Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes made from scratch! Moist and tender vanilla cupcakes filled with fresh strawberries and topped with strawberry buttercream. No artificial colors or flavors – pure, fresh strawberries in every bite. VIDEO below.
You know that summer is here (or almost here) when most of my recipes have berries in them. Five of my last six recipes featured berries (sorry/not sorry?). I love baking with fresh berries this time of year!
This recipe is actually from a few years ago, but I decided to make a video and reshare the recipe because it’s too good to be stuck way back in the archives. Plus, these pretty pink cupcakes basically scream “It’s summer, eat ME!”
Strawberry Cupcakes
These cupcakes are worlds away from a typical boxed strawberry cake mix. I love that the pretty shade of pink comes from fresh strawberries, not food coloring. They are moist and tender and filled with real ingredients. The cake itself is flavored with vanilla extract and small pieces of fresh strawberries. The cupcakes are fluffy and buttery, and you can’t beat those diced strawberries running all throughout.
Tip: Use the best strawberries you can find. The more red and sweet and they are, the better! If your strawberries are slightly under ripe, or not very sweet, you might want to hull them, to make sure those flavorless white pieces don’t make their way into the cake or frosting.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Let’s talk frosting! These Strawberry Cupcakes are topped with the prettiest Strawberry Buttercream Frosting. The frosting is made with pureed strawberries and strawberry jam.
The color of your frosting is going to vary depending on the how dark your strawberries are. I’ve made these nearly a dozen times, and the frosting can range from a lighter pink to a darker pink. It’s beautiful and delicious no matter what shade it is! And it’s the absolute perfect compliment to our strawberry cupcakes.
I take a lot of pride from the fact that these cupcakes are made from scratch and with real strawberries! Most cake mixes and frostings are loaded with fake strawberry flavoring and food coloring. There is no need for that fake stuff, when you have beautiful sweet strawberries to be the star of the recipe.
And it’s not just me that loves these Strawberry Cupcakes. My readers love them, my friends and family love them – this really is one of the best cupcake recipes ever.
This recipe will always hold a special place in my heart. I first made these cupcakes three years ago when we welcomed our daughter into the world. We celebrated the arrival of our sweet Juliette with these pretty pink Strawberry Cupcakes, and I’ve made them every summer since. These cupcakes made an appearance at her first and second birthday parties, and soon they’ll be part of her third birthday celebration. They make a great celebration cupcake, as well as a great everyday cupcake (that means you need no reason at all to make them).
Fresh strawberry flavor, swirly pink frosting. These have it all! Enjoy!
- MORE BERRY DESSERTS:
- Fresh Strawberry Pie
- Mixed Berry Cake
- Berries and Cream Trifle
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
- Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 egg whites
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
Frosting:
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar sifted if lumpy, plus more if needed
- 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries optional, see note
- 3 tablespoons fresh strawberry puree see note
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon strawberry jam
- Fresh strawberries to garnish (optional)
Instructions
For the cupcakes;
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 12 cup muffin tin or line with paper liners and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scraping the bowl as needed. Gradually add the sugar and beat until well combined. Reduce the mixer to low and add the egg, egg whites, and vanilla extract.
- With the mixer on low, add half the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Add the milk, mixing until just combined. Add the remaining flour and mix until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the chopped strawberries.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
Frosting:
- If using freeze dried strawberries: In a small food processor, blend about 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries until they turn into powder. Pour the powder into a fine mesh sieve, discarding the solids and seeds, keeping the fine powder that came through the sieve. Measure out two tablespoons of the powder to use in the frosting. Proceed below.
- With a hand mixer, or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl and the beater as necessary. Add the powdered sugar, 1/2 a cup at a time, beating until combined.
- Add strawberry puree, freeze dried strawberry powder (if using), vanilla extract and jam, and beat on medium speed until fully combined, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater as needed. If necessary, adjust the consistency by adding more powdered sugar or more strawberry puree, to thicken or thin it out. Place in a piping bag, or use an offset spatula to frost cupcakes (this makes enough frosting to generously frost the cupcakes). Garnish with sliced strawberries, if desired.
Amy says
Hi I tried the frosting but im thinking I’ve done something wrong. Used fresh strawberries and measured correctly but only thing I could think of was the butter didn’t go fluffy like in the mixer so had to use the electric hand mixer . But please help me rectify it as I’m desperate to make them in 2 days in about 24 plus. The frosting looked kind of separated but I’m no expert. It didn’t pipe well, just kind of smudged and didn’t keep nice shape
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Amy. It sounds like your frosting was too thin. This can be from several things: too much liquid, butter that was too soft, and/or not enough powdered sugar. You only added 3 tablespoons of strawberry puree, right? That amount is NOT interchangeable with the freeze dried strawberries (which a a dry product).
Placing the frosting in the fridge for 30 minutes or so should help firm up the butter. You can also try adding more powdered sugar to get it to thicken. Lastly, just a reminder that you need to be using a hand mixer or stand mixer, this frosting cannot be assembled by hand, it won’t get fluffy enough.
Best of luck!
Ash says
Do you have to use whole milk?
Celebrating Sweets says
No. You can use whatever you have on hand. I just prefer the richness of whole milk.
Cecilia Barrios says
I baked these with my boy a few weeks ago and they came out delicious. He wants to have it as his Bday cake now. What pan size is good for this recipe?
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Cecilia. I’m glad you enjoyed these! I have only ever made them as cupcakes. If I had to guess, I would assume you could use one 9×9 square cake pan, or you could double the recipe and split between three 9-inch round pans. If you have small cake pans (6 or 7 inches), you might be able make the recipe as written and split it in two 6 or 7 inch pans.
Best of luck playing around with it. Enjoy! -Allison
Jeremy says
Could you substitute blueberries or bananas with this recipe?
Celebrating Sweets says
Blueberries would probably work but I think bananas might have too much moisture.
Ashley says
Hello! We are making these for a December bday and are using frozen strawberries. For the bit that goes in the cake would you just chop up thawed strawberries or would you puree them for the cake part as well?
Celebrating Sweets says
I would suggest thawing and chopping the strawberries. Also, blot them dry with a paper towel since they’ll have some extra moisture. I find that frozen strawberries lack the flavor and sweetness of fresh, so just be aware that the cake and frosting might be less flavorful than if you were using in-season fresh berries.
Gabby says
Do you think the cupcakes will turn out different if using a beater instead of a stand mixer?
Celebrating Sweets says
That should be fine. Enjoy!
Elaine says
I made these cupcakes for a coworker and this was her response! “These cupcakes is 🔥🔥🔥 Elaine you did yo thang with these . Ifeel the love in every bite 🥰🥳 you the BEST b*tch .“
Celebrating Sweets says
Ha! I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Hellen says
Are these cupcakes freezable?
Celebrating Sweets says
I haven’t tried freezing them. If you do I would suggest freezing them without the frosting and adding the frosting prior to serving.
Terri says
I have froze them and they turned out perfect!! They were frosted, too. No issues! Made several different cupcakes for my sons graduation party and they all were delicious and no one knew I froze them ahead of time!
Avy Kahat says
Hello Hellen, I am making these for Valentine’s day, and I was wondering the same thing. Did you end up freezing your cupcakes successfully?
Molly says
Followed the recipe exactly. Subbed whole milk with oat milk because that’s what I had on hand. The frosting made a ton extra but everything is super delicious!! I had a whole carton of strawberries that were about to go bad and this was the perfect use.
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Merlyn says
Would the icing stay in a air condition car for a three hour trip in June?
Celebrating Sweets says
Probaby. I would recommend chilling the cupcakes before transporting, and making sure that the sun is not hitting them while in the car. Enjoy!