This recipe for all-natural strawberry cupcakes is topped with a strawberry white chocolate buttercream. These pretty pink cupcakes are perfect for special occasions or summer celebrations!
For more tasty strawberry confections try No-Bake Strawberry Topped Cheesecake, Strawberry Peach Skillet Cake, and Classic Strawberry Shortcake.
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
One of my favorite cake flavors from my childhood was strawberry. You know, that bright pink boxed mix? Yes, that’s the one. I still kind of love it. I wanted to recreate those strawberry cupcakes in a all-natural homemade version. These are light, sweet and full of strawberry flavor!
The trick for getting light, airy cupcakes with an intense strawberry flavor is using freeze dried fruit. Yep. Those cardboard crisps get pureed into a bright pink powder that packs a serious punch. Not only do they flavor the batter, but they also flavor the frosting.
I topped these gorgeous pink cupcakes with a juicy strawberry and a square of Ghirardelli’s new strawberry bark. Not only did they look like they just came out of the case at an upscale bakery, but they tasted like a million bucks too! P.S. if you haven’t tried that bark yet, go get some! It’s rich, velvety and flecked with real bits of strawberry. So good!!
How to Make Strawberry Cupcakes
You’ll need 1 2/3 cups of sliced freeze dried strawberries.
PREP. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard size cupcake pan with liners, set aside.
BEAT. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg whites one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla extract, mix to combine.
WHISK & FOLD. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, powdered strawberries, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixing speed on low, gradually alternate adding the dry ingredients along with the sour cream and milk. After all of the ingredients have been added, beat on medium for 15 seconds. Gently fold in diced strawberries.
SCOOP & BAKE. Using a large cookie scoop (#20 or 3.5 tablespoons), fill each of the liners with the batter. Place in the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes or until the centers are set. You can use a toothpick or cake tester to ensure that they are done.
COOL. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make it as a cake: Since it is a simple cake recipe, you can easily pour the batter into a cake pan. Just make sure that you keep an eye on the cake and don’t let it become overbaked. Typically cakes in a 9×9 inch pan will be done anywhere from between 25-40 minutes.
The Strawberry Frosting
I wanted to mimic the white chocolate layer of the bark a bit for the frosting, so I added some melted white chocolate to it. Absolutely divine. I could not stop “sampling” this frosting! Don’t panic when you read the instructions for the frosting. It is a bit tedious but I promise it’s worth it. Of course if you’re in low on time or ingredients you could always opt for cream cheese frosting or vanilla bean buttercream.
MAKE the Cooked Strawberry Puree. Use ⅓ cup of chopped strawberries and blend in a blender on high until smooth. If you want to remove the seeds, then pour through a fine mesh sieve. Next, cook and reduce the strawberry puree by putting it in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat and then bring it to a simmer while stirring. Once at a simmer, reduce the heat to low and stir frequently until desired thickness is reached, up to 20 minutes. Stir frequently so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of your pan. Let cool. Use in this recipe and then for any remainder, refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 6 months.
BEAT. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer and the whisk attachment), beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
MIX. Add the powdered strawberries and turn the mixing speed on low. Gradually add the powdered sugar along with the strawberry puree, white chocolate, whole milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Turn mixing speed up to high and beat for 3 minutes until fluffy.
CHILL. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes before using.
FROST & DECORATE. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large piping tip, pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Top with a fresh strawberry and Ghirardelli chocolate square, if desired.
If you don’t have a piping bag at your disposal, that is totally okay. Simply use a ziploc bag. Load your frosting in and cut a small corner to use as your “piping tip”. This won’t yield as beautiful of a design but it is a way to get frosting on your cupcakes. If all else fails, use a knife and swirl it around as best you can.
Tips and Storing
Can you use frozen strawberries? If you use frozen strawberries you risk a lot of “bleeding”, meaning that extra strawberry juice/moisture is leaking out of the frozen strawberries.
Storing: Store cupcakes at room temperature in a tupperware container with a lid. This protects the cupcakes, prevents them from drying out, and still gives them breathing room so they don’t get sticky tops.
Don’t store cupcakes in the fridge because the cold air will dry out the cupcakes. If your kitchen is too hot and humid and you need to store the cupcakes in the fridge then make sure you bring the cupcakes to room temperature before serving, cold cupcakes taste terribly dry.
You can store frosted cupcakes at room temperature as well, same method, same results.
Freeze: If you want to freeze leftover unfrosted cupcakes you should let them cool completely, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then place them in airtight ziploc bags. They will keep for about 3-4 months. When you’re ready to eat them, let them defrost at room temp, uncover the plastic wrap, and let the cupcakes come to room temp before frosting and serving.
Sticky top? If your cupcakes become sticky on top there are a few solutions: let them sit uncovered for 30 minutes to dry out the tops a bit, or frost them. If a cupcake has a sticky top adding some frosting will make it so it’s not even noticeable.
I hope you’ll love these strawberry cupcakes with strawberry white chocolate buttercream as much as we did! They’re oh so sweet and pretty in pink!
For more cupcake recipes, try:
- Rainbow Cupcakes
- Lemon Cupcakes
- Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes
- Pina Colada Cupcakes
- Cherry Almond Cupcakes
For more strawberry treats, check out:
Strawberry Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 c. unsalted butter - room temperature
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- 3 egg whites
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 c. cake flour
- 2/3 c. sliced freeze dried strawberries - pureed into powder
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. kosher sea salt
- 2/3 c. full-fat sour cream - or whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1/2 c. whole milk
- 2/3 c. diced strawberries - about 1/8-inch in size
FOR THE FROSTING:
- 1 c. unsalted butter - room temperature
- 1 c. freeze dried strawberries - pureed into powder
- 3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp. cooked strawberry puree* - see notes
- 2 oz. white chocolate - melted and at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp. kosher sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard size cupcake pan with liners, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg whites one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla extract, mix to combine.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, powdered strawberries, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixing speed on low, gradually alternate adding the dry ingredients along with the sour cream and milk. After all of the ingredients have been added, beat on medium for 15 seconds. Gently fold in diced strawberries.
- Using a large cookie scoop (#20 or 3.5 tablespoons), fill each of the liners with the batter. Place in the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes or until the centers are set. You can use a toothpick or cake tester to ensure that they are done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, to make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer and the whisk attachment), beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the powdered strawberries and turn the mixing speed on low. Gradually add the powdered sugar along with the strawberry puree, white chocolate, whole milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Turn mixing speed up to high and beat for 3 minutes until fluffy. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes before using.
- Using a pastry bag fitted with a large piping tip, pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Top with a fresh strawberry, if desired.
NOTES
I’m partnering with Ghirardelli to bring you today’s recipe. Thank you for helping me work with brands I love!
Nowhere in the notes is there anything about strawberry puree. Raspberry puree is in the actual instructions, but it is not mentioned in the ingredient list. And nowhere are there instructions for how to make either puree for this recipe.
Hi Suellen,
Thanks for letting us know. We have updated the recipe. It should have said Strawberry puree and the instructions to make that should have been in the Notes section of the recipe card. We have updated both of those.