Strawberry Cupcakes

Strawberry Cupcakes That Are Actually Worth the Hype

• Packed with real berry flavor. These cupcakes aren’t messing around. I use fresh strawberry purée, freeze-dried berries, and a spoonful of jam to make sure every bite is bursting with juicy, sweet strawberry goodness.
• No-fuss, bakery-quality results. You don’t need fancy skills or equipment to make these. I walk you through every step so you get soft, tender cupcakes that taste like they came from a bakery case.
• A summer showstopper. These are made for warm-weather parties and backyard hangs. They’re bright, fruity, and totally irresistible. They’re just the thing to bring to your next BBQ, picnic, or Fourth of July bash!

Key Ingredients

This recipe makes enough batter for 24 cupcakes. Along with your baking essentials like flour, sugar, milk, eggs, etc., there are a handful of key ingredients you’ll need to make the perfect strawberry cupcakes (and frosting). I summarize these below, with the full recipe details available in the recipe card below the post.

• Fresh Strawberries – You’ll need one pound (or about 2 cups) of ripe fresh strawberries to reduce for an easy homemade puree. Make sure to choose strawberries that are fully red with fresh, green leaves, as these will be the freshest. I also amp up the flavor of these cupcakes with the addition of freeze-dried strawberries, see below).
• Oil and Butter – The combination of oil and butter provides both taste and texture for a spongy cake.
• Sour Cream – Along with oil, sour cream is my second “secret” ingredient to ultra-moist cupcakes and cakes. You don’t notice the flavor and it really makes a difference in terms of texture!
• Food Coloring – To really play up the rosy pink color of these cupcakes, I add a smidge of pink gel food dye to the batter. I use Ameri Color Fuchsia.

What You’ll Need For the Buttercream

For the cupcakes, I opted for a buttercream frosting instead of a strawberry whipped cream, so that is these warmer summer months you don’t have to take up space in the refrigerator with cupcakes. Besides the obvious, powdered sugar and butter (unsalted butter always!), there are a couple of ingredients needed to make the best buttercream.

• Freeze-dried Strawberries – You’ll need a second bag of freeze-dried strawberries to blend up to make your strawberry frosting. I go into detail on why freeze-dried strawberries are the best choice to use in buttercream in my Strawberry Frosting recipe.
• Strawberry Jam – Optional, but adding a couple of spoonfuls of strawberry preserves helps to boost the strawberry flavor.
• Heavy Whipping Cream – For the fluffiest, creamiest buttercream, stick with full-fat heavy whipping cream. Alternatively, you can use milk.

How to Make Strawberry Cupcakes

Before you start on the cupcake batter itself, you’ll prepare a quick strawberry reduction. Reducing your pureed berries is a must to ensure that your cupcake batter doesn’t come out watery. Here’s how to do it:

• Puree the strawberries. First, pulse the rinsed and hauled strawberries in a blender or food processor until smooth. Aim for around 2 cups of puree, so you’ll have enough left after it’s reduced.
• Reduce. Add the puree to a saucepan and bring it to a slow boil. Let it cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring often, until it’s reduced by half (about 1 cup of puree). Afterward, transfer the reduction to a bowl and let it cool completely.

• Prep. While the oven preheats to 350ºF, line your cupcake pan and add your freeze-dried strawberries to your blender. Pulse until you reach a fine powder.  
• Combine the wet ingredients. Now, beat together the wet ingredients in a large bowl, and cream in the sugar. Add your strawberry reduction, freeze-dried strawberry powder, and a drop or two of food dye. Beat until the batter is smooth and uniform in color. 

How to Make the Strawberry Buttercream

Once your cupcakes are cooled to room temperature, they’re ready for frosting.

• Prepare the strawberries. You’ll need to pulverize additional freeze-dried strawberries to use in your strawberry buttercream. I highly recommend sifting the powder through a fine mesh sieve this time, so that your frosting comes out smooth.

Helpful Baking Tips

• You’ll need two 1oz bags of freeze-dried strawberries. A one-ounce bag yields about 1 ½ cups of berries, so you’ll have leftovers from the first bag after making the cupcake batter. No worries – simply chuck the extra strawberries into the blender with your second bag when making your frosting.
• Sift the powdered strawberries to use in the frosting. This separates out any larger pieces, for a smoother, less grainy frosting consistency. It’s not necessary to sift the powder for the cupcakes.
• Frozen Strawberries. You can use frozen strawberries for the puree, but you’ll want to thaw them first and then cook them down to reduce the liquid. You may need to puree the berries after they have cooked down a bit.
• Add strawberry jam to enhance the flavor. This is my trick for extra strawberry-filled frosting, but it’s optional. If you do wish to add preserves to your frosting, make sure to choose one with a smooth consistency (and not chunky), and add it a little at a time.
• Prepare the puree ahead. The strawberry puree that you use to make these cupcakes can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Store the puree airtight in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. See below for details on storing your finished cupcakes. 
• Alternative frosting recipes. These would also pair nicely with a simple vanilla buttercream, but for chocolate, I’d recommend a fudge frosting which is made with melted chocolate.