This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.
These Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes are moist, tender and totally addicting! There are pieces of chopped strawberry in the cupcake and they are topped with strawberry buttercream! So much flavor and perfect for spring and summer!
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
I have loads of strawberry-based desserts on this site and certainly no shortage of variations of strawberry cake and cupcakes. What I love about these though is that they are pretty straight forward with a one-bowl vanilla cupcake base and chunks of strawberries in the batter. There’s plenty of strawberry flavor from the chunks of berries and then they are topped with a delicious strawberry buttercream. These cupcakes are light, moist and full of flavor. I’m so in love!
This is actually the second time this recipe has been updated. The original version was posted way back when I first started this blog, in 2012. Then it was updated in 2014. And now it’s being updated again, only this time the recipe is basically the same.
There are a few little updates to the method for the cupcake to give you a smoother batter that’s easier to put together, plus a little more chopped strawberry. And then the strawberry buttercream now uses a reduced strawberry puree, rather than just a regular strawberry puree, to give you that extra strawberry flavor. But overall the cupcake is the same. Despite being about 7 years old, it’s still delicious and just as wonderful now as when I originally shared it. Love it!
Recipe Ingredients
For the Strawberry Cupcakes
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking powder and Baking Soda: The combination of the two gives this cupcake the ultimate texture.
- Salt: For flavor.
- Butter: Unsalted and melted, since this recipe doesn’t cream the butter.
- Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Eggs: Large sized eggs.
- Sour Cream: Not only does sour cream add moisture, it also helps to keep the batter thick enough so that the strawberries don’t all sink to the bottom of your cupcakes.
- Milk
- Chopped Strawberries: One and half cups of chopped strawberries for cupcakes that are loaded with flavor!
For the Strawberry Buttercream
- Strawberries: You’ll need about 1 1/2 cups of chopped strawberries, measured after chopping.
- Unsalted Butter: Control the amount of salt in your buttercream by adding it yourself. Butter should be room temperature.
- Powdered Sugar: For volume and thickness.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavor.
- Salt: To taste
How to Make Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
These cupcakes are quite simple to make. I LOVE that they use only one bowl for the cupcake batter! Unlike my typical cupcake recipes, there’s no creaming involved, so they are super quick to make.
Make the Strawberry Cupcakes
- Prepare for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- Combine Butter, Sugar and Vanilla: In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar and vanilla extract together until well combined.
- Add Eggs, Sour Cream and Milk: Add the eggs, sour cream and milk one at a time, mixing well after adding each. Adding them one at a time ensures they all incorporate nicely, without giving you a lumpy batter.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredients and whisk together until combined, but do not over mix. You want the batter to be evenly mixed and smooth, but don’t over do it or you could end up with tough cupcakes.
- Stir in Strawberries: Fold in the chopped strawberries gently. You don’t want to beat up your strawberries or over mix the batter.
- Bake: Fill the cupcake liners a little more than half full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Make the Strawberry Buttercream
- Make the strawberry reduction: Using a strawberry reduction doubles up the strawberry flavor. To make it, you’ll puree your strawberries, then cook them down by half. So after pureeing your strawberries, you should have about 3/4 cup of puree. Add the puree to a small sized saucepan and cook over medium heat. Allow the mixture to come to a slow boil, stirring consistently to keep it from burning, until it has thickened and reduced to about 6 tbsp, about 10-15 minutes. To measure, pour the puree into a measuring cup. If it’s more than 6 tbsp (between 1/4 and 1/2 cup), add it back to the pan and continue cooking. Set aside to cool when it’s done.
- Beat Butter: Add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add Powdered Sugar: Carefully add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth and well combined.
- Add Strawberry Reduction, Vanilla and Salt: Add 4 tablespoons of the strawberry reduction, vanilla extract and the salt to the frosting and mix until well combined.
- Finish Powdered Sugar: Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
- Get the Right Consistency: Add additional strawberry reduction as needed to get the right consistency and flavor.
Assemble the Cupcakes
- Pipe the Frosting: Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. I used Ateco tip 844.
- Garnish: Decorate with a strawberry half, if desired.
More Great Strawberry Recipes
Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes
Homemade Strawberry Cake
No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes
Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake Cake
Strawberry Crunchy Layer Cake
Watch How To Make Them
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 14-16 Cupcakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes are moist, tender and totally addicting! There are pieces of chopped strawberry in the cupcake and they are topped with strawberry buttercream! So much flavor and perfect for spring and summer!
Ingredients
CUPCAKES
- 1 2/3 cups (217g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (115g) sour cream
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk
- 1 1/2 cups (200g) chopped strawberries
FROSTING
- 1 1/2 cups (200g) chopped strawberries
- 1 1/4 cups (280g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 5 cups (575g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch or two of salt
- Strawberries, for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar and vanilla extract together until well combined.
- Add the eggs and whisk together until well combined.
- Add the sour cream and whisk together until well combined.
- Add the milk and whisk together until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and whisk together until combined, but do not over mix.
- Fold in the chopped strawberries.
- Fill the cupcake liners a little more than half full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove cupcakes from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.
- To make the strawberry buttercream, make the strawberry reduction. Add the strawberries to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. You should have about 3/4 cups of puree.
- Add the puree to a small sized saucepan and cook over medium heat. Allow the mixture to come to a slow boil, stirring consistently to keep it from burning, until it has thickened and reduced to about 6 tbsp, about 10-15 minutes. To measure, pour the puree into a measuring cup. If it’s more than 6 tbsp (between 1/4 and 1/2 cup), add it back to the pan and continue cooking.
- When the puree has thickened and reduced, pour into a large measuring cup and allow to cool to at least room temperature. This strawberry mixture can be made ahead, if you like, and stored in the fridge.
- Add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
- Carefully add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth and well combined.
- Add 4 tablespoons of the strawberry reduction, vanilla extract and the salt to the frosting and mix until well combined.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add additional strawberry reduction as needed to get the right consistency and flavor.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. I used Ateco tip 844. Decorate with a strawberry half, if desired.
- Cupcakes are best when stored well covered in the fridge for 2-3 days. Serve at room temperature
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
- Calories: 275
- Sugar: 26.3 g
- Sodium: 100.8 mg
- Fat: 15.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 42.6 mg
Filed Under:
Enjoy!
Lindsay!
These cupcakes are a favorite! So yummy and really easy to make. I have made them several times now and have friends asking me to make them for their family gatherings.
Thank you for sharing your hard work and God bless!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Hi! I got 16 cupcakes out of this recipe- should I double the icing?
I doubled the recipe for my daughters birthday. The cupcakes turned out perfect. The frosting is so amazing! I followed the recipe. Such a good taste. My daughter will love them!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Ok thank you!
easy and delicious!
Hi! Thank you for sharing! Sorry if I missed but if we only have unsalted butter, how much salt do you recommend putting in to the mix?
Hi Lindsay!
It is my understanding that cake flour provides a more tender, delicate crumb. Could I use that instead of regular AP flour? I would like to try these, as my last strawberry cake was HORRIBLE. Lol.
In a previous comment you said the wet ingredients should be measured using a wet measuring cup… even for the sour cream and strawberries? Thanks!
That’s what I do, yes.
Hi! I am planning on making this recipe soon. Just to confirm, is the cupcake recipe a one bowl recipe? I’m used to mixing the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry in another and then adding one to the other, but it seems like everything in this recipe is mixed in one bowl.
Yes, that’s correct.
Lindsay, the flavor on these was amazing! I followed your recipe to the letter, but they didn’t really rise like I expected. Any thoughts on what I might do differently? Also, the top of the recipe says 12-14 cupcakes, but the nutrition info says there should be 24 servings. Just letting you know. But everyone loved these, even my husband, who doesn’t like cake!
My 3 year old wanted to make strawberry cupcakes with me for Mother’s Day (awww he loves baking like his momma) and I found your recipe and everyone loves them! My husband doesn’t like cupcakes, cake or any sweet treats, but he absolutely loved these! I can’t wait to check out the rest of your recipes.
So glad you enjoyed them!
Loved these cupcakes! Haven’t made the frosting yet, but finished the cakes themselves and they are fantastic. I did coat my strawberries in a bit of flour before folding in, to take care of some of the excessive moisture problems people had and it worked like a charm. Plus, they didn’t all sink, which I know can happen with fruit sometimes.
Thanks for the recipe – can’t wait to try out some others!
I made these for Easter and they were so perfect!! Love this recipe!! Would you happen to know how to adapt this for strawberry cookies?! I’ve tried a couple different strawberry cookie recipes, and they don’t hold a candle to these cupcakes!! Cookies are just easier to gift!
It’d be pretty difficult to say how to make these into cookies. But do have these strawberry cookies, if you’d like to try them.
Very, very yummy! The strawberry flavor really comes through. I substituted sour cream for Greek Yogurt and it came out great. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Can I make these cupcakes and frosting 2 days in advance? If yes, how should I store them before putting them together? Thank you
The day before is probably better as far as staying fresh, but you can. I’d store them in the fridge and bring them to room temperature before frosting and serving.
Hi I have buttermilk can I use that instead of milk and will it change the taste greatly?
You can use buttermilk and it shouldn’t change things much.
How much does this batter make in terms of standard size cupcake?
Should be about 12-14 cupcakes.