Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes With Strawberry Frosting

These Fresh Strawberry cupcakes are loaded in real strawberry flavor, soft, fluffy and topped with a creamy strawberry buttercream frosting. No freeze-dried strawberries or artificial flavors and no cheating! Just strawberries, concentrated down to a jammy paste to give these cupcakes a berry boost These cupcakes use the hot milk method which helps make the sponge soft, tender and moist. And they stay that way for days!

Hey team! I’ll admit, I wasn’t always the biggest fan of strawberry desserts, but I’m a recent convert. It’s the amazing flavor you get from using real strawberries that got me over the line. I think it’s the best way to infuse your desserts with strawberry flavor. I start by using strawberries, fresh or frozen that are cooked down to a jammy paste. When you add it to the cupcake batter it gives it a gorgeous natural pink hue (I boosted mine with a little food coloring) and the most incredible flavor. It’s lightly tangy, sweet, fresh and honestly a celebration of strawberries.

On top of tasting amazing, let’s talk texture. Like I said, I used the hot milk method which I borrowed from my new Soft Vanilla Cake. You whip the eggs and sugar, add the dry ingredients and thenadd the hot milk and butter which lightly cooks the flour and dissolves the sugar, locking in moisture while giving you a soft and tender sponge.

They’re topped with the most luscious Fresh Strawberry Frosting which I specifically developed for these cupcakes. It uses the same strawberry paste as the cupcakes and it’s got a lightly tangy and delicious strawberry flavor. It’s dreamy, creamy and pipes beautifully.

If you give these cupcakes a go, and you should, and have the same epiphany about strawberry desserts as I did, check out my strawberry desserts collection. Highly recommend giving my strawberry cheesecake bars a go. But if you’re looking for more cupcakes, I dunno about you, but I will do unspeakable things for a moist chocolate cupcake, especially when it’s topped with the most luscious chocolate buttercream.

Why You’ll Love These Strawberry Cupcakes!

Once you taste these cupcakes, there’s no going back. They’re fresh, fluffy and bursting with real strawberry flavor. Here’s why you’ll love them as much as I do!

• It doesn’t get more real than this – These cupcakes are all about using real strawberries for that real strawberry flavor. No artificial extracts or freeze dried fruit (too expensive and hard to find), just fresh strawberries cooked down to a paste for concentrated flavor.
• Ultra–moist and fluffy – and they stay that way for days! And that’s because of the hot milk method which gives you a soft and tender crumb.
• Beginner friendly – these cupcakes use simple ingredients, they’re easy to put together and you don’t need special equipment to make them.
• Dreamy Strawberry Frosting – I specifically came up with this frosting for these cupcakes. If you thought the flavor stops with the cupcakes, wait to you get a mouthful of the frosting!

How To Get Soft And Moist Strawberry Cupcakes

These cupcakes hit you with flavor, but you’ll be amazed at how soft and moist they are. That’s all thanks to the hot milk method which I borrowed from my Soft Vanilla Cake recipe.

How it’s done – It starts with whisking the eggs and sugar together to slightly dissolve the sugar and aerate the batter. More air = more fluff! Then you add the dry ingredients before adding the hot milk and butter mixture. That heat helps gently cook the flour which helps the cupcakes retain moisture as they bake. It also coats the flour in fat which lessens the gluten development. That gives you soft cupcakes.

Trust me, it’s a game changer in the sponge world!

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Strawberries – Fresh or frozen will work for this recipe. Both will give you the same great flavor.
• All-purpose flour – Also known as plain flour. I tested this recipe with cake flour and found that the cupcakes had better structure with all-purpose.
• Baking powder – Make sure it’s active! Add some to a small bowl and pour boiling water on top. If it bubbles and foams it’ll work.
• Salt – I used fine salt.
• Eggs – I sued large eggs that weight between 50-55g out of the shell. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before using. If you store them in the fridge, pop them in a bowl and cover them with hot tap water. Let them rest for 5 minutes and they’ll be good to go!
• Caster sugar – You could use granulated sugar for this recipe but the goal here is to dissolve the sugar to get that soft tender texture and the best sugar to use is caster sugar which is finer than granulated sugar and dissolves more easily.
• Milk – I used whole fat cows milk.
• Butter – I used unsalted butter, if you use salted butter, just leave the salt out of the recipe.
• Vegetable oil – Canola oil will also work. I added oil to the recipe because it doesn’t firm up once the cupcakes cool like butter does so it keeps your cupcakes nice and soft but the butter gives you that delicious butter flavor.
• Vanilla Extract – Opt in for good quality vanilla extract. If you want to learn how to make your own for future bakes, I have a great home made vanilla extract recipe!
• Red food gel – The strawberry paste gives you a gorgeous natural pink hue, but I added a little red food gel to help boost that color and brighten it up a little.

Making The Strawberry Reduction

Strawberries can be super expensive, especially if they’re out of season. This recipe works with fresh or frozen strawberries. Frozen strawberries can take a little longer to cook down to a paste, but they won’t break the bank!

• If you’re using fresh strawberries you’ll need to give them a wash, then chop the tops off and cut them into quarters before you puree them.

• Once they’re pureed pop them into a large non-stick pot and use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to stir until the mixture begins to gently boil. Continue until it cooks down to a thick paste that looks like jam.

• It can take about 10 minutes of stirring but it’s totally worth the effort. Frozen strawberries will take longer because of the added moisture.

• Once the strawberries have cooked down, transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool to room temperature. Don’t cool in the fridge. It will stop your batter mixing properly and your frosting will seize up because of the cold temperature and could split.

Pro Tip: if you’re pairing these with my Strawberry frosting just cook the paste for the frosting and cupcake batter all at once. That’ll mean 400g of strawberries all up!

How To Make Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

• Preheat your oven. Combine the dry ingredients together in small mixing bowl.

• Add the eggs into a bowl and froth up using a hand beater or stand mixer with whisk attachment.
• Once the sugar is in there, keep whisking for 6 minutes or until thick, pale and tripled in size.

• Add half the dry ingredients along with the cooked down strawberry paste, oil and food gel (if using) and beat on low speed until no dry ingredients are showing.
• Scrape the bowl down and add the remaining dry ingredients. Repeat. It will be quite thick.

• Melt the butter and milk together in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Heat until the butter is fully melted, and the milk is warm, but don’t let it boil.

Pro Tip: Heat the butter and milk at this part of the recipe only. Don’t heat it up earlier, it needs to be hot for this recipe to work properly!

• When the butter is melted, take off the heat and add 1/3 of it to the batter. Mix on low speed until combined. Then repeat with another 1/3, mixing and then with the final third. The batter will be quite thin.

• Use an ice cream scoop to evenly fill 10 cupcake liners. Then bake them for about 25 minutes.

How to tell if your cupcakes are baked

They are done when a toothpick comes out clean but I prefer the press test. Gently press the center and if it bounces back and sounds like a soft sponge they are perfectly baked and still moist.

The Strawberry Frosting Takes Them Over The Edge!

These cupcakes pair perfectly with my Strawberry Buttercream which is smooth, fluffy, and packed with real strawberry flavor. It’s perfectly balanced, not too sweet, with a slight tang that keeps it from being too rich. You can make it while the cupcakes are cooling, so everything comes together easily.

If you want something even lighter, my Ermine Frosting is a great option. It’s silky, smooth, and tastes like pastry cream but with a soft, airy texture that pairs beautifully with these cupcakes.

How To Decorate Your Cupcakes

I like finishing these cupcakes by piping a swirl of my strawberry buttercream on top. Fill a piping bag with an open star tip and pipe the frosting on top. Finish with a strawberry half in the frosting.

Pro Tip: I’d add the strawberry half to the frosting no more than 30 minutes before you serve the cupcakes so it doesn’t weep into the frosting. Strawberries hold a lot of water!

The Best Way To Store Your Cupcakes

Store cupcakes in the fridge for up to three days in a container with the lid slightly open. This prevents excess moisture, which can make the liners peel. Let them come to room temperature before serving.

Tried this recipe and loved it? Awesome! Drop me a comment below and tell me about it! Can’t wait to hear how it turned out for you! You can also keep up to date with me during the week by joining me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!