Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting~ Purely From Scratch

When visiting cupcake shops, I almost always opt for a strawberry cupcake if one is on the menu {not that I stop at just one cupcake}.  Ever since a friend made me a strawberry cake with strawberry frosting for my birthday when I was in sixth grade, strawberry has been my favorite.  Funny thing is, I'm absolutely certain she used a boxed mixed and canned frosting.  And for years I have been on a mission to make a purely from scratch strawberry cake recipe~ no boxed mixes, no strawberry jello, just old~fashioned, homemade strawberry cake.  Sadly, success has not come quickly.


Fresh, ripe, huge strawberries and a little helper are key to making your own strawberry cupcakes.

This past winter I treated myself to the Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook purely to try the cupcake recipes.  I made the birthday ones and my husband raved about them.  I have yet to make their strawberry ones.  I'm acting like my two year old and being quite stubborn, insisting that I know what I want in a strawberry cupcake.



I looked over some recipes for other cupcakes and cakes that I really like that involve fruit, trying to mimic some of them.  After a few trials {deflated cupcakes, lack of strawberry taste, etc.}, I decided to keep this recipe.  It is more of a pound cake and does not have a fine cupcake crumb, but it is moist and strawberryful and a pretty, all natural pink.  Oh, I forgot to say they are quite tasty, too.

Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
3 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup pureed, strawberry puree

Strawberry Frosting {recipe follows}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cupcake pans (24 cupcakes) with liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend cream cheese 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 the eggs and mix until just blended.

Add half of the flour mixture to cream cheese blend and fold in til lightly combined; add half of the puree and fold in lightly.  Continue with the remaining flour mixture and puree, just to combine all ingredients.  Scrape bottom and sides of bowl and incorporate into batter.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake in preheated oven for 20~25 minutes, until tops spring back when touched. Cool completely before frosting.  Makes 24~28 cupcakes.

Strawberry Frosting
8 oz butter, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 tbsp strawberry preserves
6~8 c powdered sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth.  Add one tablespoon of preserves and two cups of powdered sugar.  Blend to combine well.  Continue adding preserves, one tablespoon at a time, and sugar, two cups at a time, blending between each addition until smooth.  Frost cooled cupcakes.  Refrigerate cupcakes until serving.  Allow cupcakes to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before enjoying.

Tips and Tricks~
*Use an ice cream scoop to quickly, neatly and accurately fill cupcake tins.
*Fold in flour and puree by hand, not with a mixer.  Over mixing will ruin your cupcakes.
*To make strawberry puree, use fresh sliced strawberries with no added water.  I like my Kitchenaid hand held blender for this job.  It has a handy measuring cup to mix it in so measuring is simple.
*I found that 3 cups of sliced strawberries equaled 1 1/2 cups of puree each time I made these.
*These are an excellent choice for spring and summertime parties~ not to sweet and so pretty.