Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Are you looking for the best strawberry cupcake recipe? Strawberries and cupcakes just go together, don’t they? I have always loved good, moist strawberry cupcakes, and while I like the taste of the strawberry-flavored cake mixes and frostings available at the store, I have been searching for something a little fresher tasting. And I think I have found it – a buttercream made with fresh (or frozen) strawberries that give great strawberry flavor. I just love a cupcake with strawberry on top. The strawberry buttercream also makes these cupcakes the perfect shade of pinky red for Valentine’s Day. We hope that you love these Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting.

These strawberry cupcakes with cake mix are super easy strawberry cupcakes and this is truly the best strawberry cupcake recipe. I used the frosting atop the vanilla cupcake made with my favorite recipe that starts with a boxed cake mix. The result is a tender delicious cupcake recipe that goes together in a flash. There’s nothing complicated about this recipe, but with fresh flavors and a gorgeous color, your valentine doesn’t have to know that. Let him think you worked on these fresh strawberry cupcakes for hours and hours. You’ll get at least 30 Mini strawberry vanilla cupcakes out of this strawberry cupcake recipe because you add to the cake mix. That also makes it the perfect sized batch for a classroom party.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup water
• 4 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 lbs. (about 7 cups) powdered sugar
• 25-30 strawberries, fresh, or frozen and thawed (I prefer frozen unless it is strawberry season in your area. Those strawberries trucked long distances don’t have great flavor)
• pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. Combine the first 7 ingredients above (that’s right – you can dump them all in at once) in a large mixing bowl. Mix with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds.
3. Raise the mixer speed to medium and beat for approximately 2 minutes, until the batter is well combined. Add 15 finely diced strawberries and fold into the mixture gently.
4. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. You have to leave room for the cake to rise.
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when touched.
6. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
7. To make the easy strawberry frosting for cupcakes, in a mixing bowl, whip butter with an electric mixer until the color lightens and the butter is fluffy – about 2-4 minutes. Add powdered sugar in thirds, beating well after each addition. Add salt.
8. With the mixer running, drop the berries in one by one. Stop to check consistency after you have added 8-10. Keep adding them, but stop if the frosting starts getting too thin.
9. Whip frosting on high for an additional 3-5 minutes until fluffy and light. Frost cupcakes after they have cooled on a rack for 20-30 minutes.
10. Garnish with a fresh strawberry slice or hearts for Valentine’s Day or use crumbs from one of the cupcakes to sprinkle over the top.

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Strawberries are that versatile fruit that we can enjoy year-round. I do love them any time of year. We always have fresh frozen strawberries in our freezer and I buy fresh ones almost every time I see them. We hope that you are inspired by these Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting. Happy baking!