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Easy Strawberry Cupcakes use my favorite method for doctoring cake mix to make cupcakes that are bursting with strawberry flavor. Top them with strawberry buttercream for double the sweetness!
You guys, it’s been quite the start of a week.
I know I shouldn’t complain at all because we just got home from an amazing vacation in Boca Grande, Florida, but I seriously feel like I’m suffering from a vacation hangover.
I’m so freaking tired, I have pretty much zero motivation to cook, bake, or even work.
Napping. That’s pretty much what I have motivation for right now.
I blame it all on Ohio’s weather – rain, clouds and just all around blah-ness. Which is pretty much the complete opposite of the glorious weather we just experienced for two weeks.
If I’m being real, I haven’t even unpacked my suitcase. I kinda keep telling myself there’s realllllly no point because it’s 40 degrees in Ohio right now, so it’s not like a beach wardrobe is a necessity.
However, instead of napping, or binge watching something on Netflix, I’m trying to get our lives back into a routine.
Even my sweet babe is having a hard time getting back into the swing of things and has consistently begged me for just 5 more minutes every morning I’ve gotten her up for school.
Basically we’re all struggling around here.
When we are all on the struggle bus like this, I like to reach into my arsenal of easy recipes. Sometimes just the act of baking, even if it’s something simple like Easy Strawberry Cupcakes, can kick my butt back into gear.
MAKING STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES WITH CAKE MIX
You guys love my Doctored Cake Mix. I get a ton of questions from readers curious if they can adapt the recipe with different flavor combinations.
Of course you can! This is one of my all-time favorite tricks.
I am all about berry recipes this time of year, so turning a simple vanilla cake mix into Easy Strawberry Cupcakes is a must.
Boxed vanilla cake mix combines with Greek strawberry yogurt and fresh strawberries to create simple, moist cupcakes that are bursting with strawberry flavor.
The diced fresh strawberries in the batter are what really make Easy Strawberry Cupcakes out-of-this-world good. They add extra flavor and texture to these cupcakes.
Add on a swirl of strawberry buttercream and you’ve got one stellar cupcake with minimal fuss.
STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
Of course you can top your Easy Strawberry Cupcakes with any flavor of homemade buttercream frosting that you like. (Lemon frosting would be delish!)
But me? I love to double the strawberry flavor with strawberry buttercream frosting.
To make buttercream bursting with flavor and tinged a natural light pink, I simply swapped the milk I would normally use in my buttercream for fresh strawberry puree.
You can add a drop or two of food coloring if you’d like an even bolder pink color, but I personally like seeing the darker flecks of strawberry in the light pink frosting.
MORE EASY CUPCAKE FLAVORS
If strawberries aren’t your thing, that’s ok. You can use the method for these Easy Strawberry Cupcakes to make other fruity cupcake flavors.
The world is your oyster here, folks!
Try it with peach Greek yogurt and fresh peaches, or blueberry yogurt and fresh blueberries. I’d love to hear the combinations you come up with, and how they worked for you.
Easy Strawberry Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 box French Vanilla cake mix 15.25 ounces
- ½ box instant vanilla pudding mix 3.4-ounce box
- 1 cup Greek strawberry yogurt
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup water
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup diced fresh strawberries about 10 medium berries
For the Frosting:
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 1.5 pounds confectioners' sugar sifted (24 ounces or about 5.5 cups)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- About 8 medium fresh strawberries pureed (you'll need 4-5 tablespoons of puree)
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, Greek yogurt, oil, water, eggs and vanilla. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined. Fold in diced strawberries
- Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells; about 3 tablespoons of batter per well.
- Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched. Allow cupcakes to cool inside muffin tins for about 10 minutes. The cupcakes may develop a slight divot in the center as they cool, but no worries, you'll cover that with delicious frosting.
- Remove cupcakes from muffin tins and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, prepare your frosting.
For the Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes.
- Turn the mixer down to low speed and gradually add in the confectioners' sugar until it is completely incorporated. Add in vanilla and 3 tablespoons of the strawberry puree, mix until incorporated. Turn off the mixer and check the buttercream for taste and texture. Gradually add in the last 2 tablespoons of strawberry puree until you reach the desired level of strawberry flavor. Please note that adding more than the recommended 5 tablespoons could result in a thinner frosting. Turn the mixer back up to medium-high speed and beat the mixture for about 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and if desired, garnish with fresh strawberries.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m 39 years old and this is the most amazing and moist cake I’ve ever made. Definitely a keeper. A did a Bundt cake instead of cupcakes for a birthday. Cooked at 350 for 50 minutes and it was perfect!
Hello-
So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving y our feedback. Have a great day and happy baking!
-Jamie
Made these yesterday with a yellow cake mix and substituted sour cream for the yogurt. My family raved about these and have declared them a new favorite! Will be making them again soon!
I love hearing that, Angel! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing. Happy baking!
Jamie
Hi! Is olive oil a no-no as a replacement for vegetable oil? Or will the taste and/or texture be negatively affected?
Hi Ana – The texture will be fine. The flavor might differ a bit; olive oil has a pretty specific flavor, whereas vegetable oil is very neutral in flavor. Extra-virgin olive oil has the strongest flavor, so it would definitely add a specific flavor to the recipe. Hope this helps! Happy baking –
Jamie
Yummy
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Happy baking!
-Jamie
How many days advance can you make these cupcakes, and how would I store them?
These are pretty moist, so I would only make them maybe the day before and store them in the refrigerator overnight if you want them to be just like they are on day 1. If you don’t mind them being a bit more moist, you could maybe stretch that an extra day or two. Hope this helps! Happy baking –
Jamie
Hi! These are beautiful! Can you tell me what tip is used to get this pattern on the frosting? Thank you!
Hi Carie – A 4B tip will work here! Happy baking!
-Jamie
I am living overseas and can only find Vanilla rather than French Vanilla cake mixes…any advice on how I make my Vanilla mix more “French”.
Hi Amy-
Regular vanilla cake mix should work just fine. Thanks for stopping by!
-Jamie
Hi, what can we use instead of eggs in the recipes shared by you?
Hello! I don’t regularly bake with egg substitutes and don’t test my recipes with them, so I am not sure of what would work best. If you happen to give something a try, I’d love to know how it turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
I made this with the strawberry cake mix (what I had on hand), vanilla pudding mix, strawberry rhubarb Greek yogurt (Noosa) and whatever strawberries we had left to pop inside the batter! I had premade vanilla frosting so I just lightly drizzled that on top to make it look like a light “glaze”. They were delicious! I feel like they had more of a muffin consistency vs a cupcake (which was great for me!) I think in the future it will be my go to strawberry muffin recipe! They were super delicious without the frosting! (I didn’t mean to alter recipe I’m just using what we had in hand!). For Easter Sunday, I’m going to try the original for my family :)
So happy to hear you enjoyed the cupcakes, Angel! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
In the uk what is our equivalent of the pudding mix would it be Angel Delights is it an instant whip type dessert thankyou x
Hello! Unfortunately, I am not familiar with UK products so I am not sure what the best option would be. Hopefully another commenter will be able to help!
Jamie