Strawberry Cupcakes
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These homemade strawberry cupcakes have a delicious strawberry flavor and creamy strawberry frosting. The flavor comes from real berries – so there’s nothing artificial. The cupcakes have a light and delicate texture, and you’ll love how the frosting is bursting with real strawberries.
**This post was updated March 23, 2026 with new photos, recipe tips and a slightly updated recipe to provide cupcakes with an even better strawberry flavor**
A Note from Fiona
Why These are the BEST Strawberry Cupcakes!
If you’re looking for a homemade strawberry cupcake recipe that tastes like real berries – then this is the recipe for you. I’ve seen a lot of recipes that use Jello powder or imitation strawberry flavor – which never really taste right to me.
The cupcakes have a moist and fluffy crumb, and are infused with reduced strawberry puree. The frosting is an American-style buttercream that use the same reduced puree – it literally tastes like its bursting with berries.
While the recipe does take a little extra effort – the payoff is totally worth it. These strawberry cupcakes are the real deal.
Table of Contents
Getting the Perfect Strawberry Flavor
After doing some cupcake research – I found that most recipes fell into 1 of 2 categories:
- The cupcakes didn’t actually taste that much like strawberries.
- Or they used artificial strawberry flavor – such as strawberry pudding mix or Jello.
I wanted a strawberry cupcake recipe that had an obvious strawberry flavor AND used real berries.
The strawberry flavor in these strawberry cupcakes comes from strawberry puree. You’ll puree fresh (or frozen) strawberries in your food processor or blender. The puree has too much water in it though, so you can’t add it directly to the cupcakes or frosting. We boil down the puree first to remove the excess liquid. This is necessary so that the flavor is concentrated.
How to Make Strawberry Cupcakes – Step by Step Photos
First, you’ll make the puree and reduce it. The same puree is used for both the cupcake batter and the frosting.
- Core and hull the berries.
- Process in a food processor until liquid.
- Pour the puree through a metal sifter to remove the seeds. You will likely need to use the back of a spoon or rubber spatula to press it through. Discard the seeds.
- Transfer the puree to a saucepan over low-medium heat.
- Bring the puree to a gentle boil while ocassionally stirring. Keep stirring until the puree is thick, like jam. It should be about 1/3 of the original volume. At the beginning, you don’t need to stir much – but as the puree gets thicker you will need to constantly stir. This process takes about 15-25 minutes.
- Remove from the heat.
Make the Cupcakes
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line your muffin tray with muffin papers.
- Whisk the Wet Ingredients. Milk, reduced strawberry puree, vanilla extract and optional red food coloring. If you have a hand emulsion blender – this works well to remove lumps of strawberry puree.
- If there are some lumps of puree- that’s ok. They will typically be mixed out in later steps.
- Sift Together the Dry Ingredients. Cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Then whisk together.
- Cake flour is notoriously lumpy – so do not forget to sift.
- Cream the Butter & Sugar. It should be fluffy and have lightened in color when you’re finished.
- Beat in the Egg Whites. Note that we are using just the whites for a lighter and fluffier texture.
- Mix in the Dry Ingredients and Wet Ingredients, Alternating Between Additions. You’ll mix in about 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by 1/2 of the wet ingredients into the butter mixture. Continue this process until everything is combined. After each addition, turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- I typically incorporate the wet ingredients by hand with a wire whisk to avoid over mixing.
- Spoon the Batter into the Pan. Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full. You should end up with about 12-14 cupcakes in total.
- Bake. The cupcakes will need about 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops look set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Always go by the tests for doneness and not time, oven times can vary significantly.
Make the Frosting
The frosting uses the same reduced puree. Once you’ve made the puree and it’s fully cooled – the process is very simple.
- Beat the Butter. It should be fluffy and have lightened in color.
- Beat in the Powdered Sugar. You’ll mix in some of the powdered sugar until it’s fully incorporated.
- Mix in the Cooled, Reduced Puree & Salt. The puree must be 100% cooled – otherwise it can cause the butter to separate.
- Beat in the Rest of the Powdered Sugar & Optional Cream. Do this a little at a time until you get the desired sweetness and thickness.
- Decorate. I used a piping bag and a 1M tip to swirl the frosting on top of each cupcake.
FAQs
Frozen berries work for this recipe. However, it will take longer to bowl down the puree because there is more liquid in the berries.
Using strawberries that are very bright red in color, hauling the centers (removing the white part in the middle), and ensuring you reduce the puree enough will all help you “naturally” get a brighter pink color. You can also add a few drops red food coloring to the batter and frosting for a brighter pink color. I did all of these things when making the cupcakes photographed.
For a strawberry cake, use this recipe here: Strawberry Layer Cake. It has the same delicious flavor and strawberry frosting, but is scaled for a layer cake.
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Unfrosted cupcakes can be wrapped tightly and placed in a freezer container. Freese for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge. Do not thaw at room temperature or the texture can become gummy.
Make Ahead Tips
The puree can be made up to 3 days in advance, cooled fully and stored in the fridge. Make the cupcakes the day before you plan to serve. Cool fully, and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Store the remaining puree (that you’ll use for the frosting) in the fridge. Then make the frosting the day you plan to serve.
More Strawberry Recipes to Love
- Homemade Strawberry Cake with Fresh Whipped Cream Topping
- Classic Strawberry Milkshake
- Strawberry Muffins
- Strawberry Crunch Ice Cream Cake
Strawberry Cupcakes
Equipment
- 12-cavity muffin pan
Ingredients
Strawberry Puree (for the cupcakes and frosting)
- ¾ lb strawberries (370 grams), fresh or frozen
Strawberry Cupcakes
- 1½ cups cake flour* (180 grams)
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup reduced strawberry puree (60 ml), it should be thick, like jam
- 6 tablespoons whole milk (90 ml), 2% works too
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 drops red food coloring, optional
- ½ cup unsalted butter (112 grams), room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 2 large egg whites, NOT the whole egg
Strawberry Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams), softened but still slightly firm to the touch
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar (330 – 440 grams)
- 2-3 tablespoons reduced strawberry puree (30-45 ml)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoons cream (15-30 ml), as needed
- 2-3 drops red food coloring, optional
Instructions
Reduced Strawberry Puree
- Core and haul the strawberries (if using fresh).
- Place the berries in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
- Pour the puree through a metal sifter to remove the seeds. Use the back of a spoon to press the puree through. Discard the seeds.
- Transfer the puree to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil while stirring. As the mixture starts to thick, you will need to stir constantly to prevent burning. When finished, the puree should be thick like jam. You should have about ½ cup in volume. It should take about 25 minutes, or longer if using frozen berries. Cool fully before using. You will use this for both the cupcakes and the frosting.
Strawberry Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃) and line muffin pans with muffin papers. You'll end up with about 12-14 cupcakes total.
- In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk, ¼ cup reduced puree (save the rest for the frosting), vanilla extract and optional food coloring (I used about 2 drops of gel food coloring for the photos). You can use a hand-held emersion blender to get rid of any lumps of puree. If there are still some lumps – that's ok.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
- In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Beat the egg whites into the butter mixture until smooth.
- Beat about ⅓ of the flour mixture into the butter mixture, alternating with about ½ of the liquid ingredients. Repeat the process, until of the dry ingredients and wet ingredients have been incorporated. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition. I recommend mixing in the liquid ingredients by hand with a wire whisk to avoid overmixing.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each muffin paper about ⅔ to ¾ full. You should end up with about 12-14 cupcakes in total.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, before carefully transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Strawberry Frosting
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter until fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Turn the mixer down to low speed and beat in 2 cups of powdered sugar, turning the mixer up to medium speed as you incorporate the sugar.
- Beat in 2 tablespoons of the thick, jam-like strawberry puree and salt. **It must be completely cold before adding to the butter, otherwise, your frosting can separate and get watery.
- Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time, alternating with a little more strawberry puree or cream until the desired sweetness and thickness is reached.
- Optionally, mix in the red food coloring.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes with a knife, or transfer the frosting to a piping bag and pipe the cupcakes. (I used a 1M tip).
Notes
- Strawberries: If using frozen, the process is easier if they’re thawed first.
- Cake Flour: Be sure you aren’t using self-rising cake flour. If you don’t have cake flour, use 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: The butter, milk and egg whites should be at room temperature for the best results. Take them out.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. If your kitchen is warm, store in the fridge.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only based on 1 cupcake with frosting, assuming the recipe yields 12 uniform cupcakes and all the frosting is used. You may get up to 14 cupcakes
I was disappointed. The cupcakes turned out stodgy and nearly flavorless; the frosting was too butter-heavy to be excellent. I’m an experienced baker and followed the recipe carefully: no substitutions, no shortcuts. Not sure what happened, but I’m still looking for the perfect strawberry cupcake scrip…
I made these with a few changes. I used 1/2 the amount of butter. Added 3 T veg oil to the buttermilk mix. I like flavor of butter but moistness of oil. I did use 1/2 tsp strawberry extract as well as vanilla
I left out chunks of strawberry cause I was making for someone else and didn’t want to risk the berries doing something funky. I will make the buttercream shown here next time, but had freeze dried strawberries on hand and used those.
This is a good recipe. Always feel like a traitor for changing things…but I’m so glad to have this recipe. Thank you.
Thanks so much for letting me know how it went! I’m so glad they turned out so well for you
Thank you for sharing the Strawberry cupcake recipe! It is tender and full of flavor. I found out that I had to sift the flour mixture before I put in the cake batter because of the moisture in the air to prevent lumps. I don’t have enough batter to up 18 cuptake
Glad to come across this recipe when my grandson requested strawberry cupcakes! Wanting to save a little time, I used Simply Fruit strawberry “jelly ” for the puree. I was a bit apprehensive, but both the cake and frosting turned out great!
Is it 1 egg and 1 egg white or 1 egg and 1 egg yolks? Cause the ingredients say an egg white but the recipe says yolk.
Thank you so much for catching that edit! It should be 1 egg and 1 egg white. I’ve updated the recipe now (you may need to refresh to see it).