy whipped cream.

There are so many versions of strawberry shortcake. But it is simply sliced, sweetened strawberries layered over some type of cake and served with sweetened whipped cream. 

How to create our Strawberry Shortcake with Pound Cake:

First we baked the loaf-size pound cake. The cake was adapted slightly from our Old-Fashioned Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe. While the cake was baking the strawberries were hulled, sliced and set aside to macerate.

Meanwhile we blended cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla together then whipped in heavy cream until light and fluffy. It was covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated until the cake cooled.

The cake was sliced into three layers, the strawberry mixture was spoon on each layer with topping. The cake dome was covered with the creamy topping and fresh strawberries arrange on top. At serving, a dish of the remaining strawberry mixture was passed with the cake slices.

Strawberry shortcake is one of my ‘comfort foods’ and brings back old memories as a kid when my dad had a strawberry patch. Mom usually made a regular, one-layer, square yellow cake with sliced sweetened strawberries and whipped cream. I know that mom would love this strawberry shortcake with pound cake.

Strawberry Shortcake with Pound Cake Recipe

Baked in a loaf pan and sliced into thirds, this classic Strawberry Shortcake with Pound Cake is all dolled up with bright, sweetened strawberries and a luscious creamy topping.

Ingredients

For the Pound Cake:

• 2 cups (240 g) cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups (12 tablespoons) butter, (room temperature)
• 4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the Strawberries:

• 2 pounds fresh strawberries (set aside about 6 whole strawberries for later)
• 1/2 cup sugar (100 g)
• For the Whipped Topping:
• 1-1/2 packages of cream cheese (12 ounces) room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream

Prep 35 mins
Cook 50 mins
Total 1 hour, 25 mins
Yield 12 Servings

Instructions

For the pound cake:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a standard 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and salt together and set aside.
• Place the butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar and increase the speed to high. Beat until light and creamy, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stop the motor occasionally and scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla and mix well. Gradually add flour mixture. Beat just until incorporated. Don't overbeat or the cake will not be tender.
• Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
• Bake the loaf pan to the center of the oven until golden brown on top and a cake tester or toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs, about 45-50 minutes.
• Remove the cake from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Slide a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake, then remove the cake and let it cool completely.
• For the Strawberries:
• Set aside about 6 strawberries that you will use for decorating the top of the cake.
• Slice the rest of the strawberries into a medium-size bowl and toss with the sugar. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to become juicy.
• For the Whipped Topping:
• Blend the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and creamy, add the vanilla and salt and mix well.
• Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the cream all at once. With the mixer set on low, begin blending while gradually increasing the speed. Whip to thick and fluffy.
• To Assemble the Strawberry Shortcake with Pound Cake:
• Slice the cooled cake horizontally, into 3 equal layers. Spoon part of the juice from the strawberries onto the bottom layer of the cake, then spoon on some of the strawberries.
• Cover the strawberries with a thick layer of the whipped topping. Repeat with the second layer.
• Cover the top of the cake with a thick layer of the topping. You will have extra strawberry mixture to serve alongside the cake.
• Quarter the reserved fresh strawberries and arrange attractively on top of the cake.

To Serve:

• Place the remaining juicy, sweet strawberries in a dish to be drizzled on the cake.

Notes

• Don't overbake the cake. Use a toothpick to determine if the cake is done. Ideally, the cake will be moist enough to still have a few crumbs stuck to the toothpick. If you cook the cake until the toothpick comes out completely clean, then the pound cake will be a bit dry.
• When making the topping it is important that the cream cheese be soft at room temperature. If you whip cream cheese while it is cold, lumps will form and it is almost impossible to get a smooth, creamy texture.

Tip: To soften cream cheese quickly, place the cream cheese in a closable plastic bag and set it into a dish of warm tap water for 15 minutes. This is my preferred method, although I have used the defrost setting on the microwave using short bursts of power.

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