How to make strawberry filled cupcakes with vanilla cupcakes and a fresh strawberry filling. Easy recipe, topped with a homemade whipped cream frosting.
Strawberry season brings with it the need to make ALL the things. Whether I'm making strawberry shortcake cupcakes, strawberry shortcake with biscuits, or strawberry delight, I love this time of year.
Now these cupcakes are actually strawberry filled vanilla cupcakes. We'll bake the cupcakes first, then core them, and fill them with just a tiny bit of fresh chopped strawberries.
When I say core the cupcakes, you can just scoop out a small spot in the center top of the cupcake after it's cooked. I'll explain how to do this really simply and easily in the instructions below.
You can top your strawberry stuffed cupcakes with whipped cream, buttercream frosting, or cream cheese frosting. I chose to make a simple 4-ingredient whipped cream frosting.
Add a fresh sliced berry, or even a teaspoon or so of chopped berries on top of the frosting, and you've got a really beautiful dessert that's perfect for birthdays, weddings, Valentine's Day, Easter, and even patriotic celebrations like the 4th of July.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE ACTUAL RECIPE CARD?
If you’d rather skip all of my baking tips, important info for this recipe, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the strawberry shortcake cupcakes recipe – just scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find a printable recipe card.
INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Large eggs, at room temperature
- Cane sugar – or granulated sugar
- Canola oil
- Vanilla extract
- Buttermilk – You can make your own by adding about a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar for every 1 to 2 cups of milk. Stir and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Fresh strawberries
- Cream cheese
- Heavy whipping cream
Keep in mind, all of the ingredient amounts you’ll need are in the printable recipe card below.
KITCHEN TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT YOU'LL NEED:
Mixing Bowl and Whisk
Muffin Tins and Pretty Cupcake Liners
Cake Tester or Toothpicks
Cupcake Corer (optional) – If you don't have one, you can just use a regular butter knife or paring knife. Or if you have a melon baller or apple corer, those work really well.
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY FILLED CUPCAKES
First be sure to preheat the oven to 350° F, and prepare your muffin tins by adding cupcake liners to each muffin cup.
Now you're ready to bake…
- Add the eggs to a large bowl, and beat well.
- Then add the sugar and continue beating for about 30 seconds.
- Add the canola oil and vanilla extract, beating until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then gradually add dry ingredients to the mixture (see next step).
- Alternate adding dry ingredients with the buttermilk.
- Beat until everything is well combined; the batter will be thin. Then divide the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners, filling each one about 2/3 full.
Bake the vanilla cupcakes at 350° F for about 12 to 14 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Then allow them to cool on a wire rack.
HOW TO FILL CUPCAKES WITH STRAWBERRY FILLING
Hopefully, you've already washed, stemmed, and chopped your strawberries for the strawberry cupcake filling.
When hulling the berries, you want to remove any unripened, white spots in the berries because these spots take away from the flavor of the berries.
- First core the cupcakes. If you don't have a cupcake corer, that's ok. Like I mentioned, a melon baller works great, as does a simple butter/table knife, paring knife, or even an apple corer.
- Fill the cupcakes with about 1/4 teaspoon of the chopped berries, and then replace the cored portion of the cupcake.
AND NOW FOR WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING
This frosting is really simple and easy to make.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract, beating until creamy.
- Gradually add in heavy whipping cream, beating the frosting until stiff peaks form.
- Then add a spoonful of frosting to each vanilla cupcake, and top it off with a whole fresh strawberry, sliced strawberry, or a teaspoon of chopped strawberries.
And that's it. Vanilla cupcakes filled with fresh strawberries are ready to eat and enjoy!
BEST CUPCAKE FOR STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE?
Ok, so this recipe goes by a vanilla cupcake recipe. However, the possibilities are endless because any kind of cake that pairs well with strawberries is an option.
Think lemon cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, banana cupcakes, angel food cupcakes, funfetti cupcakes, and on and on. Whatever flavor you can dream up, you can use this same technique to make shortcake cupcakes.
CAN I USE FROZEN STRAWBERRIES?
No, I don't recommend frozen strawberries. This recipe is best made with fresh, both for reasons of flavor and aesthetics.
Frozen strawberries will add a lot of extra moisture that may actually ruin the cupcakes.
CAN I MAKE THESE CUPCAKES GLUTEN-FREE?
Yes, you can make them gluten-free, by following this basic gluten-free vanilla cupcakes recipe.
You'll need a good gluten-free flour; I prefer Authentic Foods Classical Blend or Cake Flour. And you'll also need xanthan gum, if it's not already included in the flour blend you use.
MORE STRAWBERRY DESSERTS:
- Strawberry Rice Krispie treats
- Homemade strawberry ice cream
- Strawberry Jello cake
- Blackberry and strawberry muffins
- Fresh strawberry pie
- No Bake Strawberry Dessert Lush
GET THE PRINTABLE RECIPE
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Strawberry Filled Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting
Equipment
- Norpro Cupcake Corer
- Fox Run Tin-Plated Muffin Pan, 1/2 cup capacity, 12/sheet
- KitchenAid Stand Mixers, 5 quart, Ocean Drive
- Wilton Baking Cup Assortment, Hearts
- Ateco Cake Tester
Ingredients
Cupcakes with Strawberry Filling:
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups cane sugar*
- 1 cup canola oil
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk*
- 1/2 cup fresh strawberries* chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup cane sugar*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F, and prepare your muffin tins by adding cupcake liners to each muffin cup.
- Add the eggs to a large bowl, and beat well.
- Then add the sugar and continue beating for about 30 seconds.
- Add the canola oil and vanilla extract, beating until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then gradually add dry ingredients to the mixture, alternating adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk.
- Beat until everything is well combined; the batter will be thin. Then divide the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners, filling each one about 2/3 full.
- Bake the vanilla cupcakes at 350° F for about 12 to 14 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Then allow them to cool on a wire rack.
- Core the cupcakes. If you don't have a cupcake corer, that's ok. A melon baller works great, as does a simple butter/table knife, paring knife, or even an apple corer.
- Fill the cupcakes with about 1/4 teaspoon of the chopped berries, and then replace the cored portion of the cupcake.
- To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl, beating until creamy.
- Gradually add in the heavy whipping cream, beating the frosting until stiff peaks form.
- Then add a spoonful of frosting to each vanilla cupcake, and top it off with a whole fresh strawberry, sliced strawberry, or a teaspoon of chopped strawberries.
