Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

These easy strawberry cupcakes are filled with homemade whipped cream and topped with homemade fresh strawberry frosting!

These pretty in pink cupcakes would make the best Valentine’s Day dessert, spring dessert, or summer dessert! These strawberries and cream cupcakes begin with a box of white cake mix and strawberry gelatin, making them incredibly simple and entirely flavorful! 

I’m thinking these Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes should make an appearance in your life sometime this week.

I don’t know, it’s just a thought.

Sweet strawberry cupcakes filled with homemade whipped cream?

And topped with the sweetest homemade strawberry buttercream?

Oh yeah.

They’re so pretty in pink I’m pretty sure even Molly Ringwald would approve.

When I was 5 going on 6, strawberry cake with strawberry ice cream was all I wanted for my birthday (and everyone else’s birthday…there may have been some backdoor brokering attempts of me desperately trying to get my sister to choose strawberry cake for her birthday…it didn’t go well).

Well, at least for the dessert portion.

I’m pretty sure a pair of sweet roller blades were on my list as well. Between those, my hot pink helmet with the words “Kool Kat” written across the front, and my favorite lime green vest, I’m pretty sure I was the poster child for a 90s kid.

Just sling a fanny pack around my waist with a giga-pet attached, and it’s about as 90s as it gets. #besttimetobealive

I’m also pretty sure that the mid-90s may have been when strawberry cake mixes were at their peak.

I don’t actually have any factual evidence about that, but I feel like strawberry cakes dominated the 90s (or at least my birthdays ages 4-7).

With that knowledge, I’m pretty sure it’s time to make strawberry cakes dominate the scene again. They definitely need some recognition in the twenty teens.

Who’s with me?!

While I am partial to the boxed strawberry cake mix (#nostalgia) as is, I’m pretty much in love with these jazzed-up-boxed-cake-mix Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes.

Sometimes in life, we all need dessert recipes in our arsenal that are the perfect combination of delicious and easy, and these homemade strawberry cupcakes totally fit the bill!

The use of boxed white cake mix makes them easy, the use of the strawberry gelatin makes them all gorgeous and pink, and the use of extra ingredients (like sour cream, milk, eggs, sugar, flour, etc.) make them taste SO good.

The ‘cream’ aspect of these cupcakes comes from the homemade whipped cream that’s stuffed in the center of each cupcake (picture below).

It keeps the cupcakes moist, as well as adding a fun surprise in the center! And really, who doesn’t L-O-V-E surprises?! (To an extent… 😉)

These gorgeous Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes definitely top my list of easy summer dessert recipes!   

Homemade Strawberry Buttercream Tips & Tricks: 

• The frosting is a homemade strawberry buttercream made with fresh strawberries.
• Due to the fact I used fresh strawberries instead of freezer-dried strawberries, the color is a soft pink versus a deep pink. However, next to the bright pink cupcakes, I think the soft pink color of the strawberry frosting is perfect. ❤
• When putting strawberries on top of the cupcakes, use whole strawberries. If the strawberries are cut in half, the juices from the berries will seep into the frosting, making it a runny mess.

(I know this from experience. 😳)

Pink for daysssss.

Print

Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

Prep Time

45 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

1 hr 5 mins

 

These easy strawberry cupcakes are filled with homemade whipped cream and topped with homemade fresh strawberry frosting! These pretty in pink cupcakes would make the best Valentine's Day dessert, spring dessert, or summer dessert! These strawberries and cream cupcakes begin with a box of white cake mix and strawberry gelatin, making them incredibly simple and entirely flavorful! 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: strawberries and cream cupcakes

Servings: 24 Cupcakes

Author: Michelle

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 3oz package strawberry gelatin
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Frosting

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 - 5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 Tbsp heavy cream
• 3/4 cup strawberries, finely chopped
• salt, to taste

Filling

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping

• 24 strawberries

Instructions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake tins with cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. Mix fresh strawberries and lemon juice together. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, sift together white cake mix, strawberry gelatin, sugar, and flour.
4. With a mixer, beat oil into the cake. Add in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add in milk, vanilla extract, and sour cream, mixing until just combined.
6. Fold in strawberries and lemon juice.
7. Disperse batter evenly into cupcake tins and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Filling

1. With a mixer, beat heavy cream until soft peaks begin to form. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until cream has the consistency of whipped cream.
2. Once the cupcakes have cooled, with a sharp knife, cut a circle into the center of each cupcake to create a small area for the filling, about 1/2 inch deep. Spoon in some of the whipped cream, just until each hole is filled, and top with the pieces of cupcake you removed (you will probably have some leftover filling, which tastes awesome with a spoon).

Frosting

1. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beginning with 4 cups. Beat until combined.
2. Add in vanilla extract and 2 Tbsp of heavy cream. Mix until combined.
3. Add in strawberries and beat until combined (the strawberries will break up, turning your frosting nice and pink!).
4. (If the frosting is too thin, add in the last cup of powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add in last Tbsp of heavy cream)
5. Add in a dash of salt to cut through the sweetness.
6. Spread or pipe frosting on cupcakes. Top each with a strawberry.
7. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Because of the cream inside of these cakes, leftovers should be stored in the fridge.

Adapted from Taste of Home.

Here are some other strawberry recipes you might love:

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberry Hand Pies

Strawberry White Hot Chocolate