The Busy Baker

Delicious recipes from my kitchen to yours.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

Cupcakes Desserts Summer

Strawberry Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream are basically summer in cupcake form. They’re fresh and sweet and they showcase fresh strawberries, the most quintessentially summer fruit! If you like cupcakes, or cake, or dessert (and who doesn’t, really?) then you’re definitely going to love this easy cupcakes recipe!

So I may have saved the best of my #SummerDesserts posts for last…

titled image (and shown) strawberry swirl cupcakes with fresh strawberry buttercream

 

homemade strawberry cupcakes topped with fluffy strawberry frosting and fresh strawberries

 

fresh strawberry cupcake with a bite taken out, revealing the center of the cupcake

 

Looking for more easy cupcakes recipes? Bake up some Dairy-Free Coconut Lime Cupcakes or a batch of delicious Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes!

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How to Make Strawberry Cupcakes

The base for this easy cupcakes recipe is Chef Anna Olson’s Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes, but I’ve made it my own and strawberry-ified it!

The recipe is here, but you can get a printable version at the bottom of this post.

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes:

  • 2 cupcake/muffin pans
  • 18 cupcake liners of your choice
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
  • 1 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 18 teaspoons strawberry jam (one teaspoon for each cupcake)

For the frosting:

  • 2/3 cup unsalted butter (softened to slightly cooler than room temperature)
  • 4 cups powdered or icing sugar
  • 2 tsp whole milk
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered or icing sugar
  • a pinch of sea salt

For garnish:

  • 18 fresh strawberries, washed and dried

DIRECTIONS:

To make these delicious strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream, start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lining your cupcake or muffin tins with 18 paper liners of your choice.

Next, start preparing the cupcake batter by adding the butter and white sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat these ingredients together on medium-high speed for several minutes until the mixture becomes light, fluffy and pale in colour.

vanilla cupcake batter being made in a mixing bowl

Beat in each of the 5 eggs, one at a time, on medium speed. It’s a good idea to stop between each addition to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl, just to make sure everything is incorporated evenly.

creamy smooth vanilla cupcakes batter in a mixing bowl

Measure the flour, baking powder and sea salt into a separate bowl and set it aside. Measure out the milk and add the vanilla to it. You’re going to add the dry and wet ingredients alternately here, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.

The best way to do this is to roughly divide the flour mixture into thirds and the milk mixture in half. Add one-third of the flour mixture first, then one-half of the milk mixture, another third of the flour mixture, and so on. Add these ingredients on the lowest speed and be very careful not to over mix…only let the mixer run until the ingredients are just combined.

When you make the last addition of dry ingredients it’s actually a good idea to do this by hand with a rubber spatula just to prevent over mixing, which leads to a tough and dense crumb.

bowls of dry and wet ingredients needed to make strawberry cupcakes

 

cupcake pan lined with paper cupcake liners next to a bowl of cupcake batter

Once everything is combined, try to prevent your toddler from stealing your paper cupcake liners as you divide the batter evenly between all 18 of them. They should each be about 3/4 full.

After you’ve divided the batter measure out one teaspoon of strawberry jam onto the top of each cupcake.

vanilla cupcake batter topped with strawberry jam

Using a butter knife, cut into the jam and swirl it around in the top half of the batter until it looks like this:

strawberry jam swirled into vanilla cupcake batter to make strawberry swirl cupcakes

Pop the cupcakes in the oven for about 18-20 minutes (at 350 degrees Fahrenheit).

When they’re done they should look like this:

strawberry cupcakes baked in a cupcake pan

Remove the strawberry cupcakes from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack until they’ve cooled completely.

While you’re waiting for the strawberry cupcakes to cool you can begin to prepare the frosting, starting with the fresh strawberries. Chop about 5 or 6 strawberries as finely as you can. You’ll need to add 1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries to the frosting but it’s a good idea to drain as much liquid out of them first.

finely chopped fresh strawberries on a cutting board

How to Remove Liquid From Strawberries

Once they’ve been chopped add them to a strainer over a bowl to let the excess liquid drain out of them while you prepare the rest of the frosting.

Add the butter and 4 cups of icing sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer, along with the milk. It’s a good idea for the butter to be just slightly cooler than room temperature for this frosting because of the high water-content in the strawberries.

Having the butter just slightly cooler will create a frosting that’s a little more stiff than is usually ideal for cupcakes, but once the strawberries are added it will soften beautifully. Beat the butter, icing sugar and milk on high speed until you end up with a stiff buttercream frosting. You’ll probably have to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times to make sure everything is incorporated.

Remember those strawberries that are draining? Measure out 1/2 cup and add them to the stiff frosting. Beat them in on medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.

At this point you’ll probably be left with a frosting that’s too soft to pipe, so add as much of the remaining 2 1/2 cups of icing sugar as you need to create a frosting that’s of piping consistency (this means it will hold its shape when piped on top of a cupcake). Add the remaining icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time, and don’t forget to add in the pinch of salt too (this tones down the sweetness of the frosting just a bit).

blending ingredients together in a mixing bowl to make strawberry buttercream frosting

Once the frosting is complete and the cupcakes have cooled completely to room temperature you can go ahead and frost the cupcakes however you like!

Because this frosting is so fluffy and soft because of the addition of the strawberries, I chose to pipe the frosting on each cupcake in a circular motion using a medium plain round tip. If you prefer the look of a star tip or any other style, go ahead and use that. It’s up to you!

Finish off each cupcake by nestling a fresh, ripe strawberry into the top of the frosting (I used Driscoll’s Organic Strawberries). Don’t they look gorgeous??

 

platter of strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting

 

fresh strawberry cupcakes garnished with strawberry buttercream and whole strawberries

 

a strawberry swirl cupcake topped with fluffy strawberry frosting

These cupcakes just scream summer – they’re sweet and light-tasting (make no mistake, they are not diet cupcakes…as if you needed me to tell you that) and they’re the perfect opportunity to show off some beautiful, fresh summer strawberries.

And there’s a fun surprise inside!

a dessert platter full of homemade cupcakes topped with strawberry frosting and fresh strawberries

The strawberry jam swirled into each strawberry cupcake adds another layer of sweetness and strawberry flavour!

a strawberry cupcake cut in half, revealing the moist cupcake crumb

 

Looking for more easy strawberry recipes? Make some Strawberry Cheesecake Fruit Dip or a batch of delicious Strawberry Hand Pies!

 

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cake plate holding homemade strawberry cupcakes topped with strawberry buttercream and whole fresh strawberries

These cupcakes are 13 Weight Watchers PointsPlus each, which definitely doesn’t make them the healthiest dessert you’ll eat this summer, but they’re perfect for a special occasion and even better for sharing!

platter of strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting
Print

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

These cupcakes are the perfect summer dessert. Bright and flavour-packed with fresh strawberries. You'll love this easy cupcakes recipe!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword easy cupcakes recipe, strawberry cupcakes, summer desserts
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 18 cupcakes
Author Chrissie

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

  • 18 cupcake liners of your choice
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 5 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 18 teaspoons strawberry jam one teaspoon for each cupcake

For the frosting:

  • 2/3 cup unsalted butter softened to slightly cooler than room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered or icing sugar
  • 2 tsp whole milk
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered or icing sugar
  • 1 pinch sea salt

For garnish:

  • 18 fresh strawberries washed and dried

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line cupcake or muffin tins with 18 paper liners of your choice.
  2. Next, start preparing the cupcake batter by adding the butter and white sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat the ingredients together on medium-high speed for several minutes, until the mixture becomes light, fluffy and pale in colour.
  3. Beat in each of the 5 eggs, one at a time, on medium speed, stopping between each addition to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated evenly.
  4. Measure the flour, baking powder and sea salt into a separate bowl and set it aside.
  5. Measure out the milk and add the vanilla to it.
  6. Add the dry ingredients and wet ingredients alternately, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Add the ingredients on the lowest speed and be careful not to over mix...only let the mixer run until the ingredients are just combined. Add the last addition of dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula just to prevent over mixing, which leads to a tough and dense crumb.
  7. Divide the batter evenly between the 18 paper liners, filling each about 3/4 full. Measure out one teaspoon of strawberry jam onto the top of each well of batter. Using a butter knife, cut into the jam and swirl it around in the top half of the batter.
  8. Place pans in the oven and bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and wait 2 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pan and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
  9. While you're waiting for the cupcakes to cool you can begin to prepare the frosting.

For the Frosting:

  1. Chop 5 or 6 strawberries as finely as you can. You'll need to add 1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries to the frosting, but once they've been chopped, add the strawberries to a strainer over a bowl to let the excess liquid drain out of them while you prepare the rest of the frosting.
  2. Add the butter and 4 cups of icing sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer, along with the milk. It's a good idea for the butter to be just slightly cooler than room temperature for this frosting because of the high water-content in the strawberries. Beat the butter, icing sugar and milk on high speed until you end up with a stiff buttercream frosting. You'll probably have to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times to make sure everything is incorporated.
  3. Measure out 1/2 cup of the drained strawberries and add them to the stiff frosting. Beat them in on medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.
  4. At this point, your frosting may be too soft to pipe, so add as much of the remaining 2 1/2 cups of icing sugar as you need to create a frosting that's of piping consistency (this means it will hold its shape when piped on top of a cupcake). Add the remaining icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time, and don't forget to add in the pinch of salt too (this tones down the sweetness of the frosting just a bit).
  5. Once the frosting is prepared and the cupcakes have cooled completely to room temperature, you can go ahead and frost the cupcakes however you like! Because this frosting is so fluffy and soft, I chose to pipe the frosting on each cupcake in a circular motion using a medium plain round tip. If you prefer the look of a star tip or any other style, go ahead and use that. It's up to you!
  6. Finish off each cupcake by nestling a fresh, ripe strawberry into the top of the frosting.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe along with the other two recipes in my #SummerDesserts series this week! Check them out by clicking on the photos below!

grilled peaches with Greek yogurt honey                 a slice of rhubarb streusel cake

 

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  7. Nagi Maehashi says

    Pretty beyond words! I've never made strawberry buttercream before. And thank you for the step by step photos, they're really helpful! 🙂 Nagi @ RecipeTin Eats 🙂

    Reply

  10. Kristen Chidsey says

    I use to hate cake/cupcakes. I realized it is because everyone was making them with pre-made ingredients. These from scratch , fresh strawberry cupcakes look perfect to me.

    Reply

  23. Mobile App Developers says

    Very great post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your weblog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing on your feed and I am hoping you write again very soon!

    Reply

  26. Rajiv Kumar says

    This cake is well decorated and looking very tasty, Its recipe is also very simple. Today I will make it.

    Reply

  28. Sherry says

    Hello, I’ve been looking for a from scratch strawberry cupcake recipe. This looks really delicious. I was wondering if it would be ok to add a little pink food gel. Also do you swirl only or can you add the strawberries to the batter?

    Reply

    • Chrissie says

      Adding pink colour would be just fine! I’d recommend red, rather than pink, as this will give a subtle colour that resembles actual strawberries. And I would suggest swirling only, so as not to change the texture of the cupcake itself.

      Reply

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