These fluffy vanilla cupcakes are filled with fresh strawberries and topped with an incredible pink strawberry frosting. No artificial colors or flavors. Delicious fresh strawberries in every bite!
If you’re counting down the days to spring and summer I have the perfect recipe for that first warm day. These Strawberry Cupcakes are loaded with real, fresh strawberry flavor, and they are always met with rave reviews!
Recipe overview
The full recipe is below, but I’ll quickly walk you through what makes up this recipe.
Strawberry Cupcakes: These are homemade vanilla cupcakes filled with diced fresh strawberries. The cupcakes are soft and tender with little bits of strawberry all throughout.
Strawberry Frosting: This beautiful pink frosting is flavorful and delicious. This is a typical buttercream frosting with the addition of strawberries.
Start by making the cupcakes, allowing them enough time to cool completely. Once the cupcakes are room temperature, prepare the frosting. Use a piping bag and pastry tip to add the frosting on top of the cupcakes.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Flavor: Lots of real strawberry flavor paired with a hint of vanilla.
Texture: Light and tender cupcakes and creamy strawberry frosting.
Real ingredients: These cupcakes are filled with real ingredients (actual strawberries), and no food coloring or artificial strawberry flavoring.
Strawberry buttercream frosting
This frosting is made with butter and powdered sugar and flavored with vanilla, pureed strawberries, strawberry jam, and freeze dried strawberries (optional).
The color of your frosting is going to vary depending on how dark your strawberries are and whether or not you choose to use freeze dried strawberries. Adding freeze dried strawberries deepens the strawberry flavor without making the frosting too thin. Find freeze dried strawberries near the dried fruit in your grocery store.
Recipe tips
- Use the best strawberries you can find. The more red and sweet 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.
- Use room temperature ingredients. See recipe for how to bring milk and eggs to room temperature quickly.
- Bake the cupcakes in the middle of the oven.
Serving and storage
Serving: These are best served within one day of being made.
Storage: Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let the cupcakes sit at room temperature (just enough to take the chill off) before serving.
Make ahead: I recommend making these cupcakes the day that you are serving them. The frosting can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Store the frosting tightly covered in the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature just long enough to soften to spreadable consistency before adding it to the cupcakes.
Recipe
Strawberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup whole or 2% milk, room temperature
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
Frosting:
- ¾ cup freeze dried strawberries
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy, plus more if needed
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon strawberry jam
- 2 tablespoons milk OR 5-8 fresh strawberries* , plus more if needed
- fresh strawberries, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin 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 1-2 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, scraping the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed.
- 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 and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the chopped strawberries.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups (I use an ice cream scoop). 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 for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes and place directly on the rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
- In a small food processor, blend ½ 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. Set the powder aside, you should have a scant ¼ cup.
- With a hand mixer, or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl and the beater as necessary. Add the powdered sugar, ½ a cup at a time, beating until combined.
- Add freeze dried strawberry powder, vanilla extract, jam, and either 2 tablespoons of milk OR 2 tablespoons strawberry puree. 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 to thicken, or more milk or strawberry puree to thin it out.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Amy
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
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
Do you have to use whole milk?
Celebrating Sweets
No. You can use whatever you have on hand. I just prefer the richness of whole milk.
Cecilia Barrios
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
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
Could you substitute blueberries or bananas with this recipe?
Celebrating Sweets
Blueberries would probably work but I think bananas might have too much moisture.
Ashley
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
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
Do you think the cupcakes will turn out different if using a beater instead of a stand mixer?
Celebrating Sweets
That should be fine. Enjoy!
Elaine
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
Ha! I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Hellen
Are these cupcakes freezable?
Celebrating Sweets
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
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
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
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
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Merlyn
Would the icing stay in a air condition car for a three hour trip in June?
Celebrating Sweets
Probaby. I would recommend chilling the cupcakes before transporting, and making sure that the sun is not hitting them while in the car. Enjoy!