Sunday Brunch: Extreme Strawberry Pound Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 3 sticks butter, room temp.
• 3 c. sugar
• 5 lg. eggs
• 3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 c. half and half
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 3 c. strawberries, chopped
• Sliced strawberries for garnish
• Bundt pan, skewer

For the Syrup:

• 1 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. water
• 1 ½ c. strawberries, stemmed, pureed

For the Glaze:

• 3 tbsp. syrup (reserved from above recipe)
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325. Spray your bundt pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in completely before adding the next one. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add the flour and salt to the bowl and mix on low speed to combine until smooth. Add the half and half and both extracts and mix until smooth. Using a spatula, fold in the chopped strawberries. Pour into the bundt pan and cook for 75-80 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes.
4. During the last 20 minutes of cooking time make the strawberry syrup by adding the sugar and water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Put the strawberries in a blender and puree until smooth. Add the pureed strawberries to the pot and lower the heat to simmer 10 minutes. Set aside 3 tbsp. of the syrup for the glaze.
5. Using a skewer poke holes in the cake as it cools in the pan. Wiggle the skewer a little as you poke it in to create the small holes, but not all the way to the bottom of the cake. Pour over the remaining syrup and use a spatula to press the syrup into the cake. Keep the cake in the pan another 30 minutes.
6. Make the glaze by whisking together the strawberry syrup, powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. If it seems too thick add a little more lemon juice, and if it seems too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
7. Carefully turn out the cake onto a serving dish. Drizzle on the glaze and then arrange the sliced strawberries to decorate the cake. Slice and Enjoy!