Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes are the recipe that Teresa made the first summer she decided that strawberry shortcake was too good and too beloved to be limited to the months when you could slice a proper shortcake and she wanted to bring those same flavors to a format that could appear at birthday parties, summer picnics, and casual afternoon gatherings without any of the assembly complexity.
She creamed the butter and sugar, built the vanilla batter, macerated the strawberries with sugar and lemon juice while the cupcakes baked, and then piped the fluffy buttercream in a ring around the edge of each cooled cupcake, leaving the center deliberately open for a spoonful of the juicy macerated strawberries to nestle inside. The result was exactly as beautiful as she had imagined and considerably more delicious.
Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes are the individual-portion celebration version of the most beloved summer dessert. A tender and buttery vanilla cupcake made from properly creamed butter and sugar for the most delicate and light crumb, topped with a ring of fluffy vanilla buttercream piped high enough to create a well in the center, filled with fresh macerated strawberries in their own ruby syrup. Portable, beautiful, completely customizable, and absolutely extraordinary. Come follow us on Pinterest where we share beautiful summer dessert recipes and easy celebration cupcakes from our kitchen every single week.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe
This Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes recipe is the summer celebration bake that combines the fun and portability of a cupcake format with all the flavor elements that make classic strawberry shortcake so completely irresistible. The macerated strawberry filling is the element that makes these cupcakes genuinely special rather than simply a strawberry-topped vanilla cupcake. Dicing the berries small, tossing with sugar and lemon juice, and allowing them to sit for 15 minutes produces a lightly syrupy and deeply flavorful filling that drips beautifully into the buttercream ring when spooned into the center.
The piped buttercream ring is the presentation technique that elevates these cupcakes from pleasant to genuinely stunning. Piping a border rather than covering the entire cupcake top creates a defined well in the center that holds the strawberry filling in place and makes every cupcake look like a miniature version of a professionally assembled shortcake. It takes only slightly more time than spreading frosting and produces a dramatically more impressive result. Our Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes make a beautifully bright and colorful companion for a complete and vibrant summer cupcake spread alongside these strawberry shortcake versions.
Ingredients Needed for This Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1¾ cups Granulated Sugar
- 4 large Eggs, room temperature
- 1½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3¼ cups All-Purpose Flour, sifted with baking powder
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1¼ cups Whole Milk
For the Vanilla Buttercream:
- 1 lb Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- 5 tbsp Heavy Cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 pinch Salt
For the Strawberry Filling:
- 4 cups Fresh Strawberries, diced into ¼-inch pieces
- 1 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
How to Make This Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners for a total of 24 cupcakes.
Sift the flour and baking powder together into a medium bowl to ensure the leavening agent is evenly distributed with no pockets or clumps. Set aside. Ensure the eggs are at room temperature. Cold eggs added to a creamed butter mixture cause the batter to break and curdle rather than incorporating smoothly into a uniform emulsion.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is genuinely light, fluffy, and pale yellow in color. Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once during this process. This creaming step is the foundation of the cupcake’s texture and it requires the full time to incorporate enough air into the butter for a light and delicate finished crumb, cara mia.
Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until fully incorporated before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla extract. Add the sifted flour mixture to the batter in approximately three additions alternating with the milk in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix on low speed after each addition until just combined. Do not overmix the batter once the flour is added.
Divide the batter evenly among the 24 prepared cupcake liners, filling each approximately two thirds full. Overfilling creates dramatically domed tops that are difficult to frost neatly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
While the cupcakes bake and cool, prepare the strawberry filling. Dice the fresh strawberries into very small pieces of approximately one quarter inch. Toss with the tablespoon of sugar and teaspoon of lemon juice in a bowl and allow to macerate for at least 15 minutes. The sugar draws out the strawberry juices and the lemon juice brightens the flavor. Drain off some but not all of the accumulated juice before using, reserving the extra juice for drizzling.
For the buttercream, beat the room-temperature butter in a large bowl on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until light and creamy. Add the sifted powdered sugar gradually, beating on low speed after each addition. Add the heavy cream, vanilla, and pinch of salt. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 to 4 minutes until the frosting is light, fluffy, and holds stiff peaks.
To frost, spread a thin base layer of buttercream over each completely cooled cupcake. Fit a piping bag with a large star or round tip and fill with the remaining buttercream. Pipe a generous ring around the outer edge of each cupcake, building it high enough to create a defined well in the center that will hold the strawberry filling. Spoon the macerated strawberries into the center of each frosted cupcake, allowing some of the juices to drip onto the buttercream ring for the most beautiful and natural-looking presentation. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
How to Serve This Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe
Serve the cupcakes on a tiered stand or a white platter for the most beautiful presentation. The combination of the golden cupcake, the white piped buttercream ring, and the jewel-red strawberry center makes these cupcakes genuinely stunning arranged together.
For maximum impact, add the strawberry filling to the center of each cupcake no more than 30 minutes before serving so the buttercream ring holds its shape and the strawberries are still at their most vibrant and fresh. Our Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes make a beautifully bright and plant-based companion for a complete and colorful summer cupcake spread alongside these strawberry shortcake versions.
How to Store This Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe
Store frosted cupcakes without the strawberry filling in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Add the macerated strawberry filling just before serving. Cupcakes with the strawberry filling already added are best consumed the same day as the berries begin to soften and release moisture into the buttercream making it progressively looser over time.
To freeze, store the unfrosted cooled cupcakes in a single layer in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature, frost, and add the strawberry filling before serving.
Tips to Make This Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe
Fill the cupcake liners only two thirds full without exception. Overfilled cupcake liners produce dramatically domed tops that look like mushrooms and make clean piped frosting borders nearly impossible to achieve. Two thirds full produces a flat or very gently rounded top that is the ideal surface for the piped buttercream ring technique.
Pipe the buttercream ring high enough to actually contain the strawberry filling. A shallow low border will not hold the macerated berries and they will roll off the top of the cupcake immediately when spooned in. The ring needs to be at least as tall as the strawberry pieces are deep, approximately half an inch, for it to function as an effective container.
Helpful Notes for This Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe
The maceration time for the strawberries is the detail most easily abbreviated and the one that makes the most significant difference to the quality of the filling. Fifteen minutes of macerating produces a modest amount of juice and partially sweetened berries. Thirty minutes produces a considerably more syrupy and deeply flavored filling with berries that taste fully integrated with the sugar and lemon. If you have the time, macerate for the full 30 minutes for the best result.
The buttercream for these cupcakes is made from butter only with no shortening, which gives it a beautiful and genuine butter flavor but also makes it slightly more sensitive to warmth than a shortening-based frosting. On a warm summer day, refrigerate the frosted cupcakes immediately after piping and add the strawberry filling no more than 30 minutes before serving.
Variation of This Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe
Maria made a version adding a teaspoon of fresh lemon zest to the cupcake batter alongside the vanilla extract for a lemon vanilla cupcake base that paired extraordinarily well with the fresh strawberry filling and gave the whole cupcake a bright and summery citrus-forward character. Teresa tried topping the strawberry filling with a small additional swirl of whipped cream instead of buttercream for a lighter and more classically shortcake-adjacent result that was completely beautiful.
For a blueberry shortcake version, substitute the strawberries in the filling with fresh blueberries macerated with the same sugar and lemon juice for a beautiful deep purple filling that is equally stunning and completely delicious in the center of each piped buttercream ring. Our Vegan Pistachio Rose Cupcakes make a beautifully elegant and floral companion for a complete and spectacular summer cupcake table alongside these strawberry shortcake versions.
FAQs About This Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe
How do I prevent the buttercream from melting on a hot summer day?
Keep the frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator until as close to serving time as possible and bring them out only 15 to 20 minutes before serving so the frosting softens just enough to be pleasant to eat. Adding the strawberry filling no more than 30 minutes before serving also helps as the juice from the macerated berries can soften the buttercream progressively if left in contact for too long.
Can I make this recipe as a regular cake instead of cupcakes?
Yes. Divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, frost the top of the bottom layer with a ring of buttercream and fill with macerated strawberries, stack the second layer on top, and frost the top of the assembled cake in the same ring pattern with the remaining strawberries in the center for a full-size strawberry shortcake layer cake.
Why do I need to use room temperature eggs?
Room temperature eggs incorporate into the creamed butter and sugar mixture smoothly and without causing the emulsion to break. Cold eggs add a dramatic temperature drop to the warm and airy butter-sugar mixture which can cause the fat to seize and the batter to appear curdled and separated. This separated batter produces a denser and less tender finished cupcake. If you forget to take your eggs out ahead of time, place them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes before using.
Conclusion
These Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes are the summer celebration bake that takes the most beloved summer dessert flavors and delivers them in the most portable, beautiful, and individually perfect format imaginable. Buttery, fluffy, juicy, and completely irresistible in every single ruby-centered bite. We hope they bring the same joyful summer celebration energy to your table that they have always brought to ours. Make them, share them, and come back to tell us all about it. With all our love, Maria, Lucia, and Teresa
Print
Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes The Most Beautiful Summer Cupcake You Will Ever Bake
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 24 cupcakes 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The most beautiful Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes made with tender buttery vanilla cupcakes topped with a ring of fluffy vanilla buttercream and filled with fresh macerated strawberries in their own ruby syrup. A completely irresistible summer celebration cupcake that captures all the classic strawberry shortcake flavors in individual portable form.
Ingredients
1 cup Unsalted Butter softened
1 3/4 cups Granulated Sugar
4 large Eggs room temperature
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour sifted
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/4 cups Whole Milk
1 lb Unsalted Butter softened for buttercream
4 cups Powdered Sugar sifted
5 tbsp Heavy Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract for buttercream
1 pinch Salt
4 cups Fresh Strawberries diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 tbsp Granulated Sugar for filling
1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together. Set aside.
3. Beat softened butter and sugar 2 to 3 minutes until light fluffy and pale yellow.
4. Add room temperature eggs one at a time beating well after each. Mix in vanilla.
5. Add flour mixture and milk alternately in 3 and 2 additions mixing just until combined after each.
6. Fill each liner two thirds full.
7. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden and toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool in pans 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
9. Dice strawberries into 1/4-inch pieces. Toss with sugar and lemon juice. Macerate 15 to 30 minutes.
10. Beat softened butter 2 to 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar gradually. Add cream vanilla and salt.
11. Beat on high 3 to 4 minutes until light fluffy and stiff.
12. Spread thin base layer of buttercream on each cooled cupcake.
13. Pipe a high ring of buttercream around the outer edge leaving center open.
14. Spoon macerated strawberries into center of each cupcake. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 296
- Sugar: 38g
- Sodium: 85mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 68mg
Keywords: strawberry shortcake cupcakes, strawberry cupcakes recipe, summer cupcakes, easy strawberry shortcake cupcake recipe
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