Description
Bake moist, fluffy strawberry cupcakes loaded with real, fresh strawberries and top them with a silky, homemade strawberry buttercream frosting. This recipe delivers pure summer sweetness from scratch.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup strawberry puree (from fresh strawberries)
- 1 cup finely diced fresh strawberries, tossed in 1 tablespoon flour
- For the Frosting: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/4 cup strawberry puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Optional: Pink food coloring
- For Garnish: Fresh strawberry slices
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and 1/2 cup strawberry puree.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined; do not overmix.
- Gently fold in the diced, floured strawberries.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds full.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the strawberry buttercream, beat the softened butter until smooth. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, alternating with the 1/4 cup strawberry puree and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add a pinch of salt and optional food coloring if desired.
- Once the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe or spread the homemade strawberry buttercream frosting onto each cupcake. Garnish with fresh strawberry slices.
Notes
- Tossing the diced fresh strawberries in a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the batter helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcakes during baking.
- For the best flavor, use ripe, sweet fresh strawberries for both the puree and the diced pieces.
- If you prefer a cream cheese frosting, substitute 4 ounces of softened cream cheese with half of the butter in the frosting recipe.
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 45g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0.5g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 65mg