Do you love strawberry desserts as much as I do? These easy Vanilla Cupcakes and the super simple Strawberry Buttercream recipe can be ready in less than an hour.
You’ll love these confetti cupcakes too.
Let’s start with these super moist and fluffy cupcakes. I call them easy vanilla cupcakes and they truly are. I’ve used this cupcake recipe a lot (see my Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes and Lamington Cupcakes) and what I really love about it is the fact that there is no creaming of butter and sugar. This saves you time both on waiting for butter to soften and on creaming them together.
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How to make Easy Vanilla Cupcakes
Beat together 2 eggs and a little vanilla with a handheld beater until they start to become frothy (only 30-40 seconds) then mix through the buttermilk (photo 1). Now add half the flour and mix (photo 2)
Next, add all the melted butter and mix it through (photo 3) before finishing with the remaining flour mixture (photo 4).
The finished batter (photo 5) is quite liquid – that’s normal – and they will take a little longer to bake due to being such a wet batter (around 24 minutes). I use a medium ice cream scoop to portion out the batter which makes life so easy (photo 6) and fill the cupcake cases to about ¾ full.
How to make strawberry buttercream
Just 6 ingredients (photo 7) – icing sugar, butter, vanilla, cream, a touch of salt and the secret ingredient – freeze dried strawberry powder.
This strawberry buttercream is so simple. Just beat together butter and icing sugar until it looks really light and whipped (photo 8).
Add the cream, vanilla, salt and freeze dried strawberry powder (photo 9) and beat to combine and it’s done (photo 10).
What are freeze dried strawberries?
Freeze dried strawberries are real strawberries that have had all the moisture removed through a method called freeze drying. They’re sweet, have an intense flavour and are completely natural. Just pure strawberry meaning they have most of the nutritional benefits you would find in fresh strawberries.
The fact that all the moisture has been removed makes them perfect for making strawberry buttercream as there is no need to compensate for added moisture by adding more icing sugar as you would if you used strawberry puree.
It incorporates perfectly into the frosting and gives it a strong strawberry flavour with no hidden ingredients and the buttercream has a silky soft and whipped texture.
Substitutions
- Swap the freeze dried strawberries out for any other freeze dried fruit.
- Cut a hole in the centre of the cupcake and add strawberry jam before piping the buttercream for even more strawberry flavour.
Pretty as a picture, these Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream would be perfect for an afternoon tea, Mothers Day or girls birthday party.
More recipes you might like
- Strawberry Sheet Cake
- Strawberry Frangipane Tart
- Simple Strawberry Flan
- Coconut Strawberry Cupcakes
- Strawberry Mousse Tart
- Strawberry Lemon Blondies
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Ingredients
FOR THE EASY VANILLA CUPCAKES
- 195 g (1 1/2 cups / 6.9oz) plain (all-purp) flour
- 30 g (1oz) corn flour (cornstarch)
- 1 1/4 cups white granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 113 g (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
FOR THE STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM
- 226 g (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 1/2 cups (325g / 11.4oz) icing (powdered / confectioners) sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (approx 22g) freeze dried strawberries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons thickened cream (notes)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced. Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, sift together the plain flour and corn flour. Add the sugar, baking powder and salt and stir well so everything is evenly distributed
- Beat the eggs and vanilla together well, until they become frothy (you can do this by hand, or with a hand beater or in a stand mixer and it should only take around 30-40 seconds).
- Add the buttermilk to the eggs and mix, followed by half the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Now add the melted butter and mix well, followed by the remaining dry ingredients. Gently mix and fold to combine (a few very small lumps is fine).
- Fill the cases to about 3⁄4 full, then bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Make sure to turn the tray halfway through cooking so they all cook evenly.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for 5-10 minutes before transferring the cupcakes to a wire rack.
FOR THE WHIPPED BUTTERCREAM
- Use a blender to blend the freeze dried strawberries to a powder.
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on low-med for 6 minutes (or until it’s looking very pale and whipped). Scrape down the sides half way through then continue beating.
- With the mixer on low, add the sugar 1 spoon at a time until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the salt, vanilla and cream and beat for 3 minutes at medium speed until it looks light, thick and whipped.
- Add the freeze dried strawberry powder and beat for another 2 minutes.
Notes
- I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (= 4 teaspoons worldwide).
- For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- I use a medium ice cream scoop to portion out the batter.
- I use these silicone muffin trays for my cupcakes as I like the tall shape it gives them.
- If you don’t have a food processor or blender, you can just put the freeze dried strawberries in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to gently bash them to a powder.
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4 Comments on “Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream”
I want to make these tomorrow for a post Covid “friends” get Together, as my 16-year-old daughter had to celebrate her birthday without her friends during Covid. Can someone help me please? In your recipe, what does it mean by “thickened cream”. Does this mean heavy whipping cream? Heavy cream? Half-and-half? I am a seasoned baker and do not understand what this means. Your vanilla buttercream frosting looks absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to try it, as well as the made from scratch vanilla cupcake that uses regular flour! I hate buying cake flour as I never seem to use it and it ends up spoiling.
Hi Amanda, Thickened cream is the same as heavy cream. It’s just what we call it in Australia. You can also use whipping cream (not whipped). You’re just after a 35% milk fat or so, pourable cream.
I need to make a vanilla cupcakes, I’ve never made one before! And I love your use of freeze dried strawberry, it’s definitely the best for frosting, so much flavor!
I eat freeze dried fruits straight out of the pack. Love them. You definitely need to try a delicious vanilla cupcake too.