Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes

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If you’ve been around here for any stretch of time, you know that we’re all about kids’ kitchen recipes and kitchen independence. These natural Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes might look elegant and difficult, but the truth is that they are easy enough for a 4 year old to decorate!

Natural Strawberry Buttercream Cupcakes - this gorgeous rose frosting is so simple, a 4 year old actually did it! A light and fluffy vanilla cupcake topped with natural strawberry frosting, the perfect Valentine's Day or Mother's Day dessert recipe, or for a princess birthday party!

Natural Strawberry Frosting Recipe

For these cupcakes, we made a naturally pink frosting with strained strawberry juice (use the remaining strawberries in a smoothie or on some strawberry shortcake) and our favourite vanilla cupcake recipe that results in a delicious, fluffy cake every time.

In the interest of full disclosure, the center cupcake was decorated by me – but you see that pretty darn good one on the left? That was my 4-year old’s first attempt at this design! If she can do it, anyone can!

Of course, this recipe will work with whichever variation you’d like to try – blueberry frosting, orange frosting. You can add in small bits of the fruit as well, but I prefer a smoother texture to my frosting and if you add little bits to your frosting, it can jam up the frosting tip – completely ruining your design.

How sweet are these rose cupcakes made with natural strawberry frosting and a delicious vanilla cake

Strawberry Vanilla Cupcake Ingredients

For the natural strawberry frosting:

For the vanilla cupcakes:

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

How to make naturally pink frosting - natural strawberry buttercream and how to make a rose frosting design

How to Make Natural Strawberry Frosting

Add a cup of strawberries to some water and bring it to a quick boil on the stove. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes to extract the juice from the strawberries – keep an eye on it so that the liquid doesn’t completely evaporate and scorch. You want a concentrated liquid to really bring out the colour. (We started with just over 1/2 cup of water.)

Strain the strawberry juice into a measuring cup, and set the strawberries aside for another recipe or discard. Allow the juice to cool – you can even place it in the fridge to help this process along.

Meanwhile, start preparing your frosting. Beat 1/2 cup of butter with 2-3 cups of icing sugar. Once the strawberry juice has cooled, add a small amount at a time, beating the frosting with each addition. Add extra icing sugar as needed until you reach the consistency and colour you want.

These rose cupcakes are so easy, a child can make them! A true kids' kitchen recipe

How to Make a Rose Frosting Design

Place a 2D Wilton frosting tip in your piping bag and place the bag inside a tall glass, folding the ends over to prevent frosting from getting on them.

Use a spatula to transfer your frosting from your bowl into the piping bag – only fill the bag about 1/2 full for easy handling. You can add more frosting again later.

Roll up the ends and twist the bag as shown. Attach a clip or elastic band to prevent the bag from untwisting. Then, snip off the tip of the piping bag and push down the frosting tip.

Yum! Rose cupcakes are perfect for Mother's Day, Valentine's Day or a perfect princess birthday party

Place your frosting tip in the center of the cupcake and gently squeeze the frosting out of the bag. Make small circles with the piping bag, circling around that center point out to the edges of the cupcake. And you’re done!

These simple and elegant rose cupcakes are that easy – and if you do accidentally squeeze out too much frosting, you can just scrape it off the cupcake and try again.

Natural pink frosting on vanilla cupcakes - the perfect Mother's Day cupcake

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Yield: 18 cupcakes

Natural Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes

Natural Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes

A decadent vanilla cupcake recipe with natural strawberry frosting and a gorgeous frosting rose design.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

For the natural strawberry frosting:

  • 1 cup strawberries
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2-3 cups Powdered Icing Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Butter, room temperature

For the vanilla cupcakes:

  • 3/4 cup White Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Olive Oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Buttermilk
  • 1 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt

Instructions

For the Natural Strawberry Frosting:

  1. Place the strawberries and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to simmer and reduce liquid by half. Remove from heat, straining strawberries in a sieve positioned over a clean bowl or measuring cup. Save the strawberry juice - cool if possible.
  2. Beat the butter and icing sugar together until smooth, and add in the strawberry juice until you reach the desired colour and consistency for your strawberry buttercream. (Add in more icing sugar as necessary.)

For the Vanilla Cupcakes:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Line two muffin trays with cupcake liners, or silicone baking cups.
  3. Beat the oil and sugar together for two minutes, until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla, eggs, and buttermilk, one at a time and incorporating fully between each addition.
  4. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in 2-3 increments to the oil-sugar mixture, mixing completely between each addition.
  5. Fill the cupcake liners half full (about 1/4 cup cupcake batter) and bake 12-16 minutes, until golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Cool in the muffin pan for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
  7. Frost the vanilla cupcakes with the naturally pink strawberry frosting.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 320Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 190mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 0gSugar: 45gProtein: 2g

Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information

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How to make Natural Strawberry Frosting and the best Vanilla Cupcakes ever. A cute rose design with the pink frosting is the perfect finishing touch

These are the perfect cupcakes for a princess birthday party, Valentine’s Day, or Mother’s Day.

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