These strawberry cupcakes are fresh, soft and full of flavor, with a frosting that is smooth and sweet. We put fresh strawberry pieces in the batter, which makes them very moist and full of flavor! On top they have a frosting that has fresh strawberry compote and we decorate them with strawberry slices.
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We love these cupcakes as an idea for Valentine’s Day, which is coming soon, because they are soft pink, and also because the strawberries we put on top resemble the shape of a heart. For me they are the perfect dessert to give to my close friends, or to give them all to a special person on that day.
They are simple and easy to make cupcakes. They are not complicated cupcakes. What is true is that you have to eat them fast, because they have a lot of fresh fruit. Keep them in a tray or container with a lid in the fridge or refrigerator, that’s how they are best kept.
This time, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we used fuscia pink cupcake liners with hearts for the cupcakes, and they look super cute! Also, you can use artificial food coloring to add to the cupcake mix, and make the batter pink, to make it even more festive, but this is optional. Sometimes we use it and sometimes we don’t, and the same with the frosting.
What I really like about these strawberry cupcakes is that they are sweet but not too sweet, and the strawberry, as it has a somewhat acidic flavor, makes this sweet flavor balance perfectly, and I love that contrast!
To put the frosting, we do it simply with a spoon or a spatula, and it is very nice and simple, but you can use a pastry duya to make the shape you like!
If you like this recipe, then you will love our mini pavlovas with strawberries!
Strawberry cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 3 C (13.22 oz) (375 gr) all purpouse flour
- 2 tsp (0.35 oz) (10 gr) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.088 oz) (2.5 gr) baking soda
- 1/2 tsp (0.088 oz) (2.5 gr) salt
- 1 C (7.93 oz) (225 gr) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 C (12.34 oz) (350 gr) white sugar
- 3 eggs, big
- 2 tsp (0.33 fl oz) (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 3/4 C (6 fl oz) (180 ml) whole milk
- 1/2 C (4 fl oz) (120 gr) sour cream or natural unsweetened yogurt
- 2 C (11.28 oz) (320 gr) fresh strawberries, cut into small cubes
- 1 drop pink or red food coloring (optional)
For the forsting:
- 1 C unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 C cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 C confectioners sugar, sifted (powdered sugar)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 C (5.64 oz) (160 gr) fresh strawberries
- Fresh strawberries, to decorate (optional)
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 356º F (180° C). Line a 12 cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar and beat with an electric mixer or hand whisk for 3-4 minutes until the mixture lightens and turns fluffier.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then add the vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated.
- Mix in the flour mixture in 3 separate additions alternating with the milk and sour cream, beating after each addition. Beat for 1 more minute until smooth.
- Add the diced strawberries with the coloring (optional) and beat for a few seconds until smooth.
- Divide the batter by pouring in the cupcake pan filling each cupcake with about 3/4 of their capacity, make sure to leave some batter for the next batch to make about 24 cupcakes in total. Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes until a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
- Once the cupcakes are ready, let them cool down completely before decorating.
For the frosting:
- Put the strawberries in a blender or food processor and blend for a few seconds until pureed.
- Pour this strawberry puree into a medium saucepan and bring to medium-low heat. Cook the puree for approximately 12-15 minutes until 6 tablespoons (90 g) of the puree is reduced, stirring constantly with a rubbert or wooden spatula to prevent it from burning.
- Once the puree is thick and deeper in color, remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool down completely before using. This step can be done a day in advance.
- Separately, put the butter with the cream cheese in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer or hand whisk for 3 minutes until the mixture lightens and is fluffy.
- Add the salt, powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat for 2 more minutes until it is consistent enough to decorate the cupcakes.
- Finally, add the strawberry puree (already reduced and thickened) with the pink coloring (optional) and beat for a few seconds until a smooth and homogeneous frosting is obtained.
- Place the frosting in a piping bag with a star or round piping tip (or do it directly with a spoon) and decorate the cupcakes in the way you prefer.
- Decorate with fresh strawberries on top and that's it. These cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerated for up to 1 week.
