Deliciously soft and moist strawberry cupcakes are made with roasted and reduced strawberry puree for a natural strawberry flavor. Topped with a gorgeous strawberry cream cheese frosting these strawberry cupcakes are the perfect summer treat!
Can I just say how pretty are these cupcakes?! Seriously the rich pink frosting just screams eat me, eat me! So beautiful!
These strawberry cupcakes are made all natural no artificial dyes here! The actual cake part of the cupcake is made with roasted strawberries that have been pureed and reduced down for a more concentrated flavor. The cake bakes to more of a light brown color, if you want the distinct pink color feel free to add a few drops of food dye. It doesn't bother me so I don't.
The frosting is my strawberry cream cheese frosting recipe, it is heavenly.
I had so much fun making these cupcakes and shooting them. I haven't made cupcakes in a lonnnnng time, luckily my friend Valentina over at The Baking Fairy was hosting a Cupcake Lovers Day Party, so I was forced to make some! What a rough life I live 😉
Let's get to the recipe.
What are the ingredients for Strawberry Cupcakes?
While you can chop up strawberries and put them into the cake batter I want more of a strawberry flavor, so I prefer to use a strawberry puree. I also love roasting strawberries (directions below).
- Strawberries
- Granulated Sugar
- Salted Butter, at room temperature
- Vegetable or Canola Oil
- Granulated Sugar
- Whole Egg + Large Egg Yolk
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Cake Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Buttermilk
1 Batch of Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
How do you roast strawberries?
Depending on the size of your strawberries I either cut them in half for smaller ones or slice them in thirds for larger berries. Place them on a baking sheet and drizzle granulated sugar on top, shake them around to evenly coat the berries.
Roast at 400F/ 204C for ten minutes then flip the berries and roast for an additional 10 minutes. Let cool for at least ten minutes before attempting to puree them.
When cooled place roasted strawberries in a food processor or blender and blend until a smooth puree is formed. Now you could use this as it is now or you can reduce it to concentrate the flavor.
To reduce strawberry puree place it in a small pot over low-medium heat and cook it for 5-15 minutes, stirring frequently. A batch of 16oz roasted strawberries made about 9oz of Strawberry Puree and I reduced it down to 6oz.
Set aside in an airtight container before use. You can do this up to 3 days before you plan on making the strawberry cupcakes.
How do you make Strawberry Cupcakes?
Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line a cupcake tin with liners, set aside.
Combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the butter for two minutes until light and fluffy. Add the vegetable oil, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure the butter and oil fully combine.
Once the oil and butter are fully combined add the granulated sugar and mix for 3 to 4 minutes.
Once the butter and sugar are light and fluffy add the egg, mix until fully combined then add the yolk and vanilla extract.
Next, add the strawberry purée, making sure to scrape down the bowl so there are no white marks left.
Add half of the dry mixture, mix to combine, then add half of the buttermilk and repeat the process one more time. Make sure to not over mix the cupcake batter
Using a large cookie scoop fill each cupcake liner 2/3 of the way. If you overfill the cupcakes will spew over, it won't be cute! Bake the cupcakes for 14-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in comes out with no wet batter
Let the cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
You could use just about any frosting you want on top of these strawberry cupcakes. But I wanted to stick with the strawberry theme so I used my strawberry cream cheese frosting. It's made with freeze-dried strawberries, so the strawberry flavor is totally there!!
If you want you can top the cupcakes with a small strawberry. The gorgeous pink frosting and fresh berry on top make these cupcakes irresistible!
Craving more strawberry sweets? Try:
More strawberry recipes
Next time try making the recipe for chocolate cake with cream and strawberries. Or my strawberry cream cheese pie, its make ahead and absolutely scrumptious!
Please let me know if you make this Strawberry Cupcakes recipe by leaving a rating and review below!
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Strawberry Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 25 Minutes
- Total Time: 2 Hours 55 Minutes
- Yield: 18 Cupcakes 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Deliciously soft and moist strawberry cupcakes are made with roasted and reduced strawberry puree for a natural strawberry flavor. Topped with a gorgeous strawberry cream cheese frosting these strawberry cupcakes are the perfect summer treat!
Ingredients
Roasted Strawberry Puree
- 8oz (1/2 Pint) Strawberries
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
Strawberry Cupcakes
- 4oz (1/2 Cup/ 1 Stick) Salted Butter, at room temperature
- 1oz (1 1/2 Teaspoons) Vegetable or Canola Oil
- 200 Grams (1 Cup) Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Whole Egg + 1 Large Egg Yolk
- 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 250 Grams (2 Cups) Cake Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3oz Reduced Strawberry Puree
- 4oz (1/2 Cup) Buttermilk
- 1 Batch of Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
Roasted Strawberry Puree
- Preheat oven to 400F/205C. Cut your strawberries. Depending on the size of the strawberries I either cut them in half for smaller ones or slice them in thirds for larger berries. Place the berries on a baking sheet and sprinkle granulated sugar on top, shake them around to evenly coat the berries.
Roast for ten minutes then flip the berries and roast for an additional 10 minutes. Let cool for at least ten minutes before attempting to puree them.
- When cooled place roasted strawberries in a food processor or blender and blend until a smooth puree is formed. Now you could use this as it is now or you can reduce it to concentrate the flavor.
- To reduce strawberry puree place it in a small pot over low-medium heat and cook it for 5-15 minutes, stirring frequently. This batch of roasted strawberries made about 5oz of strawberry puree and I reduced it down to 3oz.
Strawberry Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line a cupcake tin with liners, set aside.
- In a medium size bowl combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the butter for two minutes until light and fluffy. Add the vegetable oil, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure the butter and oil fully combine.
- Add the granulated sugar to the oil/butter and mix for 3 to 4 minutes. Next, add the egg, mix until fully combined then add the yolk and vanilla extract. Then add the strawberry purée, making sure to scrape down the bowl.
- Add half of the dry mixture, mix to combine, then add half of the buttermilk and repeat the process one more time. Make sure to not over mix the cupcake batter
- Scoop each cupcake liner 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes for 14-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in comes out with no wet batter.
Notes
You can make the strawberry puree up to 3 days ahead of time
Keywords: strawberry cupcakes, strawberry cake, scratch strawberry cupcakes
Valentina | The Baking Fairy says
These strawberry cupcakes are seriously gorgeous! I can't believe I have never roasted berries... clearly, I'm missing out. Thank you so much for participating! 🙂