Strawberry Cupcakes – Spend With Pennies

This sweet strawberry cupcake recipe embraces everything we love about summer!

This is a super easy shortcut recipe starting with a doctored cake mix! We add a boost of strawberry flavor and bake until fluffy!

Topped these cupcakes with a swirl of fresh strawberry frosting for the perfect bite.

Easy Strawberry Cupcakes 

• The secret to these delightfully delicious cupcakes is the addition of strawberry Jell-o in the batter!
• Bake strawberry cupcakes as minis, regular, or jumbo sized and they’ll be the hit of any party or picnic!
• Keep summer going all year long. Make batches of strawberry cupcakes, cool, and freeze until ready to frost!
• Top with fresh strawberry frosting and enjoy!

Ingredients

Cake Mix – Any brand of white cake mix works for this recipe! To change it up, swap white cake for lemon cake mix. Use the dry mix in the recipe below.

Frosting – Keep this 4-ingredient recipe on hand to use on future baked treats! Prepared frosting can be used if time is short, like a plain white frosting, or for a cheesecake flavor use ready-made cream cheese frosting. Scoop the frosting into a large bowl and gently fold in the strawberry puree.

Add a dash of strawberry extract and/or red coloring if desired.

How to Make Strawberry Cupcakes

The hardest part will be waiting for these to be ready to eat!

1. Mix cupcake ingredients and bake (as per the recipe below).
2. Prepare strawberry frosting using fresh or freeze dried strawberries per the recipe below.
3. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.

Top with a little scoop of macerated strawberries.

Cupcake Tips & Tricks

• Eggs will whip up better and produce a lighter, fluffier cupcake if they are at room temperature. Run eggs under warm water or place them in a cup of warm water for a couple of minutes.
• Use an ice cream scoop to create uniform portions into each cupcake well.
• Let the butter soften at room temperature for faster mixing. Add powdered sugar a bit at a time until frosting is the desired consistency. Mix in a little heavy cream if the frosting becomes too thick.
• If you’re not using cupcake liners, use a pan-release with flour to ensure that they won’t stick inside the pan.
• Strawberry puree must be cooled completely before making it into frosting or else the butter will melt and the frosting won’t be light and fluffy. Prepare the puree several hours ahead or even the day before and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Use a non-stick pan or skillet with a wide surface to cook the strawberry puree, this helps it gel faster and prevents it from sticking to the pan.

Storing Strawberry Cupcakes

Keep leftover strawberry cupcakes in a covered container for up to 4 days. Freeze cupcakes in zippered bags for up to 4 months and thaw until ready to ice, or freeze frosted cupcakes wrapped in plastic for up to 3 months.

Strawberry Surplus?

Did you make these Strawberry Cupcakes? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!

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Strawberry Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Frosting

These strawberry cupcakes always turn out extra moist and the frosting captures the sweet summery flavor of the strawberries!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Cupcakes

• Combine all cupcake ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix with a hand mixer on low for 1 minute. Mix on medium for 2 minutes.

• Line 24 cupcake wells with liners or grease very well.

• Divide the batter evenly between the wells.

• Bake according to box directions.

Fresh Strawberry Frosting

• Puree fresh strawberries in a food processor until smooth *see notes for freeze-dried strawberries. Place in a non-stick saucepan over medium heat and simmer until reduced to ⅓ cup (approximately 15 minutes) while stirring. Cool completely.

• Cream butter and 1 cup of powdered sugar with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add the cooled strawberry puree and mix well.

• Add powdered sugar a bit at a time until the frosting is thick and fluffy. If the mixture is too thick, heavy cream can be added 1 tablespoon at a time to reach desired consistency.

• Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.

To Make Frosting With Freeze-Dried Strawberries, substitute fresh berries with 1 cup freeze dried strawberries. Pulse the dried strawberries in a food processor to form a powder and add to the butter mixture in place of the strawberry puree.
Ensure cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting.
Ensure the puree is completely cooled before adding to the frosting.

5 from 9 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here!

Calories: 368 | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 494mg | Potassium: 94mg | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 725IU | Vitamin C: 14.3mg | Calcium: 121mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Cake, Dessert

Cuisine American

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