8 Dessert Recipes That Start With Frozen Pound Cake (2024)

Food

Start defrosting your soon-to-be favorite dessert.

Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner

Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner is a writer and recipe developer. She's a regular contributor to The New York Times, Time Out New York, Forbes, and many more publications. She also writes the food newsletter, Specialty.

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Published on November 23, 2021

Not all of the best desserts start from scratch. In fact "scratch" can be highly overrated. Deep cleaning the heavy mixer you broke out for 5 minutes of stirring? Hard pass. Instead, consider starting your next dessert just after step one, with a well-made base that's versatile, inexpensive, and freezable. Yes, we're talking about pound cake.

You can break out that frozen pound cake for last-minute bake sales, potlucks, or simply when you crave something sweet and indulgent. Not into buying premade desserts? Whip up our pound cake recipe and toss it in the freezer for when your sugar craving calls.

7 Five-Ingredient Desserts Absolutely Anyone Can Make

Keep reading for several recipes that start with frozen pound cake, including cake pops and a peach cobbler trifle.

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Boozy Clementines With Pound Cake

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Put your stock of peelable fruit and half-open bottles of spirits to good use with this easy but indulgent recipe. Simmer the citrus in brandy and honey for a few minutes and top a slice of room temperature pound cake with the deliciously scented mixture. Try this with other fruits to mix it up.

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Strawberry Shortcakes

No specific recipe needed to create your own single-serving strawberry shortcakes! Just slice off a 1-inch piece of pound cake (shape it with a cookie cutter if you're feeling cute) and top with sliced strawberries and whipped cream. Whip up your own version of whipped cream from scratch for a little added gourmand flavor.

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Peach Cobbler Trifle

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Thanks to the presentation, a trifle is always a stunner, but all you need is a few minutes and a slight amount of precision to master this crowd-pleaser, which starts with a frozen pound cake. Just leave at least 4 hours to chill your layered masterpiece before serving.

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Toasted Coconut Refrigerator Cake

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It's hard to believe that this sophisticated layer cake starts with a pre-bought freezer base, but it's true! Adding pudding, coconut flakes, and whipped cream to layers made of two pound cakes creates an entirely new dessert that looks like it was picked up from your local bakery. Bonus: Coconut flakes are easy to decorate with and make an elegant-looking topping. This white cake is great for birthday parties, anniversaries, and bridal or wedding events.

Pound Cake With Ricotta

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Make a slice of leftover pound cake look like a pricey Italian restaurant dessert, with just a dollop of cheese! Yep. Plain, chocolate, or other flavored pound cakes all work with this recipe, which is mostly just adding room temperature ricotta and a drizzle of honey to your slice. Add citrus zest or bee or fennel pollen to really zhoosh it up.

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Ice Cream Cake

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Making ice cream cake in a loaf pan easily lends itself to a layer of pound cake! You have a few options here: Thinly slice the pound cake to make ⅛ to ¼-inch layers of cake between your ice cream and toppings, or just crumble the cake between the layers to add a fun frozen texture when you dig in.

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Cake Pops

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Get kids involved with this creative and easy method to make single-bite treats on a stick. Cut 1-inch cubes of defrosted pound cake, or use small cookie cutters to make shapes. Spear them on popsicle sticks (or 4-inch wooden kebabs) and dip them in melted chocolate. Decorate with sprinkles, crushed candy, or edible glitter. Get creative!

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Grilled Fruit Kebabs

Sweeten up your barbecue with fruit skewers! Cut up even-sized pieces of defrosted pound cake and sturdy stone fruits or pineapple, layer everything on the skewers, and grill for two to three minutes per side. You'll know your kebabs are done when the fruit has grill marks. The grilled fruit works especially well here because it adds a jamminess to each bite of cake.