Why It Works
- Creaming room temperature butter with sugar aerates the cake, giving it a fine, even crumb.
- Using underripe berries provide a tangy sweetness without adding excess moisture.
- Freeze-dried strawberries give the frosting a rosy pink hue and fruity flavor.
I spend a lot of time dreaming of all the wonderful things I can make when local strawberries are available—that’s summer where I live in the Northeast, but lucky people in other parts of the country get local strawberries much, much earlier. At the top of my list for my haul when strawberry season arrives—besides the usual suspects like pie, crisp, and compote—are these gorgeous strawberry cupcakes.
Topped with a rosy pink buttercream and freeze-dried strawberries, these vanilla-scented cupcakes are light, tender, and speckled with fresh strawberries. They’d make a delightful contribution to a picnic, potluck, or special occasion. The recipe for this cute dessert comes from Melissa Gray, our Birmingham, Alabama-based test kitchen colleague, who was determined to come up with cupcakes that not only look pretty but are also really bursting with strawberry flavor. After making several batches, she finally landed on a version she was happy with: a soft vanilla cake with subtle tartness from sour cream and plenty of sweet, tangy flavor from just-ripe strawberries. Here’s how to make your own at home.
Serious Eats / Jen Causey
3 Tips for Flavorful Strawberry Cupcakes
Cream the butter and sugar well—and use room temperature ingredients. Butter is most pliable at cool room temperature, making it easy to beat with the sugar. Creaming butter and sugar together helps trap little air bubbles in the batter; as the cake bakes, those bubbles expand, helping to leaven the cake. Because you’re using softened butter, it’s essential to make sure your other ingredients are all room temperature. Adding cold eggs, sour cream, and milk will seize the butter and break the emulsion of creamed butter and sugar, giving the cake an uneven crumb.
Use slightly underripe strawberries in the cake batter. Ripe berries are delicious, but not great for baking. The juicier the berries, the more water they contain—and the more water they’ll release when cooked. For this reason, we recommend using berries that are just beginning to ripen and still have a white ring around the hull.
For a more flavorful frosting, incorporate freeze-dried strawberries. To give the buttercream a bold but balanced berry flavor, we incorporate crushed freeze-dried strawberries, which have a lot of flavor but very little moisture. The dried fruit gives the frosting a sweet, tart flavor without affecting the thick, creamy texture of the frosty. As a bonus, they also turn the frosting a lovely shade of pink.
This recipe was developed by Melissa Gray; the headnote was written by Genevieve Yam.
Serious Eats / Jen Causey
How to Make Strawberry Cupcakes That Are Berry, Berry Good
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For the Cupcakes:
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6 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour (192 g; 1 1/2 cups)
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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1/4 teaspoon baking soda
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1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
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4 ounces unsalted butter (113 g; 1 stick), at room temperature
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5 1/4 ounces granulated sugar (150 g; 3/4 cup)
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1 large egg, at room temperature
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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2 ounces sour cream (60 g; 1/4 cup), at room temperature
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2 ounces whole milk (60 g; 1/4 cup), at room temperature
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3 ounces finely chopped fresh strawberries (85 g; 1/2 cup)
For the Strawberry Frosting:
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6 ounces unsalted butter (170 g; 12 tablespoons), at room temperature
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1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
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1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
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12 ounces unsifted confectioners’ sugar (340 g; 3 cups)
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3 tablespoons heavy cream (1 1/2 ounces; 45 g)
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2 tablespoons (10 g) crushed freeze-dried strawberries
To Garnish:
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Halved fresh strawberries
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Crushed freeze-dried strawberries
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Adjust oven rack to middle position, and preheat to 350°F (175ºC). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners; set aside. Fit a piping bag with desired piping tip for frosting; set aside.
Serious Eats / Jen Causey
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Prepare the Cupcakes: In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until creamy, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add egg and vanilla, and beat until just combined, about 15 seconds.
Serious Eats / Jen Causey
Serious Eats / Jen Causey
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In a spouted measuring cup, stir together sour cream and whole milk. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture, alternating with sour cream mixture, and beat until just combined after each addition, about 1 minute. Using a flexible spatula, fold in strawberries until evenly combined, about 15 seconds. Evenly divide batter between prepared muffin cups, about 1/4 cup (about 2 ounces; 57g) each. Clean and dry mixer bowl. (Alternatively, batter can be prepared in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer.)
Serious Eats / Jen Causey
Serious Eats / Jen Causey
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Bake until a cake tester or wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cupcakes cool in tray on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from tray; let cool completely on wire rack, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Serious Eats / Jen Causey
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Meanwhile, prepare the frosting: In the now-clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter and salt on medium speed until pale and creamy, about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla until just combined. With mixer on low speed, gradually add confectioners’ sugar, and beat until combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add cream and crushed freeze-dried strawberries, and beat on medium speed until fluffy and combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer frosting to prepared piping bag. Set aside at room temperature until ready to use.
Serious Eats / Jen Causey
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Pipe frosting on top of each cooled cupcake until completely covered. (Alternatively, use an offset spatula to spread frosting on top of each cupcake until completely covered.) Garnish with strawberry halves and crushed freeze-dried strawberries.
Serious Eats / Jen Causey
Special Equipment
12-cup muffin tray, paper liners, piping bag and piping tip or offset spatula, stand mixer, wire rack
Make-Ahead and Storage
Frosted cupcakes without the fresh and dried strawberry garnish can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerated for up to 1 week. If refrigerating, let cupcakes come to room temperature before serving.
Unfrosted cupcakes can be tightly wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw for 4 to 8 hours overnight at room temperature.