Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream
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!
*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.)
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…
I only made a couple of changes, one being, I didn’t have whole milk so I subbed a little cream into my lowfat.
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.
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…(?)
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.
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!
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…
So pretty and sweet, and full of ripe, springtime strawberry flavor!
More great cupcake recipes on my “Cupcake Recipes” Pinterest board!
Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Cupcakes:
- 1 3/4 cups (218.75 g) cake flour
- 1 1/4 cups (156.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, , softened
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (177 g) low-fat milk
- 1/4 cup (59.5 g) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1.2 ounces (34.02 g) freeze-dried strawberries
For the Strawberry Buttercream:
- 1.2 ounces (34.02 g) freeze-dried strawberries
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (227 g) 2 sticks unsalted butter, , softened
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.
Easily the best cupcakes I’ve seen!
These are the prettiest cupcakes! And I love that you used freeze dried strawberries in the buttercream.
Everybody needs more strawberry in their lives!
I love that there are real strawberries in here
I want to eat these immediately!
I love using freeze-dried fruit, especially in macarons! They give such a strong flavor!
Can you use regular flour for these cupcakes or does cake flour really make a difference!?
You can use regular flour but I really prefer cake flour- it produces a lighter texture and a finer crumb.
Love this recipe using freeze dried strawberries!
I have made the strawberry swiss meringue buttercream 3 times in the last two weeks :-0.
Tip. I use freeze dried strawberry powder because I’m just lazy like that 😉
So glad you like it Sheri! I use freeze dried strawberry powder because I love how it doesn’t water things down 😉
Is it ok that I convert this cupcake recipe to two 2×9″ cake pans? Thank you!
Hey Veronica! I haven’t tried it myself but I think it would work! Let me know how you make out. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this awesome recipe. I cheated on the cake and just added an ounce of f.d. strawberries to a strawberry box mix we had in the pantry. The frosting I made turned out awesome, though I was not sure of myself at all. I used a ceramic mixing bowl and it took a LONG time to cool/peak the meringue down. I’m so glad you added the note about it looking curdled though…I may have panicked partway through otherwise. I still had my doubts until I got to the last 3 TBS of butter, then it started looking like frosting. Great use for our f.d. strawberries, as we ordered a 6 oz can a couple of mos. ago (online from HoneyHill) and they were starting to get too rubbery for snacking, but worked beautifully to bake with!
Oh yay! I’m so glad it worked out for you! Thanks so much for the great feedback and I’m sorry for my late reply. 😀
These look divine! I’m planning on making these for a little girl’s birthday party! Is this an icing that can be made ahead of time and refrigerated? Or would you recommend making same day?
You can definitely make it ahead of time, Danell- just keep it in the fridge, like you said, but let it warm up on the counter before you pipe it. You may also want to re-fluff it with the mixer. Good luck and enjoy! And thank you for stopping by!
Wow, it looks so delicious! Thanks for the recipe! I would like to do it right now!
I have so many freeze dried samples, since I am a supplier. Oh, I could use them to try my delicous cake today!
Yes, definitely! I love freeze dried fruit- it incorporates so well into all different types of treats. Great product!
Yeah! I like it too! Freeze dried fruits are amazing “ingredients” for baking. By the way, I have tried your recipe yesterday. Wow, they are so great. But I am not good at baking, so it looks not so beautiful that I am shamed to show it to everyone. LOL
I will keep trying. Thanks for your good recipe again~
Haha don’t be ashamed! They’re all ending up in the same place, lol, and as long as they taste good that’s all that matters anyway! I’m so happy you liked the recipe and thanks for letting me know it! Have a fun day, Erica!
Yeah, you are right. lol They did taste good~
Thanks again! Have a nice time too!
hi! I read you are a supplier for freeze dried fruit…do you by any chance ship internationally?? or have suppliers in Mexico? thanks!
Hi Diana! Sorry for the miscommunication but I’m not a supplier. I’m just a food blogger/recipe developer. I got the freeze dried fruit at Trader Joes, or you can click the link within the post and order from Amazon. Good luck!
Hi Allie, I just love your blog & look forward for more recipes. I have already made your Chocolate cup cakes with chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream frosting & came out delicious. Everybody loved them. I want to make the Strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream, but I need to know how can I replace with dried frozen strawberries because it’s not available in India. Can I use fresh strawberries ? Is it possible or will the meringue turn out more liquidy. Would appreciate if you could solve my problem. Thanks so much …. Nivi
Hey Nivi! Thanks so much for reading my blog and for your kind words. I have never tried the recipe with fresh strawberries, but I have seen other bloggers do so, so I’m thinking it should work. Do let me know if you try it, I’d love to hear about the results! Good luck!
Cupcakes are beautiful of course! Can you please share the tip you used to frost and did you start decorating inside or from the outside in? Thank you!
Hi Pam! Thanks for the great question- the tip is just a jumbo star tip by Wilton. And I started in the center and spiraled outward. Thanks for reading and for the great comment!
Hi Allie: Love your blog. Would never have thought of adding the freeze dried fruit to a buttercream but you can bet I am going to try it. I owned a professional bakery for 23 years and would have loved to have known about this. Thanks so much. I will be using this and linking to your site.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Helen! I’m so happy you like my blog; thank you for reading it! Your compliments mean so much, especially since you are a pro! I hope you enjoy the strawberry buttercream. I thought the flavor was just so bright and super intense. Thanks again for the sweet comment! 🙂
Where in the store can I find freeze dried strawberry
Hi Diana! I’ve linked to a mail-order source within the post. Here it is again in case you missed it: http://astore.amazon.com/yinmomyangmom-20/detail/B007HEIWVQ I picked mine up at Trader Joe’s. Good luck and thanks for reading!
Hi how much of the freeze dried strawberries for cupcakes?
Hi there! I just added a whole bag, which is 1.2 ounces. Thanks for the excellent question, and for reading my blog! Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!