Make Strawberry Cupcakes From Scratch
I don’t know why, but finding a good strawberry cupcakes recipe is just so dang hard. Okay, maybe I do know why, but it’s still frustrating. I finally got around to trying my hand at making them from scratch and I cannot wait to tell you about it!
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The Problem with Strawberry Cupcakes
This goes for strawberry cakes too. The big problem is, how do we get a natural tasting strawberry flavor into the batter? Using fresh or frozen strawberries is a common option, but you have to be careful not to create a batter that is too wet.
Other recipes use strawberry flavored gelatin. While I haven’t ever tried that, I just don’t like the sound of it. Definitely not a bad idea, but I prefer a cake with a more natural flavor if possible. I used a drink mix to make my Watermelon Cake simply because there was not other option.
Enter Freeze Dried Strawberries
Have you baked with freeze dried fruit yet? I absolutely love using it to flavor macarons, frosting, and now cake! It adds all of the flavor of fresh fruit without any of the moisture. That’s the perfect solution to our strawberry cupcakes snafu.
But freeze dried strawberries aren’t the most cost efficient option. I get mine at Target and they cost about $3- $5 per bag. So in order to get the biggest bang for my buck, I threw in just a dash of strawberry emulsion. It helps boost the flavor without tasting like an artificial strawberry candy.
Making Strawberry Cupcakes From Scratch
Now that we’ve sorted out the flavor, let’s move onto the recipe. This recipe is based off of the same recipe I used to make my Grapefruit Cake. It’s super simple and uses the creaming method.
After I pulsed my freeze dried strawberries in my mini food processor, I threw it all into the dry ingredients without sifting out the larger chunks. You always could, but I didn’t mind the idea of a few strawberry seeds and chunks in the batter. To get a bright pink, I added 3 drops of deep pink gel color.
Top Tips for Cupcakes
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This will help everything blend nicely and give your cupcakes a nice texture.
- Scrape down your bowl often. Butter and sugar can hide out at the bottom of your bowl. Make sure everything gets blended!
- Do NOT over mix. Once you add the wet and dry ingredients, keep the speed on stir and only mix to combine.
- Place some dried rice (½ – 1 teaspoon) in the bottom of each cupcake cavity before adding your paper cases.
- Use a large cookie scoop to perfectly portion your cupcake batter.
Related Reading: 12 Cake Tips & Tricks for Beginners
Top Off Your Cupcakes
Strawberries and cream are a delicious combo. I think that my stabilized whipped cream would be the perfect way to finish these strawberry cupcakes off, but I’ve only just thought of that.
Instead, I used my faux cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese frosting tastes like happiness on a rainbow unicorn, but it can be problematic. So instead, I used a buttercream flavored with cream cheese flavor oil. Such a tasty idea.
Make a Mini Strawberry Cake
I used some of this batter to make a mini strawberry cake! Mini cakes, so hot right now. I’ll put notes in the recipe card so that you can make your own mini cake, if you want.
Mini cakes can be a bit tricky to frost, but have patience and work gently. It’ll all come out beautifully! Want to see me frost and decorate one? Check out this Mini Mint Chocolate Chip Cake (it’s got 2 layers) or my Mini Fall Cake (it’s got 3 layers).
Time for a Taste Test!
So, did my idea for a strawberry cupcakes recipe from scratch with freeze dried strawberries pan out? Yes! Huzzah!
The strawberry cupcakes are soft, moist, adorable, and, most importantly, taste like delicious strawberries. I love the cute pink shade, but you could also add a drop of red to deepen it slightly.
Enjoy!
I hope you enjoy making these strawberry cupcakes from scratch as much as I did! My house smelled delicious the entire day. This recipe is fantastic because you can enjoy fresh baked strawberry cupcakes all year long. No need to wait for fresh berries to be in season.
Want to check out some of my cake and cupcake videos on YouTube? Check out the Bakes & Blunders channel! I try to add a new video every other week. Make sure to subscribe and slap that bell to get notified when I add something new.
Happy Baking!
Strawberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 4 oz all- purpose flour
- 1 oz cake flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 tsps baking powder
- 1 oz freeze dried strawberries
- 4 fl oz milk
- Gel food color
- 4 oz unsalted butter room temperature (1 sticks)
- 7 oz sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp strawberry emulsion
- 2 eggs room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pan with paper cases and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Pulse the freeze dried strawberries in a mini food processor and add to the dry ingredients. Whisk to combine, then set aside. In a measuring glass, combine the milk and gel food color. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and strawberry emulsion on a medium speed for about 8 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down as needed.
- With the mixer on low, beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl down as needed.
- With the mixer still on low, add one third of the flour mixture. Once combined, drizzle in half of the liquid mixture. Scrape the bowl down and repeat the process. Scrape the bowl down again and add the final addition of flour. Mix until just nearly combined. Then fold the mixture with a spatula until combined.
- Use a scoop to divide your batter among 14 cupcake cavities. Bake for 18- 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back when poked and a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5- 10 minutes. Then place on a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- I used 3 drops of deep pink food gel.
- To prevent greasy paper cases, place about a 1/2 tsp of uncooked rice in the bottom of each cavity. Then add your paper cases, fill, and bake.
- If using 4 inch cake pans, add 6- 7 oz of batter to each pan and bake 25- 30 minutes.
My Favorite Products for this Recipe
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
2 Comments
Felicia
What are the measurements in cups for the all-purpose flour, cake flour, milk, and sugar?
Colleen
I don’t have the measurements by volume for these ingredients. I use a scale because it’s quick, easy, and reliable. If you look up any conversions online, just be aware that this could cause issues with the recipe.