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Full of fresh strawberry puree, strawberry frosting is a summery addition to your favorite cakes and cupcakes!
If you’re a baker and a parent, you probably know how birthdays are often a chance to come up with new recipes. You never know what kind of cake your kids are going to request, after all.
When my right-hand woman, Stephie, was preparing for daughter’s third birthday this year, she asked her what kind of cake she wanted. The answer? Pink!
So this strawberry frosting got paired with a strawberry cake (recipe coming soon!) and she had one happy three year old.
So of course we had to make sure all of you had this strawberry frosting recipe, too. After all, you never know when someone else might need to make their toddler a pink cake!
STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM FROSTING WITH FRESH STRAWBERRIES
When you bake as much as I do, it’s good to have a few different frosting recipes up your sleeve.
I mean, it’s pretty hard to go wrong with my homemade buttercream frosting – it’s a reader favorite for a reason! And there are times when cream cheese frosting is the perfect choice.
But sometimes you want something a little different, ya know?
That’s when I love to make strawberry frosting!
I’ve seen quite a few recipes out there. Some of them use jam, some of them use freeze-dried strawberries. But I like to use fresh strawberry puree in mine.
I like that the fresh strawberries don’t add any additional sugar like a jam would, just fresh strawberry flavor!
Plus the pretty pink color it gives the frosting is just so lovely.
Can you use frozen strawberries in this frosting?
If you live somewhere where fresh strawberries aren’t always readily available or where they aren’t super sweet and flavorful in the winter, don’t worry.
You can easily use frozen strawberries in this recipe instead. Just make sure you thaw the berries before you puree them.
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY FROSTING
If you’ve always been intimidated by the idea of making your own frosting, don’t be! It’s super easy and the texture and flavor is incredible.
Other ingredients you’ll need
In addition to the strawberry puree, you only need three other ingredients for this strawberry frosting:
- Unsalted butter: Make sure your butter is at room temperature before you try to make the frosting. I have some tips for how to soften butter quickly if you forget to set it out ahead of time.
- Powdered sugar: This recipe needs a lot of powdered sugar. I have a post on how to make powdered sugar – if you run out, you can use those tips for making a great substitute that you can use in this frosting.
- Vanilla extract: Even though this is a strawberry frosting recipe, a little bit of vanilla goes a long way in rounding out the flavors and taking the frosting to the next level.
Making this recipe
You will definitely want a mixer for this recipe. I recommend a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, but you can use a hand mixer as well.
Before doing anything else, beat the softened butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes.
After that, you can turn the mixer to low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Once the sugar is totally incorporated, add the vanilla and about 3 tablespoons of the strawberry puree.
Give the frosting a taste, checking the flavor and the texture. You can decide if you’d like to add more of the remaining puree for more strawberry flavor and a creamier texture. I almost always add the full 5 tablespoons.
It’s important to note that you can add more than 5 tablespoons of puree, but it would result in a thinner frosting, so keep that in mind before adding more.
When the flavor is where you want it to be, turn the mixer back to medium-high and beat for another 3-4 minutes to make the frosting super light and fluffy.
Now it’s ready to pipe or spread onto your favorite cakes or cupcakes!
USAGE IDEAS
This strawberry frosting is delicious on all sorts of cakes and cupcakes.
Of course it’s perfect for pairing with simple vanilla cupcakes or yellow cake, but it can even be a yummy addition to funfetti cupcakes.
Use my doctored cake mix to whip up a quick and easy cake or cupcakes in almost any flavor to pair with it.
Want to go the chocolate route? Try it with the best chocolate cake, black magic cake, or eggless chocolate cake.
And, of course, you can’t go wrong with putting strawberry frosting with strawberry layer cake or easy strawberry cupcakes!
STORAGE AND FREEZING
Once the frosting has been piped onto your cake or cupcakes, you can store them at room temperature or in the fridge if your house is warm. If you go the fridge route, let the cake or cupcakes come to room temperature before serving.
If you want to make the frosting ahead of time, place it in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
When you’re ready to use the frosting, let it come to room temperature. Then whip it with your mixer for a minute or two to revive the texture before piping or spreading onto your cake.
You can even freeze this frosting! Freeze it in an airtight container for up to a month.
To thaw, place it in the refrigerator for up to a day. Let the frosting come to room temperature and whip it with your mixer for 1-2 minutes before piping or spreading onto your cake.
No matter how you enjoy it, this strawberry frosting is sure to be a recipe you’ll come back to again and again.
Strawberry Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 1.5 pounds confectioners' sugar 24 ounces or about 5.5 cups, sifted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- About 6-8 medium fresh strawberries pureed (you’ll need 4-5 tablespoons of puree)
Instructions
- 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.
- Spread or pipe onto cake or cupcakes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent recipe, I used it on my daughter’s birthday cake – a nice, natural colour and the slight tartness of the strawberry offsets the sweet buttercream.
I love this recipe but I used cream cheese instead of butter and it came out really good
Hello Jamie! Can you please specify what 2 cups of butter means? I got 250g package from a store. Thank you, Andrea
Hi Andrea – If you toggle to “metric” under the ingredient list in the recipe card, it will tell you how many grams you need of each ingredient. Hope this helps!
Jamie
How do you make the strawberry puree? Do you add sugar? Do you crush them by hand or in a food processor?
Hi Julie – Just pop fresh strawberries in the food processor! Hope this helps –
Jamie
Is it possible to make the frosting with less sugar? I’m making this for someone who likes frosting when it’s not too sweet.
Alternatively, what would you recommend to reduce the sweetness of the frosting so it’s more subtle?
Thank you!
Hi Martina – Unfortunately you really can’t make american buttercream-style frostings (like this one) without less sugar – it would result in a frosting that just tastes buttery. If you’re looking for a less sweet frosting, I’d recommend going with something like a whipped cream frosting: https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/whipped-cream-frosting/
Jamie
Can I use freeze dried strawberries? How much should I use?
Hi Melissa – I have not made this recipe with freeze-dried strawberries, so I’m not sure how much you would need. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how it turns out for you. Happy baking!
Jamie
can i substitute the strawberries with cherries??
Hi Tiffany – I have not tried this substitution so I can’t attest to the result. If you give it a try, I’d love to know how it turns out for you. Happy baking!
Jamie