Easy vanilla cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting
Simple vanilla cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting are the perfect cupcakes for any occasion. Made from scratch, with zero artificial coloring, this strawberry cream cheese frosting is the perfect complement to this easy vanilla cupcake.
I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
You may also be interested in my cream cheese cupcakes and my strawberry cream cheese cupcakes recipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my cupcake recipes in one place.
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Vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting
Vanilla is the number one flavor for a reason. It is versatile, lots of people like it and it pairs with almost anything. It’s also popular with kids parties because it isn’t a strong flavor, there is no food coloring and you really can’t go wrong with homemade vanilla cupcakes.
These vanilla cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting are award-winning treats. They were entered into a baking contest and took home a ribbon, so I can confidently say that they are pretty good.
What you need to know
The most accurate way to measure ingredients, especially flour, is to weigh them. If you don’t own a kitchen scale, I highly recommend getting one. The one I own is linked at the bottom of the post. You do not need to spend a ton of money on a fancy scale, a basic one works just fine. The point is to use it. It will be a gamechanger if weighing ingredients is new to you.
These cupcakes are a breeze to make, and they freeze really well. When I make a batch, I keep a half dozen or so aside to freeze for those days when I might “need” a cupcake.
Bakeries typically make cupcakes (and cakes) ahead of time and freeze them for later use, so it stands to reason that this will work at home as well. Make a double batch and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. The next time you need cupcakes, all you have to do is frost them.
I love this recipe. Delicious and turned out beautiful each time, this is truly a keeper!!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!!
– Merry
Vanilla cupcake ingredients
To make this fluffy vanilla cupcake recipe, you’ll only need a handful of pantry basics.
- All purpose flour – This provides structure in the cupcakes.
- Milk – Used to make the cupcakes moist, I prefer whole milk.
- Sugar – Used to sweeten the cupcakes.
- Butter – Provides fat and moisture in the recipe, make sure it is softened to room temperature.
- Eggs – Provide structure and moisture.
- Vanilla – I like vanilla bean paste, but vanilla extract works too.
- Salt – Salt brings out the flavor in baked goods.
- Baking powder – Gives the cupcakes their fluffy texture.
Strawberry cream cheese frosting ingredients
This cream cheese and strawberry frosting is so simple to make and tastes delicious!
- Cream cheese – Softened to room temp, the cream cheese will blend easier if it isn’t cold from the fridge.
- Butter – Room temperature, unsalted butter works best.
- Lemon juice – A couple of teaspoons help to brighten the flavor of the frosting.
- Freeze-dried strawberries – Here’s where the magic happens. Freeze-dried strawberries give the frosting a punch of strawberry flavor.
- Powdered sugar – Also called icing sugar, or confectioners sugar, this is used to sweeten the frosting.
If you’re looking for an icing made with fresh strawberries, try my strawberry cream cheese icing recipe. It’s perfect for topping pound cakes, cookies or even muffins.
How to make
Here’s a quick summary of how to make easy vanilla cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe.
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- Prep – Preheat oven to 325°F / 160°C. Mix wet ingredients in one bowl, dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Then mix to combine.
- Fill a lined cupcake pan with batter. I use a 2 ounce scoop to ensure that the cupcakes are all the same size.
- Bake until a tester comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the vanilla cupcakes cool completely.
- Top with strawberry cream cheese frosting.
Candied strawberry slices
- To make the candied strawberry garnish, we’ll dip the sliced strawberries into a simple syrup, then place them on a silicone baking mat placed inside of a sheet pan.
- Then, bake for 2 hours to dry them out, until they become crispy and sweet.
Vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting FAQ’s
Storage / Freezing Information
To store: Cupcakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The fridge will eventually dry them out, so make sure to wrap tightly, or store in an airtight container.
To freeze: Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Variations and substitutions
- Raspberry – Swap out freeze-dried strawberries for raspberries.
- Cake flour – To make these cupcakes with cake flour instead of all purpose flour: Add an extra 2 – 3 tablespoons of cake flour.
Helpful tools and equipment
- Kitchen scale – This is the one I own and use daily.
- Vanilla bean paste
- Silicone baking mats
- Freeze-dried strawberry powder – If you want to skip grinding the berries, get this powder.
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Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Vanilla cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 180g
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature / 113g
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 150g
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk room temperature / 120mL
Strawberry cream cheese frosting
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature / 113g
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature / 226g
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons ground freeze-dried strawberries 20g / *packed tablespoons / See note!
- 2 cups powdered sugar 240g
- pinch salt
Candied strawberry slices
- ¼ cup sugar 50g
- ¼ cup water 60mL
- 6 – 8 fresh strawberries thinly sliced
Instructions
Make the candied strawberry slices
- Preheat oven to 225°F.
- In a small pot, combine sugar and water. Heat over medium, stirring frequently, until sugar has completely dissolved. (You just made a simple syrup)
- Dip strawberry slices into simple syrup, let excess drip off, then place them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat (Silpat) or parchment paper. *See note.
- Bake for 2 hours. Remove, set aside to cool.
Make Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 325°F / 160°C.
- Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar together for 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla, and beat just to combine.
- Add 1/3 of the flour, half of the milk, beat on low to combine, followed by another third of the flour, the remaining milk and ending with flour.
- Scrape bowl, making sure to get the bottom. Fold cupcake batter a few times to make sure everything is fully incorporated.
- Line a cupcake pan with cupcake papers and fill 2/3 full. Bake for 20 – 24 minutes, or when tester comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
- Remove from oven and let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make Frosting
- In a food processor (or spice grinder), grind freeze-dried strawberries until they are a fine powder. It's ok if there are a few pieces as long as they are not bigger than a small pea. Set aside.
- Beat butter and cream cheese together. Add lemon juice, strawberry powder, powdered sugar and salt. Beat until fluffy (about 5 minutes)
- Pipe frosting on cupcakes, or use a small knife or off-set spatula to frost. Garnish with candied strawberry slices, if desired.
Notes
- Roughly 3/4 cup of freeze-dried strawberries will yield what you need for the frosting.
- You can make strawberry slices a day ahead. I have made them on a silpat and on parchment. A few stuck on the parchment and had to be carefully peeled off, but it wasn’t catastrophic. That being said, they didn’t stick at all on the silpat.
- Make sure the strawberries for the frosting are FREEZE DRIED. Not “dried” fruit, like raisins or dried cranberries. This will not work.
- Save the simple syrup for iced tea, lemonade, cocktails, etc.
Nutrition
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Originally published 2/10/18, most recent update 5/14/25.
These cupcakes are so delicious!!! I highly recommend them, especially since it is strawberry season!!
Thank you so much, Leighann! I’m glad you like them!
How many cupcakes does the recipe make?
About 2 1/2 dozen
I need cupcakes for a gender reveal. Did you get this pink color from just the strawberries…no food coloring was added?
ZERO food coloring added. This is just the color from the strawberries.
The 1 1/2 cups of freeze dried strawberries, is this before grinding them? Also, I found freeze dried strawberries @ Dollar Tree but they have added sugar. Do you think these would be o.k.?
Hi Stephanie! Yes, that is BEFORE grinding them. My dried strawberries didn’t have added sugar, so I’m not sure how it would turn out. It may be too sweet, but you could try it and experiment.
Take a small amount of frosting and mix in strawberry powder to taste it before you make the whole batch.
I love this recipe. Delicious and turned out beautiful each time, this is truly a keeper!!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!!
Thank you so much, Merry! This absolutely made my day!!! You have no idea how much I appreciate that you took the time to leave such a lovely comment! xx
Just checking to see if I need to use fresh lemon juice for the strawberry frosting? Or okay to use bottled? Thank you!
Hi Laurie! If bottled is what you have, that’s totally fine 🙂