One heavenly bite of these Strawberry Cupcakes, and you will never buy strawberry cake mix again. Consider this a made-from-scratch miracle recipe where the strawberry cake texture bakes up dependably soft, and fluffy, and the flavor is unmatched, thanks to real, fresh strawberries.
You can expect a double dose of strawberries with the addition of this perfectly pink strawberry frosting for even more delicious strawberry oomph. This recipe is perfect for Spring or Summer birthdays and they make an especially adorable addition to any Valentine's party.
Making cupcakes from scratch is so much easier than you'd think and we will be here every step of the way with all the tips and tricks you could want. For even more strawberry goodness, bookmark our Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream and Strawberry cobbler for next time.
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES
The first thing you'll want to do to kick off your strawberry cupcake recipe is purée some strawberries! For the Strawberry Cupcakes to have a great big, real deal, amazingly delicious strawberry flavor, real strawberries are essential! We also use fresh strawberries in our delicious Strawberry Scones!
Lucky for us, strawberry purée couldn't be easier to make! It's best if your strawberries are juicy and ripe. The riper the strawberries, the sweeter they will be!
To whip up a strawberry purée, all you have to do is cut the leaves and tops off of the strawberries, drop them into either a blender or a food processor fitted with a blade attachment, secure the lid, and blend until they are completely broken up and appear almost liquid-like.
Loving all the Summer desserts? So are we! Try our blueberry coffee cake next!
You should have at least 1 ¼ cups of strawberry purée. You will need one cup of purée for the strawberry cupcakes and a quarter cup of purée for your homemade strawberry icing. Once you have one and a quarter cups of the strawberry purée reserved, you can either discard the remaining purée or find another use for it! (Hello, strawberry pound cake!)
Now, we will knock out just a bit more prep work! Go ahead and get the oven preheated to 350°F, and you will also want to have ready a standard muffin pan lined with cupcake liners. Spray your pan and muffin liners with nonstick cooking spray, and it's on to the dry ingredients!
You will need either a sifter or a fine mesh sieve for the dry ingredients. These tools help to aerate the dry mix, making for extra light and tender cupcakes. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the sifter or sieve and process into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
For another easy fruit dessert, be sure you check out our delicious peach cake!
Consider your dry ingredients handled, and you'll begin working with the wet ingredients.
And, while we are on the topic of wet ingredients, it is especially important to note that all ingredients going into a cake batter should be at room temperature. Cold butter, eggs, sour cream, or milk could keep the cake from rising properly. Cold ingredients can also prohibit cake from mixing properly.
It's best to plan ahead and set these ingredients out 2 to 3 hours before you begin baking. How long it takes for cold ingredients to reach room temperature highly depends upon the temperature of the environment in which you will be baking.
Now, back to the recipe! Add room temperature, unsalted butter, and granulated sugar to a large bowl and cream together using a handheld mixer on medium-high speed for about three minutes. You could also use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Butter and sugar are properly creamed once the mixture has almost doubled in size, appearing fluffy and lightened and color.
Once the butter and sugar or looking good, you'll add in the eggs one at a time mixing well after each edition. Next, add in the vanilla extract, and if you'd like to add an extra pop of color to your strawberry cupcakes, 2 to 4 drops of pink or red food coloring. We also do this with our vibrant Strawberry Brownies!
Food coloring is optional, but it will make a big difference if you're coming for that bright, vibrant pink color.
Now, add in one cup of the strawberry puree and mix on low until it is well combined with the other wet ingredients. This mixture may now appear curdled, and that's OK. Your cupcakes will not break up curdled -- not one little bit!
If you love strawberries, you definitely need to try our strawberry shortcake biscuits!
That's almost it for the wet ingredients. Just one more little step to go! In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, and milk and set it aside.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three separate addition, alternating with the milk–sour cream mixture in two additions. Mix until all of the ingredients are well combined and your Strawberry Cupcake batter looks smooth.
Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling each cup about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs clinging to it.
You can also determine the doneness of your cupcakes by gently poke in the center of the cupcake. If the cupcake slowly springs back upward, the cupcakes are done.
Set the cupcakes aside on a cooling rack until they are cooled completely.
If this is your kind of dessert, be sure to check out our Lemon Raspberry Cake as well!
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY FROSTING
The homemade strawberry frosting is so incredibly easy to make! All you have to do is add room temperature, unsalted butter, powdered sugar, strawberry purée, vanilla extract, and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix starting on low and working your way up to medium-high speed.
Mix your icing ingredients for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it appears completely smooth and fluffy!
Smear or pipe the icing onto the cooled cupcakes and garnish with small, fresh strawberries for an extra special touch.
Need another Springtime inspired dessert? Try our easy Carrot Cake!
HOW TO STORE STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES
Your Strawberry Cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting should maintain their delicious flavor and texture for 2-3 days at room temperature if stored in an airtight container.
If you end up with too many or you'd like to be ahead of the game for your next event, feel free to freeze them! These Strawberry Cupcakes should keep for up to 2 months in the freezer if stored in an airtight container.
We recommend freezing uniced cupcakes, as they will fit in the container better and maintain their appearance.
6 MORE CAKE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Banana Pudding Cheesecake
- Keylime Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
- Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
- Chocolate Chip Cake
- Kentucky Butter Cake
Banana Pudding Cheesecake
Key Lime Cake
Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
Chocolate Chip Cake
Kentucky Butter Cake
Using real, fresh strawberries in this Strawberry Cupcake recipe is a total game-changer. The taste and texture are undeniably amazing!
- About 3 cups strawberries, tops removed
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream, room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2-4 drops red or pink food coloring (optional)
- 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup strawberry puree (from strawberries above)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
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Preheat the oven to 350°F and have ready a standard muffin tin lined with cupcake liners and spritzed with cooking spray.
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Add the strawberries to a food processor fitted with a blade attachment or a blender and mix until puréed. Measure and reserve 1 ¼ cups of purée and discard any remaining.
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Over a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set the dry mix aside.
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Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and cream together using a handheld mixer on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes or until fluffy and lightened in color. You could also use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, if desired.
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Add the eggs to the butter and sugar one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix again. If using food coloring, add now and mix. Add only 1 cup of the strawberry purée to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Take care to reserve the remaining ¼ cup of purée for the icing. The mixture may appear curdled -- this is ok!
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In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and milk.
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Mixing on low, add the dry ingredient to the large bowl in 3 separate additions, alternating with the sour cream mixture in 2 additions.
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Fill the muffin cups about ¾s of the way full and bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
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Add the butter, powdered sugar, strawberry purée, vanilla extract, and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix with a handheld mixer, starting on low and working your way up to medium-high speed. Mix for 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
Add big scoops of the icing into a piping bag fitted with a large piping tip. Twist the bag shut, and pipe swirls across the surface of the cupcakes. Serve and enjoy!
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