1 hour 25 minutes

Strawberry Filled Cupcakes

These delicious strawberry filled cupcakes are the perfect cupcakes for spring. Bursting with fresh strawberry filling and topped with strawberry buttercream frosting, these cupcakes are exactly what you need for strawberry season!

My kids have been lamenting lately that I need to develop more desserts for the blog. It’s true – I do tend to neglect desserts. Here’s the thing. When I work on dinner recipes, then after a long day of work, dinner is already made. When I work on breakfast recipes, then after a long day of work, dinner is already made! (Breakfast for dinner is definitely a thing here). When I work on dessert recipes, dinner is… not made. I suppose I could serve cupcakes for dinner and instantly become the best mom in the history of the world, but I have yet to do it.

In an effort to not deprive my kids any longer, I am putting dinner in the crock pot and resolving to make more dessert this season! First up… strawberry filled cupcakes. These delicious strawberry cupcakes are made with a store-bought vanilla cake mix doctored up with fresh strawberries (feel free to use a tried-and-true vanilla cake recipe if you like to bake from scratch). After baking, they are filled with homemade strawberry filling and topped with strawberry frosting. Strawberry is one of my favorite dessert flavors, and with strawberry season coming up, these light and fluffy cupcakes are the perfect treat! 

For more easy dessert recipes, try my mini apple crumble tarts or peach pie with canned peaches!

A strawberry filled cupcake cut in half to show the fresh strawberry filling. More cupcakes, and a basket of berries, are in the background.

You Will Love This

  • These cupcakes are perfect sweet treats to make with your fresh strawberries this spring. 
  • These would also be a great choice for a Valentine’s Day party with their vibrant pink color. 
  • This recipe uses a box of vanilla cake mix as the base to save time. If you like to bake from scratch, you could use a tried-and-true vanilla cupcake recipe. 

Ingredients

To make these strawberry filled cupcakes, you need the following ingredients (exact measurements are in the recipe card below).

Ingredients for strawberry cupcakes on a marble background.

For the cupcakes:

  • Vanilla cake mix: I used Betty Crocker’s Super Moist Vanilla Cake Mix
  • Fresh strawberries: The freshest, reddest berries are best! They will be the sweetest. 
  • Sugar: This is to help sweeten the berries. The amount you need will vary depending on how sweet your strawberries are, so add it to taste! The berries should taste about as sweet as a high quality fresh strawberry jam. I used a couple of teaspoons of sugar for my berries. 
  • Eggs
  • Vegetable Oil
  • Water
  • Sugar 
Ingredients for strawberry frosting on a marble background.

For the frosting:

  • Salted butter
  • Powdered sugar
  • Vanilla extract
  • Milk
  • Freeze-dried strawberries: My grocery store carries freeze-dried fruit near the nuts and trail mix. To give this buttercream frosting a strong strawberry flavor without making it too watery, I pulsed freeze dried strawberries in the food processor to make a strawberry powder. 

Instructions

Making the Cupcakes

Step One: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wash the fresh strawberries and remove the green tops. Put the strawberries in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 5-6 times until the strawberries are finely chopped. A few small chunks of berries are fine. If you do not have a food processor, finely dice the berries. Add the diced strawberries and sugar to a small bowl and set aside.

The bowl of a food processor with whole strawberries, not yet blended.
The bowl of a food processor with blended strawberries.

Step Two: Make the cupcake batter. Add the cake mix, eggs, oil and water to a large mixing bowl. Mix the batter with an electric mixer, or by hand with a wire whisk, for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Fold 1/2 cup of the macerated strawberries into the cupcake batter.

A glass bowl of vanilla cupcake batter on a marble background.
A glass bowl of vanilla cupcake batter on a marble background, with diced strawberries being stirred into the batter with a spatula.

Step Three: Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Use a medium cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to scoop batter into the prepared cupcake pan. This recipe makes 18 cupcakes, so can prepare two separate pans or bake them in batches. Put the pan in the oven on a center rack, and back for 18-20 minutes, until the top of the cupcake springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean. 

A cupcake tin with cupcake liners filled with strawberry cupcake batter, not yet baked.
A cupcake tin with baked strawberry cupcakes.

Step Four: Remove the cupcakes from the baking tin and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, use a paring knife to cut a small hole into the center of each cupcake. Be careful not to cut all the way through the cupcake. Use a small spoon to spoon about a tablespoon of the macerated strawberries into the middle of each cupcake.

A strawberry cupcake with a hole cut out of the middle. A spoon is spooning strawberry filling into the hole.

Making the Frosting

Step Five: Add room temperature butter to a mixing bowl. With an electric hand mixer on low speed, mix the butter until creamy. Add the powdered sugar little by little until fully incorporated into the butter. Add the vanilla extract and milk, and beat the mixture for 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed until creamy. Set the vanilla buttercream aside. 

Tip: Make sure you are using room temperature ingredients for the frosting! If you use cold butter, the frosting won’t come together. 

A glass bowl with vanilla buttercream frosting, with an electric hand mixer resting in the bowl.

Step Six: Add the freeze-dried strawberries to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Fully blend the strawberries until they make a smooth strawberry powder. You don’t want any large chunks of strawberries left, they will be gritty in the frosting.

The bowl of a food processor with blended freeze-dried strawberries.

Step Seven: Add the freeze-dried strawberry powder to the vanilla buttercream. With the mixer on medium-high speed, mix the strawberry powder into the frosting. If the frosting becomes too dry or grainy, add a little more milk and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.

A glass bowl with vanilla buttercream frosting topped with freeze-dried strawberry powder, with an electric hand mixer resting in the bowl.
A glass bowl with strawberry buttercream frosting.

Step Eight: Use a piping bag to pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes. Don’t worry about the hole where you added the strawberry filling! The frosting will cover it right up and keep all that yummy filling inside! Garnish each cupcake with some extra diced strawberries or a halved strawberry and enjoy!

A cooling rack with strawberry cupcakes topped with strawberry buttercream and a sliced berry.
A strawberry filled cupcake cut in half to show the fresh strawberry filling. More cupcakes, and a basket of berries, are in the background.

Strawberry Filled Cupcakes

These delicious strawberry filled cupcakes are the perfect cupcakes for spring. Bursting with fresh strawberry filling and topped with strawberry buttercream frosting, these cupcakes are exactly what you need for strawberry season!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Cooling Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 18 servings
Calories 393 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the cupcakes

  • 1 pound strawberries
  • 2 teaspoons sugar to taste
  • 1 box vanilla cake mix
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup water

For the frosting

  • 1 cup salted butter
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 6 tablespoons milk
  • 2 ounces freeze dried strawberries

Instructions
 

Make the cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wash the fresh strawberries and remove the green tops. Put the strawberries in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 5-6 times until the strawberries are in finely chopped. A few small chunks of berries are fine. If you do not have a food processor, finely dice the berries.Add the diced strawberries and sugar to a small bowl and set aside.
  • Make the cupcake batter. Add the cake mix, eggs, oil and water to a large mixing bowl. Mix the batter with an electric mixer, or by hand with a wire whisk, for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Fold 1/2 cup of the macerated strawberries into the cupcake batter.
  • Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Use a medium cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to scoop batter into the prepared cupcake pan. This recipe makes 18 cupcakes, so can prepare two separate pans or bake them in batches. Put the pan in the oven on a center rack, and back for 18-20 minutes, until the top of the cupcake springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean. 
  • Remove the cupcakes from the baking tin and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, use a paring knife to cut a small hole into the center of each cupcake. Be careful not to cut all the way through the cupcake. Use a small spoon to spoon about a tablespoon of the macerated strawberries into the middle of each cupcake.

Make the Frosting

  • Add room temperature butter to a mixing bowl. With an electric hand mixer on low speed, mix the butter until creamy. Add the powdered sugar little by little until fully incorporated into the butter. Add the vanilla extract and milk, and beat the mixture for 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed until creamy. Set the vanilla buttercream aside. 
  • Add the freeze-dried strawberries to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Fully blend the strawberries until they make a smooth strawberry powder. You don't want any large chunks of strawberries left, they will be gritty in the frosting.
  • Add the freeze-dried strawberry powder to the vanilla buttercream. With the mixer on medium-high speed, mix the strawberry powder into the frosting. If the frosting becomes too dry or grainy, add a little more milk and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.
  • Use a piping bag to pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes. Don't worry about the hole where you added the strawberry filling! The frosting will cover it right up and keep all that yummy filling inside. Garnish with a halved strawberry and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 393kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 3gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 295mgPotassium: 122mgFiber: 1gSugar: 42gVitamin A: 371IUVitamin C: 53mgCalcium: 82mgIron: 2mg
Keyword strawberry filled cupcakes
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