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These Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are perfect! So moist and fluffy! And they are an amazing copy of one my favorite cupcakes!
So I think I’ve mentioned it before, but in case I haven’t here’s my little secret: Even though I bake mostly from scratch these days, I grew up on box mixes and store bought cakes.
It’s true. I know there’s a camp of people who are totally box mix haters and then there’s a camp that’s all about them. I personally love them at times when I want something easy. And you will never convince me that Funfetti Cake with Rainbow Chip Icing isn’t the best cake ever. But I also love baking from scratch. I’ve always loved cake, but I loved it even more when I started having from-scratch cakes. There’s just so much variety and I love that.
That said, my favorite besides Funfetti was always a strawberry cake mix with cream cheese frosting. There’s just something about the strawberry cake mix flavor. I know some might think it’s artificial, but whatevs. I dig it.
So I set out to replicate the flavor of that cake mix, but from scratch. I’m pretty sure I hit the nail on the head. I’m in love with these cupcakes! I even put “love” on top of them. 🙂
The strawberry flavor in the cupcake comes from a mix of strawberry puree and strawberry extract. I love mixing the two. The extract makes the flavor a little stronger and more box-like in my opinion, while the puree adds a little of that real strawberry taste. Perfection.
And with the cute little chocolate “love” on top, these are perfect for sharing for Valentine’s Day.
To make the toppers, you just need a little bit of colored candy melts. I use the wilton ones, but if you have another brand you prefer that should be fine. They’re great because they come colored, are easy to melt and dry firmer than regular chocolate chips, which is ideal for a more delicate decoration like this one.
I did these free handed, but you could use a pattern if you prefer. You’ll just need a piping bag, icing tip with coupler (I used tip 4, but tip 3 would work too) and some parchment paper. Melt the chocolate, add it to your piping bag fitted with the icing tip and write out “love”. I also tossed a few sprinkles on, but you could leave those off if you prefer. There’s a similar method used for this red wine chocolate cake, so if you need some pictorial guidance, there are photos in that post you can check out.
Once they are dry, just press them into the frosting and you are done! Quick and easy! Not only are these strawberry cupcakes delicious, they are so darn cute!
Watch How To Make Them
You might also like:
Homemade Strawberry Cake
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie Cups
Strawberry Moscato Layer Cake
Strawberry Brownie Cheesecake
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
Strawberry Cool Whip Cookies
Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 17 minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Cupcakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are perfect! So moist and fluffy! And they are an amazing copy of one my favorite cupcakes!
Ingredients
STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES
- 3/4 cup (155g) sugar
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter (86g), room temperature
- 6 tbsp (90ml) sour cream
- 2 tsp strawberry extract
- 3 egg whites
- 1 1/4 cups (163g) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp (75ml) milk
- 3 tbsp (45ml) strawberry puree
- 3–4 drops pink food color
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 8 oz (226g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 6 tbsp (86g) butter, room temperature
- 4 cups (460g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
TOPPERS
- 5 oz red Wilton Candy Melts
- sprinkles
ADDITIONAL TOOLS
- Piping bag
- Wilton #4 Icing tip
- Ateco #844 Icing tip
- Coupler
- Parchment paper
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
2. Beat butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add sour cream and strawberry extract and mix until well combined.
4. Add egg whites in two batches, mixing until well combined.
5. Combine dry ingredients in another bowl, then combine milk and strawberry puree in another bowl.
6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until well combined. Add the milk mixture and mix until well combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
7. Stir in pink color.
8. Fill cupcake liners about halfway. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.
9. While cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.
10. Add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
11. Add vanilla extract and remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
12. To make the toppers, melt candy melts in a small bowl according to package instructions.
13. Pour melted candy into your piping bag fitted with Wilton tip #3 and pipe “love” onto parchment paper. Add a few sprinkles, then allow to dry and firm.
14. Pipe the cream cheese frosting onto the cupcakes using Ateco tip #844, then add toppers.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 45.3 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 18.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 55.6 g
- Protein: 4.1 g
- Cholesterol: 46.1 mg
Categories
Enjoy!
Hi! Can I add diced strawberries in the cupcake mix? Or will that ruin it?
I think they would probably sink to the bottom while baking.
Do you think this recipe would work well for mini cupcakes? What temperature and how long?
Sure. Still at 350, for 8-10 minutes.
What kind of strawberry purée do you use? Is it the same type of purée you would put in a cocktail?
I just put fresh strawberries in a food processor and puree them.
I only have light sour cream can I use that
That should be fine.
Can I keep batter in refrigerator over night?
I wouldn’t usually recommend it.
Hi,
What cream cheese do you use and where do you buy it from?
I’d recommend challenge cream cheese, if it’s available in your area. Otherwise I use Philadelphia. I usually get my cream cheese at the grocery store.
Hey!! I’ve made these cupcakes twice for separate events and people LOVE THEM. You’re so awesome! I was wondering if I could ask your opinion on turning this recipe into a cake and if you have any tips on that. I need to make a layer cake and I want to use this recipe, lol. But I’m afraid it will be too fluffy and not hold it’s weight!
I’m so glad people have enjoyed them! It should be fine as a layer cake. I would suggest doubling the recipe and baking in three 8 inch pans. I’m not sure of the exact bake time but it should be around 20 minutes, give or take.
Made these this afternoon and they came out nice. I didn’t have strawberry extract on hand so I just used a little vanilla extract in place but I’m sure it would be way better with strawberry. The only thing I’ll comment on is when I took the cupcakes out of the liner to eat they really stuck on there. Not sure why that happened? Maybe the cupcake batter was too dense with the purée?
Can I make these into mini cupcakes? If so how long would I bake them for?
Yes, you can. Baking time would probably be around 8 to 10 minutes.
I’m going to make them for my daughters for Valentines Day.. I made the other strawberry cupcakes with the filling last year. I’m sure these will be just as good!! Bought little cupcake boxes for them.
Fun! I hope they enjoy them!
We bake them last Week and they were so delicious, thank you for the recipe.
Rebecca
Hi. Can I add strawberry jello to this recipe. I just love the flavor of jello in cakes.
I’ve never added jello to cake batter before, so I’m not sure.
These look amazing. Did you strain the puree through a mesh sieve before adding to the milk?
I don’t believe I did, but you could.
Thank you for this post- Yummylicious! The boys love is- just like you said, moist, soft and yummy! I did a quick turn though, instead of frosting it with the Cream cheese icing, I decided to add white chocolate bits on top and it was baked into perfection.. and didn’t have to put the icing…mhhmm, I think I’ll bake it again when the boys are not at home so I have time to make the icing, he!he!he!
wow, they look really cool and i tried to make them myself. I only had one problem. My words broke while i was trying to get them off my parchment paper. How can i solve this?
They are definitely fragile, so you’ll need to be careful with them. You also shouldn’t make the writing too thin, or they’ll be more likely to break.
Do you have to refrigerate the cream cheese icing? How long can the cupcakes sit out without going bad?
I’d recommend refrigerating the frosting, yes. However long you’re comfortable with cream cheese sitting out – I’d think several hours would be fine.