Strawberry Cupcakes With Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Strawberry Cupcakes with Creamy Strawberry Frosting

I know, I post a ridiculous amount of cupcake recipes. But really, can you blame me? If I were to do a cookbook someday, it might just be a cupcake cookbook because I’m just that obsessed with them. And I can’t even begin to tell you how obsessed I am with these strawberry cupcakes. A-MAZ-ING! They are hands down the best strawberry cupcakes I’ve ever had, and they’ll likely be your new favorite too. Yes, that could sound totally braggish (since it’s my own recipe), but I’m kinda thinking these deserve bragging rights :). Last week I made a layered strawberry cake. Very similar to these, but I topped that with a cream cheese frosting. Well, when you combined cream cheese frosting with sliced strawberries between cake layers things can get a little slippery. Loved the cake, just not the way it held up, so I made these strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting to share instead. And I actually preferred going all strawberry instead of a cream cheese frosting, because it didn’t diminish that sweet strawberry flavor at all. It just added to it, of course.

Getting The Strawberry Flavor Just Right

In the past, I’ve tried many strawberry cupcake recipes and they’ve all left me wondering, where is the strawberry flavor? I’d see a hint here and there but these, oh these! They are overflowing with strawberry flavor. The liquids of this batter are made up of a strawberry puree and milk blend, then chopped fresh strawberries are folded into the batter. Then after they are baked they are topped with more fresh strawberries (which is a lovely hidden surprise underneath the frosting), and then more strawberry puree is creamed into the fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth homemade buttercream frosting. And the key to the frosting is that it is made with a strawberry reduction (meaning we are going to simmer off 2/3 of the waters in the berries so we can concentrate that irresistible strawberry flavor). Yes, it would be nice if we could just add 2/3 cup of fresh strawberry puree into a frosting but we all know that’s not going to happen without a royal disaster, soup of a frosting. This is definitely my new favorite strawberry buttercream frosting and I know I will make it time and time…and time again. If you are lucky enough to have any frosting left, spread it on graham crackers for a delicious treat. The cake batter has plenty of chunks of fresh strawberries in it so you get the best strawberry flavor in every bite! To make the batter a cute pink color, I added a few drops of food coloring, but you can leave that out if you prefer, it won’t affect the taste.

Strawberry Cupcake Ingredients

For this moist and fluffy strawberry cupcake recipe, you’ll need:

Cake flour Baking powder and baking soda Salt Butter Granulated sugar Eggs Buttermilk Vanilla extract Fresh strawberries Red food coloring (optional)

For the creamy strawberry buttercream frosting, you’ll need:

Fresh strawberries Butter Powdered sugar Vanilla extract Red food coloring (optional)

How to Make Strawberry Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift cake flour into a bowl, then add the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whip butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Then mix in the egg and egg whites. Whisk together the buttermilk, part of the strawberry puree and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture.

Fold the diced strawberries into the batter. Divide it amongst the lined muffin cups.

Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

How to Make Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Add strawberry puree to a small saucepan. Heat mixture over medium-low heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally until reduced. Pour reduced puree into a small bowl, then freeze until cool. Whip unsalted and salted butter until very pale and fluffy. Mix in part of the powdered sugar, then blend in reduced strawberry puree, vanilla extract, and optional red food coloring. Add remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix until frosting is pale and fluffy.

To assemble the cupcakes: Place some diced strawberries in the center of the cooled cupcakes then pipe the frosting around it. These cupcakes are packed with strawberries and taste incredible. Try not to skip this step because it’s so worth it!

How to Store Cupcakes

Store the strawberry filled cupcakes in sealed containers once cooled. Try not to squish the frosting when you put the lid on!

Can You Freeze Cupcakes?

You can freeze the unfrosted cupcakes for months, cakes freeze really well! When you’re ready to enjoy the frozen strawberry cupcakes, sit them out on your counter to thaw completely before frosting.

Tips for the Best Strawberry Cupcakes

Let the cupcakes cool completely before topping them with frosting. Add a few drops of pink food coloring to the batter and frosting for a deeper red color. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can use a buttermilk substitute. I give instructions for my buttermilk substitute in the recipe card below.

More Easy Cupcake Recipes You’ll Love:

Cannoli Cupcakes Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream Pistachio Cupcakes Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting