These strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream are just bursting with real strawberry flavor! With nothing artificial and no jello required, they’re perfect for your celebration!

Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream, in pink, red, and white cupcake papers, sitting on a white cake stand. The buttercream has been piped in the shape of a rosette, and there is a pink-trimmed cloth in the background.

*This post originally published on June 10, 2013. I thought it was about time the pics were updated. So, many of the photos you see here now are new and improved. Most everything else is exactly the same as it ever was! Hopefully you’ll enjoy these strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream as much as my family and I did.*

Last time we hung out, I showed you the chocolate birthday cake I made for my little one’s fourth (!) birthday.

It was awesome!  We had one happy little guy…

…and big brother, Mommy, Dada, Grammie, and Pop all loved it too.

The only down side to that recipe is, his preschool doesn’t allow chocolate.

whomp, whomp…

I’ve mentioned in prior posts that there’s just something in my chemical makeup that won’t allow me to send my kids in to school with plain old vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing. So I had a little talk with the birthday boy, and asked him what was his favorite fruit?  I wasn’t too surprised when he answered “Strawberries.”  (Mama ain’t raisin’ no fool.)

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream, in pink, red, and white cupcake papers, sitting on a white cake stand. The buttercream has been piped in the shape of a rosette, and there is a pink-trimmed cloth in the background.

I did a lot of research on the best vanilla cupcake recipe, and I settled on this one, because it was voted the best by thekitchn.com, and those folks probably know thing or two about food…

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I only made a couple of changes, one being, I didn’t have whole milk so I subbed a little cream into my lowfat.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I also added in a bag of freeze-dried strawberries.  These freeze-dried fruits are quickly becoming one of my favorite ingredients, as they add loads of intense flavor into baked goods, without watering them down with heavy, juicy pulp, like fresh fruit would.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

And finally, I don’t know if my oven is off, or what, but my cupcakes took waaaay longer to bake than the recommended 17-20 minutes cited in the recipe…(?)

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

Well, the cupcakes were perfectly delicious, with a crisp-chewy crust on top, a delicate, fine crumb, beautifully light, yet moist and buttery, lightly scented with vanilla and speckled with tart bits of strawberry.

Strawberry Cupcakes

I topped them off with this delicious Swiss meringue buttercream, which is a little bit more labor intensive than the powdered-sugar-and-butter variety, but every bit of effort feels worthwhile when you taste that silky-sweet, rich-yet-light-as-air, intensely strawberry flavor…

Be sure to check out this highly comprehensive post on Swiss meringue buttercream, for a step-by-step tutorial PLUS all your questions answered!

Strawberry Cupcakes

Strawberry Cupcakes

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream, in pink, red, and white cupcake papers, sitting on a white cake stand. The buttercream has been piped in the shape of a rosette, and there is a pink-trimmed cloth in the background.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

These cupcakes got rave reviews all around from the preschool folks, kids and staffers alike!  They were perfect for my baby’s birthday, but I think they’d also be great for an Easter or Mothers Day brunch, or for Valentine’s Day…

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

So pretty and sweet, and full of ripe, springtime strawberry flavor!

Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream, in pink, red, and white cupcake papers, sitting on a white cake stand. The buttercream has been piped in the shape of a rosette, and there is a pink-trimmed cloth in the background.

More great cupcake recipes on my “Cupcake Recipes” Pinterest board!


Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream, in pink, red, and white cupcake papers, sitting on a white cake stand. The buttercream has been piped in the shape of a rosette, and there is a pink-trimmed cloth in the background.
4.07 stars (16 ratings)

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Servings: 30 cupcakes, about
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
These strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream are just bursting with real strawberry flavor! With nothing artificial and no jello required, they’re perfect for your celebration!

Ingredients

For the Strawberry Cupcakes:

For the Strawberry Buttercream:

Instructions
 

To make the Strawberry Cupcakes:

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line cupcake pans with papers.
  • Place the cake flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl, and whisk to combine.
  • Add the butter, and mix on medium-low speed until the mixture resembles damp sand.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium speed, and stopping after each addition to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula.
  • When all the eggs have been incorporated, stir in the milk, cream, and vanilla.
  • Break the freeze-dried strawberries into smaller pieces, and fold them into the batter.
  • Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full, and bake for 17 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of a cupcake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
  • Cool completely, then frost with Strawberry Buttercream.

To make the Strawberry Buttercream:

  • Grind the freeze-dried strawberries to a fine powder, in a food processor or blender, and set aside.
  • In a large glass or metal bowl, combine the egg whites and sugar.
  • Set the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, and stir continuously, until the sugar is completely dissolved. (Check by rubbing a small amount between your thumb and forefinger; it should not feel grainy.)
  • Remove the bowl from the simmering water and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture is cooled completely. (There should be no hint of warmth when you place your hand on the side of the bowl. Refrigerate the meringue for 15 to 20 minutes if necessary.)
  • Add the butter in, a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture begins to look curdled, continue to beat until it comes back together, before adding the remaining butter.
  • Fold in the freeze-dried strawberries.

Notes

For helpful hints on the frosting, check out this post: Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
Calories: 260kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 57mg, Sodium: 77mg, Potassium: 110mg, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 450IU, Vitamin C: 27.7mg, Calcium: 35mg, Iron: 1mg
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
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