Strawberry Filled Cupcakes

You gotta love a strawberry! And these cupcakes are the perfect celebration of everyone’s favorite fruit – soft vanilla cupcakes, filled with a juicy strawberry center and frosted with creamy strawberry buttercream.

These Strawberry Filled Cupcakes are made with real strawberries and are a must-try! This recipe is made from vanilla cupcakes filled with a fresh strawberry filling and topped with a strawberry frosting, no strawberry jam here!

If you love fruity bakes as much as I do, also try out these Raspberry Cupcakes or this recipe for an Apricot and Almond Loaf Cake.

Ingredients

To make these Strawberry Filled Cupcakes you will need the ingredients listed below. Make sure you are using fresh room temperature ingredients.

• Sunflower oil
• Extra-large eggs
• Granulated white sugar
• Self-raising flour
• Salt
• Whole milk
• Vanilla extract
• Fresh strawberries
• Lemon juice
• Castor sugar
• Unsalted butter
• Powdered sugar

Sunflower oil – Sunflower oil is a type of vegetable oil and is great to use in bakes as a substitute for butter. Here, it ensures a moist vanilla cupcake. All vegetable oils have different properties and therefore taste - so be sure to pick sunflower oil when making this cupcake batter.

Self-raising flour – if you can’t find self-raising flour use a combination of cake flour and baking powder. Sift together 290 grams of cake flour and one tablespoon of baking powder. Continue with the recipe as instructed.

Fresh strawberries – I recommend making this recipe when you have access to fresh strawberries. But you can make it with frozen strawberries instead. Just be aware that frozen fruits have a higher water content so you will need to reduce the strawberry sauce for a little longer.

Lemon juice – always use freshly juiced lemons when baking. They have a far greater flavor than bottled lemon juice.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

This recipe for strawberry cupcakes is broken into three parts. The vanilla cupcakes, the strawberry puree, and the strawberry buttercream.

Instructions for vanilla cupcakes

STEP 1: Beat eggs, sugar, and oil. Add the oil, eggs, and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.

STEP 2: Add dry ingredients. Sift together the salt and flour and add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.

STEP 3: Add milk and vanilla. In a jug combine the milk and vanilla, and slowly pour this into the cupcake batter with the motor of the mixer running at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, making sure it is lump-free.

STEP 4: Bake. Fill 24 cupcake liners with the cupcake batter, filling them ¾ of the way up the liner. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C (350F) for 12 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Instructions for strawberry filling

STEP 1: Heat strawberries, lemon juice, and castor sugar. In a small pan set over medium heat, add the chopped strawberries, lemon juice, and castor sugar. Heat until the sugar has melted and the strawberries soften.

STEP 2: Macerate. Use a potato masher to macerate the softened strawberries. You want the strawberries to be chunky but small enough to pass through a piping bag.

STEP 3: Divide. Use a measuring cup to remove a ⅓ cup of the strawberry mixture from the saucepan and blend it in a food processor until smooth. Place the remaining strawberry mixture into a piping bag and allow both to cool to room temperature. You can put them in the fridge if you are in a rush.    

Instructions for strawberry buttercream frosting

STEP 1: Beat butter and icing sugar. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and icing sugar. Beat at medium speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.

STEP 2: Add milk and vanilla. In a jug combine the milk and vanilla, with the motor of the mixer running at low speed slowly add the milk mixture. Continue until it has all been added. Then increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl often.

STEP 3: Add strawberry sauce. Add ⅓ cup of smooth strawberry sauce to the buttercream and beat until just combined. Place the buttercream into a prepared piping bag.

STEP 4: Decorate. Using an apple or cupcake corer remove the center of each cupcake. Fill the middle of the cupcake with the chunky strawberry sauce and swirl the top with strawberry buttercream. Decorate with fresh strawberries and edible flowers.

Hint: if the buttercream looks too soft and almost split because you have added too much strawberry sauce, just add more icing sugar. Start with ⅓ of a cup at a time.

Variations

If you are unable to find strawberries, this recipe will work with other berries like raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries.

Equipment

For buttercream frostings, I recommend using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer. This is because they help get the buttercream fluffy. You will also need 24 cupcake liners and 2x 12-hole cupcake tins. For decorating I used disposable piping bags and a large piping tip.

Storage

Since these cupcakes are filled and topped with fruit, I recommend placing any left-over cupcakes in an airtight container and storing them in the fridge. They will keep for up to 3 days. Bring them back to room temperature before eating them.

I do not recommend freezing these strawberry-filled cupcakes.

These strawberry cupcakes with their homemade strawberry filling are delicious! I hope you give this cupcake recipe a try, and if you do please leave a comment and star rating below. I would love to hear from you.

Don’t forget to get in touch on Instagram @with_love_kitty

Happy Baking

With Love,

Kitty

📖 Recipe

Strawberry Filled Cupcakes

These Strawberry Filled Cupcakes are a must-try! Soft vanilla cupcakes, filled with real strawberries and frosted with strawberry buttercream.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Course Cupcakes

Cuisine American

Servings 24 cupcakes

Equipment

• 2x 12-hole cupcakes pans

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Vanilla Cupcakes

• 120 ml sunflower oil
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 250 grams granulated white sugar
• 290 grams self-raising flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 270 ml whole milk

Strawberry Sauce

• 300 grams strawberries, fresh
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 40 grams castor sugar

Strawberry Buttercream

• 160 grams unsalted butter
• 500 grams icing sugar
• 25 ml whole milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup strawberry sauce

Instructions

 

Vanilla Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line 2 cupcake trays with 24 cupcake liners.
• Add the oil, eggs, and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
• Sift together the salt and flour and add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.
• In a jug combine the milk and vanilla, and slowly pour this into the cupcake batter with the motor of the mixer running at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, making sure it is lump-free.
• Fill 24 cupcake liners with the cupcake batter, filling them ¾ of the way up the liner. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C (350F) for 12 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Strawberry Sauce

• Wash and chop the strawberries.
• In a small pan set over medium heat, add the chopped strawberries, lemon juice, and castor sugar. Heat until the sugar has melted and the strawberries soften.
• Use a potato masher to macerate the softened strawberries. You want the strawberries to be chunky but small enough to pass through a piping bag.
• Use a measuring cup to remove a ⅓ cup of the strawberry mixture from the saucepan and blend it in a food processor until smooth. Place the remaining strawberry mixture into a piping bag and allow both to cool to room temperature. You can put them in the fridge if you are in a rush.  

Strawberry Buttercream

• In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and icing sugar. Beat at medium speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
• In a jug combine the milk and vanilla, with the motor of the mixer running at low speed slowly add the milk mixture. Continue until it has all been added. Then increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
• Add ⅓ cup of smooth strawberry sauce to the buttercream and beat until just combined. Place the buttercream into a prepared piping bag.
• Using an apple or cupcake corer remove the center of each cupcake. Fill the middle of the cupcake with the chunky strawberry sauce and swirl the top with strawberry buttercream. Decorate with fresh strawberries and edible flowers.

Keyword berry, buttercream frosting, strawberry, strawberry buttercream, strawberry cupcakes

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