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 season—and 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 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 cupcakes—and listening to helpful feedback from readers—I 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 you’d rather stick with the original version, see the recipe Notes below.
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 + cornstarch—follow the instructions for this cake flour substitute.
- Softened Butter: The base of the batter is made by creaming together butter and sugar. Be sure to use proper room-temperature butter, which is actually cooler than you think (about 65°F (18°C) 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 berries because you’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 always find them at major grocery stores in the dried fruit section or you can try Target, Trader Joe’s, 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
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.
Cupcakes
Strawberry Buttercream
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin 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 a 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. 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.
- Spoon batter into cupcake liners, filling only about 3/4 full. Bake for 21–24 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 5–10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. 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 Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Small Icing Spatula or Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) + Piping Tip Ateco #826 | Cupcake Carrier
- Update in 2025: This recipe was originally published in 2015. Since then, I’ve made three subtle changes to simplify the process and the result tastes even better! The version written above reflects those updates. If you’d rather stick with the original version, here’s 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 11–13 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? 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.
- 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. 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 my 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakes before you begin.
