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
NEVER MISS A RECIPE!
Subscribe to receive my recipes (free!) to your inbox
Like Celebrating Sweets on Facebook
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 strawberries
Frosting:
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar sifted if lumpy, plus more if needed
- 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.
For the frosting;
- 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 puree, 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.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
To make fresh strawberry puree, place 3-5 chopped strawberries in a food processor and blend until pureed.
I store these cupcakes in the refrigerator. It helps the frosting from getting too soft. I like to allow them to come to room temp before serving.
These cupcakes are delicious!
congrats on your new addition, what a cutie! Thanks for sharing your recipe, can’t wait to try it. I found your link on the wine & glue wake up wednesday link party.
Thanks for stopping by, Katie.
Hi Allison, congratulations on your sweet little Juliette. Such a precious little darling with such a beautiful name. How did you find the time to even make these lovely strawberry cupcakes is beyond me! The cupcakes and frosting look so pretty and I bet they taste even better. Have already pinned these lovelies. Congrats again 🙂
Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by. I appreciate it! 🙂
In June I made these cupcakes for my daughters 6th birthday party. I decided to use boxed cake mix and added the fruit And then made your frosting. They were delicious. Kids and parents were asking for seconds. It’s now August and my son wanted these cupcakes for his 10th birthday party. Red raspberries were on sale so we decided to try them. Also so delicious. Thank you so much for posting these. We love your blog.
Thanks, Amy! 🙂
wow, they look as fresh tempting as the fresh strawberry,, i have followed ur small batch of vanilla cupcake and they came out very well, kid loved it , can you give provide the above recipe also for small batch of 6 cupcake.
I’m glad you liked the small batch vanilla cupcake recipe. I have never made the strawberry cupcakes as a “small batch” but you could try cutting the recipe in half, that would make 6 cupcakes.
Hi! I’m about to attempt to make this recipe in a day or so but I had the idea of making mini cupcake versions of it! So instead of a 12 cupcake tray, I would be using a 24 mini cupcake one. Would the recipe follow the same but different baking time? I was thinking around 12-14 minutes! Any guidance? thanks! 🙂
You can absolutely make minis. I actually think it will make more than 24. The recipe would be the same, and I would suggest checking them at around 10 minutes, and then every minute or two after until they are done. Enjoy!
I love the way this looks!
Congratulations on that sweet baby Allison. She is absolutely beautiful. What a treasure. I would make pink cupcakes too if I had that sweet little girl. I have four boys and they would NOT be opposed to eating pink cupcakes in the least. In fact, I’d love one right now! Have a beautiful Tuesday with that precious baby.
I want to jump through this screen and eat one! I love strawberry cakes and the like, so I need to save this recipe and make them very soon 🙂 YUM.
You had me at cupcake! Throw the strawberries in and I’m all yours. I cannot wait to try these!
Make these cupcakes and frosting! You won’t be disappointed! This fresh strawberry icing is so yummy.
Where does the time go?! These photos are gorgeous!
It goes too fast *sobs*. Thanks!
OH MY! These look so heavenly!! Great photography!
Ok- first time visiting here. Your photos, baby (now two year old!!) and blog are all gorgeous!!! Those cupcakes look DELICIOUS- strawberry is my favorite 🙂 Thanks for a great post! Glad I found your blog:) XO
You are so kind. Thank you! You’ve made my day. 🙂
These look AMAZING! And they’re so pretty. Pinning 🙂
http://mykindofsweet.com/
It’s amazing how time flies, but it’s wonderful to revisit an old favorite, and I am so glad you did! These cupcakes are beautiful!! xo, Catherine
Thank you, Catherine!
These cupcakes look absolutely wonderful!! I LOVE strawberries with a passion so I will definitely be making these soon! 😀
I love them too! Enjoy!
I can’t wait to try this for my daughters bday this weekend. If I were to make them into a cake do you think this would make one 8-9″ round?
Hi Carrie. I have actually doubled the recipe and made three 9-inch round cakes with it. I think if you made the cupcake recipe as written (without doubling) it would make one fairly thick 9-inch round cake. As for baking time, I would suggest setting a timer for 20 minutes and checking it every few minutes after that until it’s done, just make sure you don’t overbake it. Best of luck! Happy birthday to your daughter!
this is soooo what i am doing with the first strawberries out my strawberry patch this summer 🙂 looks so cute!
These look amazing! I wish I could reach into my screen and grab one!
They look super yummy, I really wish I baked more however for two it is all just a bit of a faff.
These must be the most delicious looking strawberry cupcakes I’ve seen in a long time. Bookmarking these
These sound amazing, I love strawberries!
Yum! I love fresh fruit inspired cupcakes, and strawberries are tasting amazing right now!
These are delicious and I am making them a second time for my dessert a month club. Can’t wait to share them! Thanks for the great recipe, Allison.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for stopping by.
These are so YUM. I made them twice, everyone thoroughly enjoyed them. Will definitely be saving this one!
I’m so glad to hear that. Thanks for stopping by!
Can this be made with frozen strawberries? These look amazing!
I would not recommend it, frozen strawberries will be too wet.
I just made these this morning and they were so delicious. My husband and son really enjoyed them as well – I might have to make more in the afternoon!
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
You’re welcome. I’m so glad that you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
Wow! This might be my FAVORITE cupcake ever!! So moist and flavorful! I can’t wait to experiment with other berries for variety! Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
Will these keep for two days in the refrigerator? I’d like to make them ahead. They look wonderful!
Yes, they should. Don’t frost them until the day of. Enjoy!
Give these cups cakes a try! You won’t be disappointed. They don’t have any yummy chocolate but they are so darn good.
Just wondering if you had a weight measurement the 12 tablespoons of butter? Can’t wait to try these when strawberries are more in season in Australia.
Hi! I believe it is 6 ounces. Enjoy!
Why use strawberry jam in frosting. It would be quite sweet.
It adds a concentrated strawberry flavor. I only use a little to keep it from getting too sweet.
I made these and the frosting cuddles and was far too sweet, not sure what I did wrong!
The frosting curdled? If so, the butter was likely too soft. Also, if the butter was too soft you would have had to keep adding powdered sugar to thicken it, and that would have contributed to the frosting being too sweet.