Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Frosting

Published: Jun 18, 2012 · Modified: Apr 6, 2022 by Faith · This post may contain affiliate links · 24 Comments

The other day my hubby came home from work in the mood for strawberry cake…

Mike: You know what you haven’t made in a really long time?

Me: No, what?

Mike: Strawberry cake. I’m really dying for it…

Me: Ok, do you want me to make it tonight?

Mike: No, I guess tomorrow is fine, there’s no hurry.

The next day…

Me: Do you want me to make your strawberry cake today?

Mike: No…I’m not really in the mood for it anymore. Some other time maybe…just surprise me.

(And people say women are fickle, lol!)

I surprised him the next day with these cupcakes.

A Note: These cupcakes were my third attempt at making fresh strawberry cake. The first time the strawberries sank to the bottom, the second time the cake was way too moist (doesn’t sound like a problem, I know, but it was! Maybe soggy is a better description, lol). Third time really was a charm. They turned out so delicious that Mike took them to work to share; they were gone in two minutes flat and he even had a couple people tell him they were the best cupcakes they’d ever had. (Aww, thanks, guys!) The only thing I wish was that their color was just a touch more pink. I didn’t use any food coloring, they got their slightly pink color from the strawberries; if you want, you could always add a couple drops of red.

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Frosting

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 24 mins

Total time: 44 mins

Yield: 24 to 28 cupcakes

Ingredients

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes:

2½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
9 oz hulled fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups chopped strawberries, lightly packed)
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
¼ cup milk (any kind)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon strawberry extract (if available)

Fresh Strawberry Frosting:

2 oz hulled fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped (about ⅓ cup chopped strawberries, lightly packed)
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract)
½ teaspoon strawberry extract (if available)
⅛ teaspoon coarse sea salt
1¼ lbs powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
1-3 teaspoons milk (any kind)

Instructions

For the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake tins with paper liners.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor (you will get about 1¼ cups of strawberry liquid); set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar, then cream in the eggs. Mix in the milk, vanilla extract, strawberry extract, and pureed strawberries. Use a wooden spoon to stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients all at once, stirring just enough to combine and being careful not to over-mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake wells (filling each about ½ to ⅔ of the way full) and bake until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean, about 20 to 24 minutes. Cool completely before frosting with Fresh Strawberry Frosting.
For the frosting, puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor (you will get about 6 tablespoons of strawberry liquid). Use a handheld electric mixer to beat together the strawberry puree, butter, vanilla bean paste, strawberry extract, and sea salt. Gradually beat in the sugar until it’s all incorporated, adding 1 teaspoon of milk at a time as necessary (you may not need all the milk).
Frost the cupcakes once they're cooled.

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