These Strawberry Cupcakes are made with real strawberries! They are topped with a creamy Strawberry Frosting and are perfect for any summer birthday, party or baby shower with their pretty pink hue. Recipe includes a full STEP BY STEP recipe VIDEO.
Be still my strawberry-loving heart.
These strawberry cupcakes, you guys… they are so good!
I based this strawberry cupcake recipe off of these Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes from the Sprinkles cookbook (<– you need it!), because if anybody knows cupcakes, it’s the Sprinkles bakery.
We experienced a Sprinkles cupcake first in 2016 on our trip to Florida, and I’m hooked. They are so moist and perfect, and it’s obvious from the cookbook that a lot of thought goes into the ingredients and technique.
I added some extra strawberries and the flavour is still mild (but delicious!), so if you are looking for an intense strawberry flavour try some of my tips below.
That being said, the recipes are also easy and not fussy, and totally doable for any home cook. (Even a home cook with a baby on her hip or preschoolers who like to “help” 😉 ).
Strawberry season has not reached us here in Manitoba yet — we have maybe another month or so of anticipation but I know it’s always worth the wait. There’s nothing like fresh, local strawberries and I can’t wait to make these again with the real deal.
I know that my Southern friends are already well into the season, so I’m stocking up on strawberry recipes for all of us!
How to make Strawberry Cupcakes:
- For these cupcakes, fresh or frozen strawberries will work perfectly, which makes them great for enjoying year round.
- If you are using frozen strawberries, be sure to thaw them before pureeing, then proceed with the recipe.
- I have updated the recipe since the original to add in ¼ cup strawberry jam — I find it gives an extra boost of strawberry flavor that we love! (There are 2 changes that aren’t in the original video: the jam, and the butter being melted, which makes it easy to whip these up with just a whisk!)
Tips for making Strawberry Frosting:
For this recipe, I chose to make a Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream, because it is my favorite frosting of all-time. There’s just nothing that comes close in flavour or texture.
It’s sweet, but not overly sweet, and it’s light and fluffy and creamy without ever being gritty or heavy. If you haven’t tried it, you need to!
If you don’t have egg whites or you’re not feeling that adventurous — swiss meringue buttercream is a bit tricky and more time consuming! — you can make a simple buttercream or whipped cream instead, or try the cream cheese frosting on my Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes. They will still be delicious!
Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
Strawberry Cupcakes
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 cup sugar 200g
- 200 grams fresh or frozen strawberries, pureed (*see note) (1 cup strawberry puree)
- 1/4 cup strawberry jam
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 190g
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Strawberry Frosting
- 3/4 cup sugar 150g
- 2 egg whites (or ¼ cup liquid egg whites)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed (1 ½ sticks)
- 100 grams fresh strawberries, pureed (½ cup strawberry puree)
- 1/4 cup powdered icing sugar
Instructions
Strawberry Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line one muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, oil and sugar until completely combined.
- Add strawberry puree, jam, eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir just until combined.
- Divide cake batter between 12 muffin cups and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool.
Strawberry Frosting
- Add 1″ of water to a small pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- In a medium-large glass bowl (you’ll need one that fits over top of the pot but does not touch the water), add the sugar and egg whites and whisk to combine.
- Place bowl over simmering water. Whisk and heat for about 10 minutes, or until mixture reaches 160 degrees F and the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Remove bowl from the pot and beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form (this can take up to 10 minutes).
- Add the butter, one cube at a time, beating each until smooth as you go. Add the strawberry puree and beat until smooth (it might start to look funny and clumpy at this point — keep going! It will whip up nice and smooth).
- Add powdered sugar to taste until the frosting reaches your desired sweetness.
- Frost cupcakes and decorate as desired. Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Eileen says
I got it about how much strawberries for 200 grams.Can’t wait to make them!
The Recipe Rebel says
Oh that’s good to hear! Thanks for reporting back!
Eileen says
How much strawberries for 200 grams for cupcakes to make strawberry purée?Also 100 grams of strawberries for frosting?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Eileen! I don’t think I really understand your question. Are you asking how many strawberries would it be in a different measurement than grams? I’ve only tested it out based on the weight of them.
Eileen says
Hi Ashley!How many strawberries would it be in a different measurement than grams?
Doris says
Hi there! My daughter wants a strawberry cake for her birthday, do you know if this recipe would work? And if so what size cake pans and how many pans? Thanks!
Ashley Fehr says
Yes it will work! You could probably get two 8″ rounds from this recipe, although they might be thin. I haven’t tried baking it this way so you will have to judge cook time based on doneness and just keep an eye on it in the oven.
Doris says
Thanks I’ll give it a try! 🙂
Sarah C. says
I didn’t make the frosting. My daughter requested lemon frosting so I made my favorite lemon cream cheese buttercream (1 stick of butter, 1 pack of cream cheese beaten and then add 5cups of powdered sugar and the juice and zest of one lemon).
The cake was fantastic!! I’m an experienced baker and I’ve tried a 1/2 dozen or so strawberry cakes (all without Jello because eww) and this one by far has the most intense strawberry flavor. Don’t skip the jam! I also blended a 24oz bag of thawed frozen strawberries and reduced the purée to about 1-1/2 cups. I measured one cup from that and followed the recipe exactly otherwise, using my scale to weigh everything. I got 12 cupcakes plus a 6” round cake out of this. I fill my cupcakes with an ice cream scoop.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Sarah! I’m so glad you liked it!
Emily says
I’ve made these a few times now and get so many compliments every time! For me, the trick with the Swiss meringue buttercream after getting the egg white and sugar to 160 was beating it long enough to get to stiff peaks, given that I live by the beach in California, i found it necessary to beat the mixture for 15 minutes, out it in the fridge for 5 minutes and then beat it for another 5-10 minutes to get stiff enough peaks before adding in the butter. I also made a strawberry powder from freeze dried strawberries that I added to to the cake and frosting that added a stronger strawberry flavor and intensified the color. It definitely made the cupcakes.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Emily, and thank you for those tips! Temperature and humidity can definitely play a part!
Jocelyn says
I really like this recipe, but the buttercream simply did not work for me. I heated the sugar and egg whites until all the sugar was dissolved, and then I whipped for an incredibly long time, until I got a texture that was similar to a very thick marshmallow fluff. I thought this was good enough, but I suppose not. After adding the butter, then the puree, then the powdered sugar, the frosting was just a tad bit thicker than liquid. I added a bit more powdered sugar, then not wanting it to be too sweet but still not thick enough, I added a spoonful of ground cornstarch. This BARELY fixed the texture but gave it a slight after taste of cornstarch as well as butter. Not sure what I did wrong?
Ashley Fehr says
I’m sorry to hear that Jocelyn! Swiss meringue buttercream is a tricky frosting to make but it’s one of my favorites. Did you use a thermometer with the egg whites? I’m wondering if the egg whites weren’t heated long enough.
Lidija Duvnjak says
Fantastic, my family loved these cupcakes when I was making them following your original recipe, but now with these slight alterations they are even better, and frosting is worth the extra work. The only little comment I would have is that this frosting is not quite sweet enough and/or feels a little too buttery so I whipped it up again while cupcakes were cooling down and this time, instead of adding more icing sugar (which does not really give much sweetness) I added 1/4 cup of strawberry jam to the icing and I also reduced butter to 1/2 cup. Worked out great and little more to my taste. Thank you for this great treat, it’s perfect way to enjoy strawberry season.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Lidija! I’m so glad you enjoyed them with the added improvements as well!
Danielle says
Question: the instructions do not match the ingredients. Is the butter supposed to be melted or softened? Your note about the strawberries says this part of the recipe was changed but there is nothing to account for the oil or the the fact that the directions say melted butter.
I am making these tomorrow and hope you see this in time.
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Danielle — you’re right! I did change the recipe to use melted butter to make it easier to mix up with a whisk, but other than that everything is the same, and the oil listed in the ingredients is reflected in the instructions as well.
Kanwal says
Helo, i wanted to try these cupcakes and wanted to ask if i can skip on strawberry jam and just use the puree as i dont have the jam on hand. If i skip the jam will the rest if the ingredient ratios remain the same? Dont intend to buy a jar. Plus in the video you’ve used softened butter but in the written recipe it says melted butter. Please clarify as what to follow.
Ashley Fehr says
The recipe has been tweaked slightly since the video to make it even better! If you do have to skip the jam, I would try substituting with additional strawberry puree for flavor and moisture.
Torri Lewis says
I made these cupcakes for my granddaughter’s 11th birthday. The cupcakes were delicious. But the buttercream frosting I had much problem with. Maybe you can help me with the reason why. I followed the recipe and put the egg Wyatt’s and sugar into the double boiler and whisked and whised until I reached 160 degrees, then beat them adding the confectioners sugar and I beat the heck out of them and it never solidified. It never stiffened I should say. I also added extra cornstarch at the end to try and salvage the buttercream frosting. Like I said I’ve made buttercream frostings before and I’ve never cooked it period. I did the butter afterwards like recipes said also out of the pureed strawberries. The only difference I think may have did this catastrophe was I double the recipe entirely.
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Torri! I’m so sorry you had trouble with the frosting! Swiss Meringue Buttercream is a tricky frosting to master, so when I don’t want to go through the extra effort I just top with sweetened whipped cream. You do need to make sure you whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form before starting to add the butter, and add the butter completely and before adding the sugar. It does take quite a while to whip up so it’s important to be patient and wait until each step is done before moving on. This is a special frosting, which is why it needs to be cooked unlike regular buttercream frosting.
Ana says
I just made these and they turned out great!! They looked picture perfect and I’m very happy with how they turned out.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Ana! I’m so happy to hear that!
Jordan says
Hello, i was just wondering if maybe i forgot a step when i was making these cupcakes? They seem very thick but otherwise they are very good
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Jordan! I’m sorry they turned out that way! I haven’t found that with this recipe, but there are a lot of things that could make a difference in the texture. Mixing cake batter longer than necessary can result in a denser cake, but I’m not sure if that was the issue or not!
Shelby B says
I’ve never had an issue following a recipe and I’ve made mannny Swiss meringue buttercreams. This one just wasn’t happening. I wanted so badly to love it, the flavors were there, but the textures definitely were not. The cake it’s self had an amazing flavor, but was so dense that it was almost a bread and it tore the wrapper upon removal /:
Elaine says
Do you have to refrigerate these after making them (before frosting) due to the frrsh strawberries?
Kim says
Hi! I’m making these for a friend’s birthday two days ahead of time because I have to work. Should I wait to do the frosting the night before? I’m bringing them to work and we work 12 hour shifts starting at 7am so I can’t make them in the morning. Or would it be okay to make them today and refrigerate them for two nights? They look wonderful!
Ashley Fehr says
I would probably wait to do the frosting as meringue buttercream can be a little finnicky. I hope that helps!
KJ says
In making the strawberry puree, do you reduce the strawberries by cooking them for awhile and straining them or do you just blend them in a blender? Your website is very nice. BTW, you probably are not aware that the light gray and small fonts in the comment section is very hard to read for people who do not have young eyes.
Ashley Fehr says
THank you for the tip! I will look into changing the fonts colors for sure. You do not have to reduce the strawberries, simply puree them.
Krystina says
Do you add the jam into the purée? I’d the jam seperate ? I’m confused.. thanks!
Ashley Fehr says
You just add the jam into the bowl where it calls for it in the recipe, along with the puree and eggs, etc.
Aracely says
I just made these cupcakes for my insistent son for strawberry muffins. My kids are not big frosting lovers so we didn’t make the frosting. These stand on their own! They are perfect, not too sweet and flavorful. They are a big hit. Great summer dessert or snack. Thank you for the great recipe. So happy to use fresh summer strawberries in these!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Jessica Walker says
My frosting did not turn out at all… doesn’t seem like enough powdered sugar for a frosting?!?
Ashley Fehr says
It’s not your average buttercream frosting — most meringue buttercreams don’t have any powdered sugar at all. I like to add it because the frosting is very subtle on its own and not very sweet. Swiss meringue buttercream is kind of a tricky one to master. Everything has to be just right and you do need to whip it for quite a while. If you’ve done everything right leading up to the whipping, then you do need to whip it until it cools and comes together.
Zainab says
I love fresh strawberry! These cupcakes look amazing!
Danielle says
I LOVE strawberry season. I just ate a package yesterday that was so amazing. I am actually envisioning strawberries dipped straight into that frosting…it sounds amazing!