Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Soft and moist, and a lovely shade of pink, these from-scratch (made with real strawberries!) strawberry cupcakes are amazing with a swirl of creamy strawberry buttercream frosting to add the perfect finishing touch.

If you’re looking for a fun and somewhat different cupcake recipe for a birthday party, summer cookout, Valentine’s Day, or simply for dinner tonight, this one’s for you! It can be hard to find a good, from-scratch recipe for strawberry cupcakes, I find.

But these are different.

Whether you have fresh strawberries that need to be used up or frozen strawberries to use, this recipe is delicious. Crushed strawberries are the key ingredient here, obviously, and they make this recipe special!

It is winter currently in the Midwest and everything is covered in a thick layer of snow, so nobody is growing anything outdoors. However, we like to grow our own strawberries in a garden in the summer, then wash and freeze all the ones we don’t eat fresh for such a time as this.

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Supplies you may need

Check out some of our favorites or similar options in the kitchen!

• Electric stand mixer
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Mini food processor
• Immersion Blender
• Spatula
• Cupcake liners
• Cookie scoop
• Cupcake baking pan
• Wire cooling rack
• Handheld electric mixer
• Piping bag and tip

Ingredients for Strawberry Cupcakes

Softened Butter: we use salted butter for this recipe.

Sugar: granulated, white sugar.

Eggs: farm fresh, brown eggs are our favorites!

Milk: whole milk or whatever you have.

Flour: all purpose is usually what we have on hand, though cake flour is preferable!

Baking powder

Baking soda

Strawberry Gelatin (Jell-o)

Vanilla

Crushed strawberries: You can either crush fresh strawberries or use a thawed package of frozen ones, like we did.

Ingredients for Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Butter: softened, salted butter.

Powdered sugar

Crushed strawberries

Vanilla

How do I crush fresh or frozen strawberries?

If using fresh strawberries, don’t forget to wash them first!

The way we did it: Method #1:

• Put strawberries in a mini food processor a half cup at a time and process.
• Repeat until you have the desired amount of crushed strawberries.

Method #2:

• Dump strawberries into a narrow, tall pitcher.
• Use an immersion blender to crush the desired amount of strawberries.

The third option: Method #3:

• Put strawberries in a mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher.

Method #4:

• Transfer strawberries to a ziploc bag.
• Carefully press out the air and seal the bag.
• Use a rolling pin to crush the strawberries.

How to make Strawberry Cupcakes

First of all, in the stand mixer, cream the softened butter and the granulated sugar together for several minutes.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time until a smooth mixture is formed.

Mix in the milk.

Now you’re ready to add dry ingredients. Remove the stand mixer bowl and on top of the wet mixture inside, sift in the flour. (Sifted flour is always ideal, though to be honest we sometimes skip that step.)

Add the baking powder and baking soda and strawberry gelatin.

Return the mixing bowl to the stand mixer and mix slowly until just combined.

Using a mini food processor or immersion blender, pulverize the strawberries. (Confused how to do this? Scroll up to previous heading for more details.) Once batter is mixed, add the crushed strawberries and vanilla and mix again until just combined.

Put 18 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. Fill each cupcake liner half full of strawberry cupcake batter, using a cookie scoop (like we did) or dipper.

Bake on the middle oven rack at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

How to make Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth with a handheld electric mixer.

Once the butter is smooth and creamy, add the powdered sugar and crushed strawberries and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Next, fit a piping bag with the Wilton 2d piping tip and transfer your icing to the bag.

Starting at the center of the cupcake, create a strawberry buttercream swirl rose on the top of each strawberry cupcake.

How do I store Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting?

Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting can be left out of the fridge for one day in an airtight container.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

These also freeze great! Simply freeze the finished cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Notes

The garnishing possibilities are endless when it comes to strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting. We opted for a simple swirl rose on top but other ideas include:

• A real strawberry half placed on top of the frosting
• A light dusting of coarse sanding sugar
• Valentine’s Day, birthday, etc. sprinkles such as these

For more cupcake piping and frosting ideas, click here.

Have you made Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting?

We’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below.

Don’t forget to share this recipe!

And check out another favorite of ours, Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes!