Mar 2009

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES WITH STRAWBERRY FROSTING

While surfing Martha Stewart dot com for cupcake porn, my friend Carissa discovered this delightful recipe from Candace Nelson of Sprinkles Cupcakes fame. As soon as she sent me the link, I wanted to fire-up the oven and line my muffin tins. I prepared the cake as written, but added more strawberry puree and reduced the amount of sugar for the frosting (the proportions below reflect these tweaks). The cupcakes turned out strawberryliciously—the cake was moist and light, while the frosting was pleasantly fruity. Garnish with fresh strawberries or colorful sprinkles.

For cupcakes

  • 2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
  • 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 2 large egg whites, room temperature

For frosting

  • 1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
  • Pinch of coarse salt
  • 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

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Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.

Strawberry Cupcakes

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.

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In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

Strawberry Cupcakes-2

With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

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Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.

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Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Make frosting

Strawberry Cupcakes-3

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners’ sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not over-mix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES WITH STRAWBERRY FROSTING

Recipes by Candace Nelson courtesy of Martha Stewart (Strawberry Cupcakes, Strawberry Frosting). [For Printable Recipe Click Here]

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73 thoughts on “Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

  1. Wow, that really looks “strawberrylicious.” How does it taste compared to Sprinkles Cupcakes?

    BTW, did you ever make it to NorCal (SJ Mercury News, was it?)

  2. Now you are making me feel guilty with your real strawberries. I was planning on making some Betty Crocker Strawberry flavored mini cupcakes. They have artificial flavor and a crazy pink shade, but they are delicious. =) Your cupcakes look great.

  3. Holy cow, these are DELICIOUS–exactly what I was looking for! They are full of fresh strawberry taste, w/ light, spongy cake and dense, creamy frosting. And they were easy enough that my 3-year-old made them with me! MMMMMM…

  4. Just finished baking this recipe and they turned out great. Recipe was easier than the puree and boil down method I have read. I thought the frosting was too sweet but then again you don’t have to kill the cake with it. Thanks for the recipe!

  5. Ok, you’re my hero for saying “cupcake porn”. Seriously, I can relate. Totally whipping these up tomorrow.

  6. Pingback: Strawberry Filled Coconut Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting | That's Cooking!
  7. Awesome! I’ve been meaning to try Martha’s recipe but I love your tweaks and will use your version. Perfect time while strawberries are atill in season.

  8. I am so looking Forward to making these for my daughters birthday. She wanted me to go to this crazy expensive bakery but I think this will be even better!!! thanks for the recipe!!! I will be back to let you all know how they turned out!!

  9. mmmmmmm theae are one of the best cupcakes in the world i have had to and already want a third!

  10. I made these cupcakes and they turned out great!

    This was my first time making frosting. I have only used chocolate ganache before.

    I stuck to the original 3 and 1/4 cups of cemfectioners sugar in the frosting and it tasted divine, though my frosting wasn’t as dense and thick as yours … it was just a little runny but still spreadable….what do think went wrong?

  11. My cupcakes did not look like your beautiful ones. They were much paler even after 24 minutes.I did not think the strawberry taste was strong enough. I also had problems with the frosting and found it too sweet but I am not a huge butter cream fan. I mixed the puree with confectioners sugar to make a nice strawberry icing. My kids preferred that.

  12. Thank you for the recipe. I look forward to trying it for my daughter’s first birthday party tomorrow. However, I wonder if you could set up some sort of print-friendly option so that if someone (um, like me!) wanted to print up a recipe they didn’t end up printing out 10 pages of your blogroll?

  13. I made these amazing cupcakes and blogged about them! Obviously gave you the credit … your step-by-step photos really helped me, and I’ll definitely make these again & again! Crave-worthy!

  14. I made the Martha Stewart recipe last year and thought it was ok, but these are wonderful. I tweaked the recipe a bit also and added more straberry puree to the cake. The frosting is divine. Thanks for this recipe.

  15. cake part was good – light and fluffy. i do not recommend the frosting…tasted like pure butter with strawberry flavor to me. also i had trouble with the frosting and it came out chunky.

  16. I only needed a recipe for frosting, so I tried this one.

    First: people complaining about the frosting being too sweet? It’s FROSTING, people. It’s supposed to be sweet. If you don’t like sweet, don’t use frosting.

    Second: Maybe my strawberry puree was runnier than yours, but after adding the 3 Tbsp…it turned into sloppy goop. I had to add maybe a cup more icing sugar before it got any kind of consistency at all, and even then it wasn’t the lovely butter-cream consistency I was hoping for.

    Third: Naturalists can hate me, but I added one drop of red food coloring so it looked just a bit more pink.

    AND Last: It tasted great. So…thanks! I put my frosting on chocolate cupcakes, and it was a great combination.

  17. While this recipe is excellent and very easy to make, I have made them twice now and no one has been able to tell that the cupcakes themselves were supposed to be strawberry. There simply was no strawberry taste to them. I like to think it is because most people are used to the fake box “strawberry” flavored cakes, but it seems like a lot of work to go through for strawberry cupcakes that don’t taste like it. Would finely chopped strawberries work better or would there not be enough liquid then for the batter?

  18. I just finished eating a FROSTINGS Strawberry cupcake which promped me to search for a recipe to make my own. These sound delicious. I can’t wait to try them.

  19. Your frosting is close to one that I have been working on. Here it is…It is a big receipe for frosting a cake.

    2 cups chopped fresh strawberries.
    2 sticks soft butter
    2 lbs of confectionery sugar (7cups)
    1 tbs vanilla (I use the real thing)

    puree strawberries in blender
    blend butter and sugar on high
    blend in strawberries
    add vanilla to taste

    resist the urge to whip frosting after you have added the strawberries as it will break down.

    refrigerate for two hours before frosting cake or cupcakes.

    Yes, frosting should be sweet, but not so sweet that it turns you off. Adding the vanilla cuts that icky sweetness and the “powdered sugar” taste of the sugar.

  20. Wowwee! Just made these, the best cup cakes i’ve ever made. I’ve only ever made a basic cup cake mixture before, these are much lighter and springier and they come out flat; brilliant. The strawberry flavour came through lovely. I’ll be making these for my mum’s birthday on Wimbledon final day, served with fresh whipped cream and strawberries.
    Yum yum.

  21. Would the amount be enough for a cake cake my husband wants a strawberry cake for his birthday but wants a cake not cupcakes.

  22. These are awesome! I added more strawberry purée to the batter until it had a more definitive strawberry taste. Also, my icing Was goop. It wasn’t a super big deal since I was filling a fondant covered cake, so the filling was “dammed” in by buttercream. However, next time I will make a thick cream cheese frosting and add purée.

  23. I just made this!!!!! I used 1/2 cup of puree in the cakes. Try to use half shortening for the butter in the frosting recipe, chopped not puree well-drained frozen strawberries or really ripe fresh ones and it will be pretty well in consistency. Try it.

  24. Shirley – Yes, you can use frozen strawberries that have sugar added. To adjust for the additional sugar, I would suggest decreasing some of the sugar called for in the recipe. It’s usually difficult to calculate exactly how much sugar is added to the strawberries, so do your best to guesstimate.

  25. Hayley – It sounds like your butter was too warm and started to melt. Next time, make sure the butter is “firm and slightly cold.” Does that sound like the culprit?

  26. they look so yum but can i yous other type of suger like plain suger or caster suger?

  27. those cakes look scrublies but my fav is still poppy seed cake and banna cake with coclate chips, but for the strawberry frosting can i still yous other suger like plain suger or caster suger see im still only ten and i love bakeing and cooking i got for chrismas heaps of cooking stuf. ps, they gosh cooking finely gets my mind of the boys at school teasing me about Juliet and romeo at least i do acttuly look like Juliet but younger.

  28. im going to give away 3 of my fav recipes,
    the first one is banna cake with choclate chips.

    125 g. butter
    3/4 cup. caster suger
    2 eggs, lightly beatien
    1 1/4 cups self raising flour
    1 teaspoon bicarboate of soda
    2 table spoons of milk
    3/4 cup mashed banna, 2 bannas
    1/2 cup choc bites
    or you can add 1/4 cup of pecan nuts chopped

    preheat oven 180oc brush 23cm fluted
    ring pan with mellted butter or oil. eletrioc beat butter and suger until light and creamy, graduly add eggs mash banna, transfer to a lage bowl metal spoon fold in stiffed flour soda atternatly with milk stir threw banna pecans and chos chips. bake 40-45 min cool in tin for
    10 min. if you like it write back but to see my other to recipes look at the one below this one.

  29. the next recipe im going to tell you is could poppy seed cake.
    1/3 cup of poppy seeds
    3/4 cup of milk
    185g butter
    2 teaspoons vanila ensennce
    1 cup caster suger
    3 eggs
    2 cupes self raing flour
    orange grind and juice

    line lofe pan with greaseing papaer grease well
    combine poppy seeds and milk stan 1 hour add butter enssence suger eggs stifted flour orange juice and grind beat low until combined
    beat medium 3 minnets or util change couler bake moderate oven 1 hour stand 5 min in pan
    look below this one to see my last recipe

  30. my last recipe is choc chip shortbread cookies

    250g butter
    2 teaspoons of vanilla enseence
    1/3 cup caster suger
    2 1/4 cupes plain flour
    1/4 cup rice flour
    1 pacet choc chips

    beat together suger butter and vanila sift and stir in 2 flours add choc chips
    180oc or 160oc fan
    10-12 minnets approx 40 biscites
    if you like these recipes later on today or tomorrow im going to tell you 3 more of my fav! so keep checkeing

  31. by the way the very last 3 im going to tell u soon is

    apple and cherry crumble
    choclate pudding pie
    custed kisses

  32. hi again here is my 3 i was going to tell you this one is choclate pudding pie,

    3/4 cup suger
    3 heaped corn flour
    7 level tabl cocca
    1/4 teaspoons salt
    3 cups milk
    3 tabl margarion
    1 1/4 teaspooons vanila

    base,
    16 biscutes
    2 tabl suger
    3 tabl butter

    of heat mix all dry ingredients
    turn on stove to medium gradully add
    milk, stir bring to boil take off heat
    stir in margarine and vannlia
    refriderate

    base mush up bicutes wish a rolling pin
    stir in suger and butter.

  33. tried the cupcakes!! did not know cakes taste so well with milk in the recipe!! thanks!! did this with my kiddo!!

  34. I made these cupcakes and frosting for Valentines Day and they were perfect! I was wondering if they translate to cake form well. Has anyone tried that? A friend who had one of the cupcakes would like the cake for her upcoming birthday.

  35. Katie – I tried using this recipe to make a cake and it turned out very dense! They’re perfect in cupcake form, but as a cake, not so much.

  36. I tried this receipt last weekend, using strawberries I bought at the market. They are delicious ! I did not use all the frosting, only used about a third, it just gave the additional flavour and sweetness.

  37. Just made these but topped them with a chocolate buttercream frosting and they are DELICIOUS!! Loved the soft texture to the cake and the punch if strawberry flavor. Also, loved the fact that recipe was all simple ingredients. No gelatins or added flavorings. Thanks for my new standby strawberry recipe!

  38. Just made these this weekend for my daughter’s first birthday party. They turned out great!
    I used a different recipe for the frosting. I used the following:
    1/2 cup of butter (1 stick) slightly cold
    1 lb of powdered sugar
    1 cup of strawberry puree
    A few drops of milk
    Mix together the sugar and butter and strawberry puree and add some milk to reach the texture you like.
    They were yummy and had a lot of great strawberry flavor!

  39. I made these for my family and got many many compliments. They look and taste absolutely amazingly good! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!! And I loved the photos as well.

  40. Mary June – I’ve never used strawberry flavoring before, so I’m uncertain whether or not it can be used in this situation. If you choose to experiment, please let me know how it turns out. Thank you!

  41. hi i am 17 years old and my friend made strawberry frosting that was the bomb and so i kept looking online for the recipe and i found it here and i am making the frosting today i recommend the cream cheese frosting its Delicious.

  42. This is pure evil!
    Right from the diet site and then here looking at all that delicious cookies and deserts 🙂
    Maybe the diet should wait till tomorrow!

  43. Just made these today… they are just heavenly.. so moist. i also added some small cube of strawberrys in the batter. so there were brust of flavor in every bite.i think the amount of frosting was tooo much for 12 cup cakes…. i had to put really huge amount on top of the cakes.. never the less it was soooooooo damn good.. thanks for the recipe.. will surely make it again and again.. 🙂

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