Soft and fluffy strawberry cupcakes with creamy strawberry buttercream frosting. Make them in mini size, too!
You don’t need to get your eyes checked. Those aren’t giant strawberry slices. The above strawberry cupcakes are, in fact, mini size. I made today’s homemade strawberry cupcakes in both regular and mini size.
Anyway. What a HIT these were. I’ve made strawberry cupcakes before and while I loved previous recipes, I wanted to create a new recipe for them. Complete with strawberry buttercream frosting, of course. That’s what I love most about baking—there is never a stopping point. I love taking recipes I already have and mixing them up to create fresh new versions.
A few important details about the cupcake batter:
Make sure that all of your dairy ingredients are at room temperature. If you’re a regular reader (or baker), you know this is so important. To cut down on time, many ignore this step but it’s crucial to obtaining the best possible cupcake in terms of taste and texture. Room temperature ingredients are smooth and evenly incorporated, which helps produce light, airy, evenly baked treats.
Use my suggested sifted mix of all-purpose flour and cornstarch. The two produce a DIY version of cake flour. You can, of course, just use cake flour! I’ve noted that in the recipe below. Cake flour (or the DIY version) produces a lighter, softer, and much fluffier cake.
Whip those egg whites! I only use 1 egg yolk in the batter, along with three egg whites. The yolk is mixed in with the creamed butter/sugar, while the egg whites are whipped and then folded into the batter. Why do I do this? It adds air and volume to the batter. Again, creating a lighter, fluffier cake.
The strawberry buttercream frosting is where I had a lot of fun. I created wonderful strawberry buttercream candies for my Sally’s Candy Addiction cookbook and used what I learned from creating that recipe to produce my flavorful strawberry buttercream frosting that we’ll use on these cupcakes. I’ve always had trouble obtaining a perfectly creamy and smooth frosting using fresh strawberries because they are so wet. So, I use freeze-dried strawberries.
When ground up, they make the perfect flavorful “dust” to make a strawberry flavored frosting without any artificial strawberry flavoring.
Regular or mini size, these are the perfect treats for the upcoming warm weather.
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Strawberry Cupcakes with Creamy Strawberry Buttercream
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 50 minutes
- Yield: 16-17 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft and fluffy strawberry cupcakes with creamy strawberry buttercream frosting. Make them in mini size, too!
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 8–9 large strawberries*
- 1 large egg + 2 egg whites, room temperature and separated
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 cup (30g) cornstarch*
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, room temperature*
Strawberry Buttercream
- 1 cup (about 25g) freeze-dried strawberries*
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. This recipe makes 16-17 cupcakes, so you will have a few cupcakes to bake in a 2nd batch. Please read notes about mini cupcakes.
- Slice 5 strawberries and place in a food processor or blender. Pulse until strawberries are a chunky puree. You should have about 1/3 cup. Set aside. Finely chop remaining strawberries. Set aside.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the 3 egg whites on high speed in a medium bowl until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
- Make the cupcakes: Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes until creamed together fairly well. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the whole milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Fold egg whites, 1/3 cup strawberry puree, and finely chopped strawberries into the cupcake batter. The batter will be velvety and slightly thick.
- Spoon batter into cupcake liners filling halfway. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting: Using a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a powdery crumb. You should have around 1/2 cup. Set aside. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy – about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, strawberry powder, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add 1/4 cup (30g) more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or 1 more Tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. Frost cupcakes as desired. I used a Wilton 1M piping tip. Leftover prepared cupcakes can be stored covered tightly at room temperature for up to a day or in the refrigerator up to 5.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cupcakes and frosting 1 day in advance. Keep cupcakes covered tightly at room temperature and the frosting covered tightly in the refrigerator. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before frosting and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-Count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Food Processor or Blender | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Spatula | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Piping Bag (Disposable or Reusable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip
- Layer Cake: You can easily turn these into a layer cake. Simply pour batter into two greased and (lightly) floured 9-inch cake pans and bake for 27-35 minutes. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Frost as desired.
- Mini Cupcakes: For around 36 mini cupcakes, line mini cupcake pans with liners or spray with nonstick spray. Prepare cupcakes and frosting as directed. Bake mini cupcakes for 12-13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Strawberries: I highly recommend fresh strawberries. Frozen strawberries are fine. Thaw before using in step 2.
- Flour: I use a combination of sifted flour + cornstarch to produce cake flour – if you keep cake flour in the pantry, use 2 and 1/3 cups (268g) instead of the specified all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
- Milk: For the richest and moistest cupcakes, use whole milk. Buttermilk would be great too!
- Freeze-Dried Strawberries: 25g is accurate—freeze dried strawberries weigh next to nothing! You can find them in the dried fruit/nut aisle. Or order them online. If you can’t find them, try my raspberry frosting but swap out the raspberry jam for strawberry flavor. Or try my strawberry whipped cream instead.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakes before you begin!
You’re going to love these.
I wanted to make these cupcakes but swap out the strawberry frosting for your chocolate butter cream frosting. Because ultimately we are chocolate lovers. Would that frosting be okay here?
Hi Stephanie! You certainly can, but the strawberry flavor may get lost – a lot of it comes from the buttercream. Perhaps you could still fill the cupcakes with strawberry buttercream, like we do with our chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes recipe.
Hi Sally,
I made these cupcakes tonight and when I took them out of the muffin pans they were quite oily on the bottom. I am pretty sure I followed the instructions correctly, and my ingredients were room temperature etc., any thoughts on why this might have happened? I’m still going to try them in the morning and see how they taste. Luckily the batch of chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes turned out beautifully, so I’m okay either way, I was just hoping to take a couple options. Thanks for your help!
Hi Andrea, did you use muffin liners by chance? Sometimes certain muffin liners can cause them to become oily/greasy looking on the bottom. It should get better as the cupcakes cool. Hope you still enjoyed them!
Hi! I’m planning on making these soon, but I was wondering if fresh strawberries are necessary in the batter? Or could I replace that with freeze dried strawberries? Thank you!
Hi Ari, the fresh strawberries are necessary in the batter—we don’t recommend freeze dried strawberries in their place. Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!
The most requested cake recipe from family and friends! This is such a beautiful recipe…I’m a little embarrassed it took me this long to write up a review because I’ve been making it for years.
Wow, these cupcakes are delicous!!!
Two questions, the first is my cupcakes had a lovely dome when they came out of the oven but the tops sank a bit. Not a huge deal because frosting covers eveything but I’m wondering if the is normal. The only deviation I may have had from the recipe is I used eggs from the farm down the street so they may have been a bit bigger than large.
Second, do you think I could make these gluten free? If so, doyou have a suggested flour to use?
Thank you, I will be making these again :).
Hi Stephanie, a little bit of deflating is completely normal, but if it was excessive sinking it could be that the cupcakes were slightly underbaked. An additional minute or two in the oven should help for next time. We haven’t tested this recipe with a gluten free 1:1 flour so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you give it a try!
I made these for my daughter’s birthday last year and they were amazing! I was hoping she’d request them again, but she’s insisting on blueberry cake with blueberry frosting this year. Is there any reason I can’t sub blueberries (and freeze dried blueberries) for the strawberries in this recipe? They’re tricker to cut, so maybe I’d just halve them instead of dicing like the strawberries? I’d love to use something tried and true, instead of searching the internet for something less dependable than your recipes!
Hi Meghan! We haven’t tested a blueberry cake, but other readers have reported successfully using this recipe with fresh blueberries and freeze-dried blueberry powder. No need to chop the blueberries, they will break down. We would love to hear how it goes if you give it a try!
The blueberries worked great! I prefer the flavor of the strawberry cupcakes, but the birthday girl was very pleased. Thanks for another great recipe!
Very often I have berries, lemons, etc. that I need to use soon so I look for a recipe which uses the items. I wish there was a way to just type in the key word ” rhubarb” for instance and your recipes containing rhubarb would come up. It would be so much easier than spending a lot of time trying to search out a recipe to use. Any way to do that?
Hi, yes, there is a way! If you click on the menu button at the top right of the site, you’ll see an option for “Browse by Ingredient.” Hope this helps!
Amazing strawberry taste. I used the freeze dried strawberries to make a powder for the frosting and it was worth it. These are fluffy, light, and deliciously strawberry. No artificial coloring or flavoring which I really love. Took these to a party and they were a hit! Will make again.
Why is my frosting curdling?
Hi Simone, buttercream can curdle when the butter is too warm. Make sure to start with proper room temperature butter. You can try chilling the frosting and re-whipping.
I am planning on making these tomorrow and have read the recipe several times. Why does it state it takes 3 hours and 50 minutes to make. What am I missing.
I love your recipes. I made the strawberry with the frostings you use here and my husband said it tasted like strawberry ice cream.Your muffins are amazing apple and blueberry! Thanks for all you do.
Hi Kathy, That total time includes a few hours for the cupcakes to fully cool before frosting. If you need to speed that time up, you can try cooling them in the refrigerator after they have been removed from the pan.
Hi I am asking for your help because I am confused. I followed the recipe for raspberry frosting and it came out runny. I followed all of your directions and butter was finger tip touch tested, heavy cream used per your directions and I used your preferred brand name jam. It was still runny. I added more powered sugar and by the time I was done I was up to 5 cups. I have thoroughly examined your Vanilla Buttercream, Strawberry and Raspberry Buttercream frosting recipes. Each recipe calls for a different amount of confectioners sugar. and butter. I am not able to acquire freeze dried strawberries quick enough to provide this for the special party we are having. My question is how much confectioners sugar do you suggest I use when I use your recommended jam, strawberry flavor?, for the Strawberry buttercream frosting?
I did make your mint chocolate chip buttercream frosting and it was a true winner! Thank you for your time and help.
Hello. I’m confused… The ingredients say one large egg +2 egg whites. Step three says “beat the three egg whites.“ Which is it? Two or three egg whites?
Hi Erica, you’ll use 3 egg whites in step 3, and the one egg yolk in step 4. The yolk is mixed in with the creamed butter/sugar, while the egg whites are whipped and then folded into the batter. Hope that helps!
Hello I am still confused on amount of eggs. Your recipe list calls for:
1 large and and 2 egg whites…. But
Step 3 calls for 3 egg whites
Step 4 doesn’t say how many yolks to use.
Can you please specify? I’m making this on Friday for early Mother’s Day celebration.
Hi Angela! Step three calls for 3 egg whites (the two extra egg whites plus the egg white from the whole egg) and step 4 uses the one egg yolk from the whole egg. Hope this helps!
This recipe was kinda hard to follow. There’s a lot going on in the second step. I was confused about the amount of eggs and egg whites. It tasted good tho!!! The icing was awesome. I used freeze dried berry mix not just strawberry. It kinda peeled from the wrappers and the cake tin. I’ll try again it again tho. Thanks.
I made these for the first time today for a baby shower as mini cupcakes, and I thought the instructions were great! I actually broke the cupcake recipe down into 9 steps and color coded them with the ingredients (as I do with all the recipes I use) and it helped me a lot! I suggest doing if you get confused with a complex step 🙂 They baked beautifully and they taste amazing and fluffy and moist! It made a good 72+ mini cupcakes.
Are you able to double the recipe?
Hi Kaitlyn! For best results, we recommend making two batches of batter rather than doubling.
Okay thank you 🙂
While there are several steps they all came together well and the results are stellar! I used 1.5 cups of sugar and 1/4 freeze dried strawberry power and it gave a good punch!
Will make again!
Can we use skin milk
Hi Charles, you can use skim milk instead of whole milk, but the cupcakes won’t be quite as rich or moist. We recommend sticking with whole milk!
I paired this cupcake with your lemon cream cheese frosting recipe. Both were fantastic, and I received so many compliments.
Hi! I was wondering what cupcake liners you suggest. I am making these for a project and wanted to know what color/brand you would use. Thanks!
H Mercy, We love using these cupcake liners. We also swear by these parchment paper liners or any quality liners labeled “grease-proof.”
These were so good! We made them for Unicorn Day and they were a huge hit.
They taste good and all the strawberry flavor is natural, but the recipe is tedious, and the steps don’t flow. The ingredients are not listed in the order used. So when it list a group to mix together you have to go up and down the ingredients list to find the amount you need of each. It says to make the egg whites first. By the the time I needed them, they were gelatinous, separated and didn’t fold in nicely.
I loved the cupcakes. I haven’t made the frosting yet but cupcakes were so good. My daughter was so happy to have light, fluffy, strawberry infused cupcakes. Thank you!
I would like to make a small bath of regular sized cupcakes maybe 6 .
What would be the recipie for that many?
Hi KMA, we don’t have a recipe for 6 strawberry cupcakes at this time. Let us know if you try reducing this recipe!
Recipe is SUPER confusing, and I’m by no means an inexperienced baker. If I didn’t have any baking experience, I never would have gotten through it. I abandoned the recipe halfway through the second “step” because it was way too much information way too quickly, and I couldn’t follow it at all. The cake itself turned out fine, as have other recipes of yours I’ve tried. I come back to this site as a trusted source, so I hope you know I’m coming in love! Just, please, I’m begging you, break up that step 2 into smaller simpler steps. I don’t want to give an opinion on the cake yet, because I had to stray to do my own thing, and I feel like it wouldn’t be a fair review.
I am not an experienced baker, as of yet, myself, however; step back if confused. Reread. Suggestions, prep all ingredients, go step by step as she has written. I think in your confusion you gave up. I made these for the second time today and they are great. Give yourself a chance and try again.
I find in general that most recipes (Sally’s included) have too many things happening in 1 step. (I guess because less “steps” make sit look simpler). I copy the recipe into a word document and the break it down so that each step is actually a step.
Since I already have cake flour would I use 2 cups for the recipe? Just trying to make sure of the right amount to use.
Thanks
Hi Angie, use 2 and 1/3 cups (268g) instead of the specified all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Enjoy!