Strawberry Cupcakes
These fresh Strawberry Cupcakes have a delicious strawberry flavor and chunks of fresh strawberries in the cake batter. Then they’re frosted with strawberry frosting made from real berries for the perfect pretty-in-pink cupcake.
Servings 18 cupcakes
Ingredients
Strawberry Cupcakes
- ¾ cup strawberry puree , about 1 ½ cups whole strawberries
- 1 ⅔ cups cake flour* , sifted
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white , discard the yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 2-3 drops red food coloring , optional
- ¾ cup chopped strawberries , about ½ inch pieces
Strawberry Frosting
- ¾ cup strawberry puree , about 1 ½ cups whole strawberies
- 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoons cream , as needed
- 2-3 drops red food coloring , optional
Instructions
Strawberry Cupcakes
- Push the strawberry puree through a metal sieve to remove the seeds (this is optional for the cupcake batter).
- Add the strawberry puree to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently as the puree comes to a gentle boil. Boil for about 10-15 minutes while stirring, until the puree has reduced to about ⅓ of its original volume - ¼ cup. Cool fully.
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and line muffin pans with muffin papers. You'll end up with about 18 cupcakes total.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Beat in the egg and egg white 1 at a time.
- In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together ¼ cup of reduced strawberry puree, the vanilla extract, and buttermilk.
- Beat about ⅓ of the flour mixture into the butter mixture, alternating with about ⅓ of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat the process until all the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture are added.
- Gently fold the chopped strawberries into the cupcake batter using a rubber spatula.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each muffin paper about ⅔ to ¾ full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 16-19 minutes, or until the tops are set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Strawberry Frosting
- Push the strawberry puree through a metal sieve to remove the seeds. (This is recommended for the frosting).
- Add the strawberry puree to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently as the puree comes to a gentle boil. Boil for about 15 minutes while stirring until the puree is thick like jam.
- Remove the pan from the heat and cool the puree fully. I typically put it in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process.
- 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. **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 until the desired sweetness is reached.
- If the frosting seems too thick, beat in a little cream about 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency 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
*If you don't have cake flour, use 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour and ⅓ cup cornstarch in place of 1 ⅔ cups cake flour. Sift them together 3 times before using in the recipe.
Make Ahead Tips: Cupcakes can be made 1 day ahead and stored in an airtight container. Make the strawberry puree for the frosting the day before and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Make the frosting the day you plan to serve the cupcakes, and then frost. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen and thawed in the fridge.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.