Bursting with real strawberries, these soft and fluffy fresh strawberry cupcakes are the ultimate berry treat. Topped with creamy strawberry buttercream, each bite is light, sweet, and naturally flavored. They’re the perfect dessert to celebrate strawberry seasonโand a beautiful way to showcase them!
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and more helpful success tips. I also made 3 small improvements to simplify and improve the recipe, which are reflected in the printable instructions below.
This new-and-improved strawberry cupcake batter is now a little more similar to my favorite vanilla cupcakes recipe. Have you made those before? I love that recipe so much that I decided to include it in my new cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101. The book simply wouldn’t have felt complete without it! That recipe is a great starting point for playing around with other flavors, such as today’s fresh strawberry cupcakes.
So Much to Love About Strawberry Cupcakes
- Buttery soft and fluffy cake crumb studded with juicy bits of fresh berries
- Topped with uber-flavorful, sweet strawberry buttercream frosting
- Like strawberry cake in handheld form
- Recipe makes a big batch, about 20 cupcakes
- Real strawberry flavor in every bite, because we’re using real strawberries!
Recipe Testing: 3 Recipe Improvements
This recipe was originally published in 2015. After years of baking these cupcakesโand listening to helpful feedback from readersโI decided to make a few small tweaks to see if I could simplify the process without sacrificing the flavor and texture. After lots of testing, my team and I are happy to say: we did it!
Here’s what we updated in the recipe below:
- We swapped from all-purpose flour + cornstarch to cake flour.
- We skipped whipping the egg whites separately; it was an extra step that isn’t necessary if you make another change. We lost a little fluff by skipping that extra step, so we…
- Replaced some milk with sour cream. Sour cream helps create super soft, fluffy, moist cupcakes. I love using it in baking.
If youโd rather stick with the original version, see the recipe Notes below.
One reader, Sandra, commented: “Sally and Kitchen Crew, thank you for the updates on this recipe. I made them last weekend and shared them with my daughter and her family. She said they are ‘phenomenal,’ so now I named them ‘Sally’s Phenomenal Strawberry Cupcakes with Creamy Strawberry Buttercream Frosting.’ โ โ โ โ โ “
One reader, Stacy, commented: “These came out absolutely delicious and beautiful! The buttercream color and strawberry-forward flavor were out of this world! I made little fondant blue stars as toppers and gave them to neighbors as Independence Day treats. They were a big hit! โ โ โ โ โ “
Essential Ingredients You Need:
- Fresh Strawberries: Of course you need fresh strawberries for fresh strawberry cupcakes! Frozen strawberries are not ideal because they are too wet and weigh the batter down.
- Cake Flour: This recipe used to call for a mix of all-purpose flour and cornstarch, but in our recent tests, my team and I found that using cake flour gives a better result. If you can’t find it, you can still use AP flour + cornstarchโfollow the instructions for this cake flour substitute.
- Softened Butter: The base of the batter is made by creaming together butter and sugar. Hereโs a helpful tutorial and video if youโd like a deeper look at how to cream butter and sugar properly. Be sure to use proper room-temperature butter, which is actually cooler than you think (about 65ยฐF (18ยฐC) is ideal).
- Eggs & Egg Whites: Eggs provide structure and help emulsify the ingredients. The batter requires 1 egg plus 2 egg whites for a soft, light texture. Using 2 eggs instead will weigh down the crumb.
- Sour Cream: This adds pure moisture while keeping the batter light. Plain yogurt works as a fine substitute.
- Milk: Whole milk makes for the best taste and texture, but lower-fat or nondairy milk can work in a pinch. I use buttermilk in this vanilla cake recipe, which is typically a fine substitution for both sour cream and regular milk in baked goods. For these cupcakes, however, the crumb stays a little tighter when using sour cream + whole milk.
How to Make Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
Let’s start with the star of the show, the strawberries.
After you’ve rinsed, hulled, and chopped your strawberries, you’ll puree some of the berries. You can use a blender or a small food processor, and pulse until you have a chunky puree.
Success Tip: If the strawberries aren’t turning into a puree and keep getting stuck in your blender, try adding a little of the milk you’ll need later in the recipe to help move them along.
You can if you’d like. If you’re used to making my strawberry cake recipe, or if you have tried my white chocolate strawberry cupcakes, you know that I reduce the strawberry puree down to concentrate the flavor. I don’t take that extra step here, but you certainly could. Start with twice the amount of chopped strawberries in step 2 below and reduce them on the stove to 1/3 cup, following the same instructions in strawberry cake.
Set aside the remaining chopped berriesโyou’ll fold those into the batter at the end.
After that, prepping the cupcake batter is pretty standard. Whisk together your dry ingredients, cream butter and sugar together, add the egg, egg whites, and vanilla, and beat again to combine. The mixture will look curdled, and that’s normal at this point. Beat in the sour cream, then, in separate additions, add the dry ingredients and milk. Add the strawberry puree. This is a wonderfully creamy batter:
Then fold in the chopped strawberries:
Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners, filling only about 3/4 of the way. If you over-fill, the cupcakes will spill out over the sides and you’ll have some mushroom-shaped cupcakes. This recipe makes around 20 cupcakes, so you’ll need to use 2 standard 12-cup muffin pans (leave a few cups empty), or bake in batches.
Because there is no food coloring in the batter, the baked cupcakes are a pink-tinted beige color. If you’d like to tint the batter, I recommend gel food coloring. Just 1 small drop of this “dusty rose” gel food coloring or this “soft pink” gel food coloring.
Again, the pictured cupcakes were not colored!
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Fresh strawberries can end up curdling your buttercream, so you need freeze-dried strawberries to make the best strawberry buttercream frosting.
When you grind them, freeze-dried strawberries make the perfect flavorful “dust” to make a strawberry frosting without any artificial strawberry flavoring. They deliver the most intense (and natural) strawberry flavor while, at the same time, do not alter the texture of the actual frosting. And they turn it a naturally pretty pink color, too!
Where to buy freeze-dried strawberries? I usually find them at major grocery stores in the dried fruit section or you can try Target, Trader Joeโs, or online here or here.
On the pictured cupcakes, I used piping tip Ateco #826.
I adore this naturally flavored strawberry buttercream on pistachio cupcakes, too. And if you love cream cheese frosting, you could also try today’s fresh strawberry cupcakes with the strawberry cream cheese frosting from this recipe for strawberry cake.
More Favorite Strawberry Desserts
- Strawberry Cake
- Glazed Strawberry Bread
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie & No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Pie
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Sauce
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
- 1-Layer Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Strawberry Vanilla Crisp
Strawberry Cupcakes with Creamy Strawberry Buttercream
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 21 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 20 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made with real strawberries, these soft and fluffy fresh strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream are the quintessential summertime cupcake. These cupcakes are a wonderful treat to make when fresh strawberries are in season.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 and 1/4 cups (200g) chopped strawberries, divided
- 2 and 1/3 cups (280g) cake flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1ย large egg + 2ย egg whites, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) whole milk, at room temperature
Strawberry Buttercream
- 1 cup (about 25g) freeze-dried strawberries
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 and 1/2 cups (420g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream or whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
- optional, for garnish: fresh strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC).ย Line aย 12-count muffinย pan with cupcake liners. This recipe makes around 20 cupcakes, so line a second muffin pan with more liners (or bake in batches).
- Place 1/2 cup (80g) of the chopped strawberries in aย food processor or blender. Pulse until strawberries are a chunky puree. You should have about 1/3 cup (80g). (Tip: If they’re getting stuck and not breaking down into a puree, add a splash of the milk to help move them along.) Set aside.
- Set aside the remaining 3/4 cup (120g) chopped strawberries to be folded into the batter in step 6.
- Make the cupcakes: In a large bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. (Hereโs a helpful tutorial if you need guidance onย how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg, egg whites, and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the sour cream. The mixture will look a little curdled and that’s normal and expected.
- Add about half of the dry ingredients and half of the milk, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add the remaining dry ingredients and remaining milk, as well as the strawberry puree, and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix. The batter will be creamy and slightly thick. Fold in the chopped strawberries.ย
- Spoon batter into cupcake liners, filling only about 3/4 full. Bake for 21โ24 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 5โ10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.ย Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting: Using a food processor or blender, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a powdery crumb. You should have about 1/2 cup. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, strawberry powder, cream, and vanilla. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. Taste. Beat in a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.
- Frost cupcakes as desired. I used piping tip Ateco #826. Garnish frosted cupcakes with fresh strawberries, if using.
- Cover leftover cupcakes tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I recommend a cupcake carrier for storing and transporting decorated cupcakes.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can bake the cupcakes 1 day in advance. Keep cupcakes covered tightly at room temperature and frost the day of serving. You can make the frosting and store it covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before using. After refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will help thin the frosting out again, if needed. (It stiffens in the refrigerator.) Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before frosting and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Food Processor or Blender | Glass Mixing Bowlsย |ย Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) |ย Silicone Spatula |ย Cooling Rack | Small Icing Spatula orย Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) + Piping Tip Ateco #826ย | Cupcake Carrier
- Update in 2025: This recipe was originally published in 2015. Since then, Iโve made three subtle changes to simplify the process and the result tastes even better! The version written above reflects those updates. If youโd rather stick with the original version, hereโs how: (1) Use 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup (30g) cornstarch instead of cake flour. (2) Skip the sour cream and use 1 cup (240ml) whole milk instead. And (3) instead of beating the egg and egg whites directly into the batter (step 4), whip the egg whites separately until fluffy, then gently fold them in along with the chopped strawberries.
- Mini Cupcakes: Bake for about 11โ13 minutes, same oven temperature.
- Cake Flour: I strongly suggest using cake flour in this recipe. If you can’t find it, try this homemade cake flour substitute.
- Sour Cream & Whole Milk: Sour cream and whole milk are strongly recommended for the best taste and texture. If needed, plain yogurt (either Greek or regular) works instead of sour cream. Same goes with a lower-fat milk (I don’t recommend nonfat). Nondairy milk works in a pinch. You can replace both the whole milk and sour cream with buttermilk (1 cup/240ml) if needed.
- Can I Tint the Cupcake Batter?ย Because there is no food coloring in the batter, the baked cupcakes are a pink-tinted beige color as pictured above. If you’d like to tint the batter, I recommend gel food coloring. Just 1 small drop of this “dusty rose” gel food coloring or this “soft pink” gel food coloring.
- Can I Reduce the Strawberry Puree in Step 2? You can if you’d like. If you’re used to making my strawberry cake recipe, or if you have tried my white chocolate strawberry cupcakes, you know that I reduce the strawberry puree down to concentrate the flavor. I don’t take that extra step here, but you certainly could. Start with twice the amount of chopped strawberries in step 2 and reduce them on the stove to 1/3 cup, following the same instructions in strawberry cake.ย
- Where to Buy Freeze-Dried Strawberries: I always find them in my regular grocery store in the aisle with the dried fruit. Target, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s carry them, and I’ve also found them in some health food stores. You can also buy them online. Do not use the chewy/gummy dried strawberries. You need FREEZE-dried strawberries, which grind into a powder.ย If you can’t find them, try the raspberry frosting from my lemon raspberry cupcakes but swap out the raspberry jam for strawberry jam. Or try my strawberry whipped cream instead.
- Be sure to check out myย 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakes before you begin.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Made these for an office birthday today- fantastic balance of flavors, they were a bit more dense that I thought they’d be based on the batter, but they were so incredibly moist & flavorful. No issues at all, made 20 cupcakes and the perfect amount of icing for them. Keeping this one for fresh strawberry season!
Hello!
This sounds amazing, I am really hoping to make these as mini cupcakes. Are there any adjustments I should make? I was thinking 12 minutes in the oven? thank you!
Hi Abigail, for mini cupcakes, bake for about 11โ13 minutes, same oven temperature. Enjoy!
Way too sweet even with 1/4 cup less sugar
I am a special education teacher, and this yearโs summer endeavor was baking. Sally, your recipes were amazing all summer! I did a new recipe every week (sometimes twice a week), but this recipe was by far a fan favorite. I am currently making them again for my partnerโs boss who specifically asked for these again! I love all of your recipes and how easy they are to follow. I hope to continue baking as I head into the new school year as well! Thank you for great recipes with easy to follow instructions. You are amazing!
I tried these twice … The first time, I didn’t have any fresh strawberries, so I used freeze dried and the cookies were perfect! This time, I did half fresh, half freeze dried, and the cookies ended up too moist even though I baked them for an extra 10 minutes.
Next time, I’ll stick to freeze dried and reduce the sugar a little.
Thanks for a great base recipe though ๐
I just made these, & they are delicious! I didn’t have freeze-dried strawberries, so I eliminated them. The icing was still good. I also made some with whipped cream. I used the icing recipe above, eliminating the butter. In place of the freeze-dried strawberries, I folded in some fresh chopped strawberries. It was really good as well.
Omg these are the most delicious cupcakes ever
I absolutely love this recipe, I followed it but mixed it by hand and it was absolutely delicious. It turned out so amazing
If substituting the cream cheese strawberry frosting you use for you strawberry cake, will that frosting pipe and hold well like the buttercream frosting?
Hi Shelby, yes, it can be piped. Itโs not quite as stiff/stable as buttercream, but itโs still pipeable!
Iโve tried so many of Sallyโs recipes and theyโve always been excellent. Iโm an experienced baker and followed the recipe exactly. But even with the cupcakes going in the oven twice as long, they still were undercooked. And I had exactly 20 cupcakes so thatโs not the issue. Maybe my fresh strawberries were too juicy. I donโt know. But it was a expensive mistake. Sadly have to give this one a thumbs down. Sorry Sally.
Hi Nancy, I’m so sorry you had trouble with these. It’s so odd the cupcakes would take so long in the oven. I wonder if an ingredient was accidentally missed or mis-measured? I suppose it was extra juicy strawberries. I’m sorry about that. Thank you for your feedback; it’s helpful.
Weirdly, I also had this problem. I did have to use Greek yoghurt (full fat) rather than sour cream, so don’t know if that made a big difference. Also, the sugar content does seem oddly high, when higher than the flour content, so wondering if that part of the recipe is definitely right? The batter seemed amazing (fluffy, smooth, held well), and I knew I wouldn’t get the same rise (I didn’t have a proper tin so the cases floated out a bit to the sides). They went in at 175 degrees but it’s a fan oven. They browned really fast, though bottom half. Took them out on time, pulled one apart, raw in the middle. Put in for another 6 minutes at lower temp but still came out with an uncooked portion and quite flat. So curious what might have happened. Still delicious, just a shame when every recipe I’ve tried here before has come out perfect, so specifically went to hunt for any strawberry cupcake recipes you might have. Hope we can figure it out because I want to try making these again.
Is it possible to use strawberry extract in the buttercream recipe?
Hi J, absolutely. Feel free to add a splash of strawberry extract as well.
Would it work to bake this in two 9 inch round cake pans? We like these cupcakes but donโt want to take the time to do cupcakes this time!
Hi Mary, here’s our strawberry cake recipe!
Can I replace the milk with strawberry puree?
Hello I am wanting to make this frosting with a cream cheese instead of buttercream. Do you have a suggested recipe for that?
Hi Amanda! You can find our strawberry cream cheese buttercream recipe with our strawberry cake.
Sally!!!! This recipe is wonderful!!! I made them into mini-cupcakes and they are just so delightful. I did add more freeze dried strawberries to the buttercream to give it more flavor, but otherwise this is just perfect the way it is. Big, big hit with my work crew
Sally and Kitchen Crew, Thank you for the updates on this recipe. I made them last weekend and shared them with my daughter and her family. She said they are “phenomenal”, so now I named them Sally’s Phenomenal Strawberry Cupcakes with Creamy Strawberry Buttercream frosting. I’d post a picture, but I don’t know how.
We’re so glad they were a hit, Sandra! Thank you for reporting back.
These came out absolutely delicious and beautiful! The buttercream color and strawberry-forward flavor were out of this world! I made little fondant blue stars as toppers and gave them to neighbors as Independence Day Week treats. They were a big hit!
Would Raspberries also work?
That should work just fine, Patti!
I live in Australia so what would our version of cake flour be?
Hi Grace! If cake flour isn’t available, you can make your own cake flour substitute using all purpose flour and cornstarch.
When making the strawberry buttercream icing do you weigh the freeze-dried strawberries before or after the strawberries become strawberry dust?
Thank you!
Hi Chip! The weight will be the same, about 25g, before and after making the powder.
Do you think I can substitute cherries for the strawberries?
These cupcakes were perfect for my daughter’s “berry” first birthday party! The taste and texture were amazing. The only issue I had was that the directions in the recipe were somewhat hard to follow because step 4 is a whole paragraph with several steps included. It would be helpful and easier to follow if the recipe were divided into smaller, more manageable steps. I was making the cupcakes with a few kids running around me, so that probably contributed to the difficulty. ๐
A friend is asking if this can be made gluten free. Would it just be a 1:1 sub on the flour for gf flour? Has anyone tried?
Hi Jess, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour, but let us know if you do.
Could you sub almond milk instead of whole milk for dairy free option?
Hi Shaye, yes, that will work in a pinch!
Itโs ok to leave the batter out while the first batch is cooking? I need a double batch
(30 cupcakes).
I love your recipes and canโt wait to try this one!
Hi Diane, You can bake the first batch and keep the unused batter lightly covered at room temperature until itโs ready to go in the oven. Happy baking!
These came out beautifully! Loved the addition of the strawberries to the batter. Very moist and the buttercream was out of this world! Another incredible recipe from Sally! I did these for Easter and wish I could post a picture of how they came out.
Do you think you could make these with only pureed strawberries, and no chopped strawberries? Would you adjust anything?
I have a picky toddler who wonโt eat any strawberry chunks!
Hi Casey, that should be fine, but the yield may be a few less. Or, you might enjoy these strawberry cupcakes instead!
Could I make this into 6inch round layers? Iโm trying to decide what cakes/cupcakes to make for my daughterโs first birthday, and I LOVE the pistachio cupcakes (I made them into 3 6inch rounds). I was thinking about doing a 3 layer 6 inch cake with layers of pistachio and strawberry.
Hi Sara, yes, these cupcakes bake well in three 6 inch cake pans – yum!
Can you add freeze dried strawberries to the cupcakes as well as the frosting? If yes, how much?
Hi Michelle, we recommend sticking with the recipe as written for best results.