Nothing says spring to this California girl like fresh strawberries and I decided to incorporate some into my favorite cupcake recipe because I’m beyond ready for spring. I’ve made strawberry buttercream frosting in the past and it’s out of this world. I knew it would be amazing paired with the vanilla cupcakes that I’ve been wanting to make for a while.
I used my all time favorite doctored up cake mix recipe as the base for this cupcake recipe. I swapped out the chocolate ingredients in the original recipe for vanilla and the results were amazing. I always get so many compliments on chocolate version that I should have known these would be good. I’m not sure why I ever use a from-scratch cupcake recipe since discovering this semi-homemade version.
I just cleaned, sliced and pureed a pint of strawberries for the frosting and added them to a basic buttercream. I never thought I liked buttercream until I started making it myself, but now I use it pretty much exclusively. It’s super easy to do once you get the hang of it and homemade frosting can make such a difference in any cupcake recipe.
Some quick tips on frosting:
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Frosting is not like cake batter – don’t be afraid to whip it for a while. I throw the softened butter in my mixer and let it go for about 5 minutes. (I’m super impatient so I usually set timer and walk away.)
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When adding the sugar, I do 1/2 cup at a time and mix completely in between to prevent grainy frosting.
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If all that mixing makes your frosting a smidge thin, just toss it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. It will come back to the right consistency that way or you can always add more sugar.
I want to eat these, now! I’ve never had much luck with making buttercream or scratch (or semi-scratch) cupcakes. I’m gonna give this a try.
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