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Strawberry shortcake cupcakes turn a summertime favorite into a portable dessert! Lightly sweet yellow cupcakes are filled with strawberries, topped with whipped cream frosting, and finished with more diced strawberries. They’re almost too pretty to eat!
This summer has been pool time, pool time, and more pool time. We even turned our shed into a snack shop for the summer. Elle serves her friends treats through the window and has a pink neon “open” sign.
Is there anything more summer than that?
I think one of the most perfect treats she could share with her friends would be these strawberry shortcake cupcakes. They take the quintessential summer dessert – strawberry shortcake – and make it portable and shareable in the form of cupcakes.
THE PERFECT SUMMER CUPCAKE
Is there a dessert that screams “summer” more than strawberry shortcake? I don’t think so.
So could there be a more perfect cupcake for summer than strawberry shortcake cupcakes?
I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love funfetti cupcakes and lemon cupcakes all year long, but there’s something extra special about making cupcakes inspired by strawberry shortcake in the middle of summer.
For these sweet little cupcakes, I took the cake from my strawberry shortcake and baked it into cupcakes. Then I filled them with macerated strawberries, topped them with whipped cream frosting, and finished them off with more strawberries.
The end result is a cupcake that tastes just like a mini version of your favorite strawberry shortcake! It’s just more portable and perfect for a party.
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE CUPCAKES
Even though this is a filled cupcake recipe, it is not too hard to make and can easily be made in just a couple of hours.
What you’ll need
The cupcakes are a simple yellow sponge cake. For those, you will need:
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup (4 tablespoons / ½ stick) unsalted butter
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
To take that sponge cake and give it the strawberry shortcake treatment, you will need:
- 3 cups small-diced fresh strawberries
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 batch whipped cream frosting
Before getting started, make sure you know how to measure flour and how to cream butter and sugar correctly so these cupcakes turn out perfect every time.
You will also want your eggs to be at room temperature. Learn how to bring eggs to room temperature quickly.
I recommend using my whipped cream frosting for topping these cupcakes. Plain whipped cream won’t hold up as well over time, but the stabilized whipped cream frosting can be piped and will stay stable for a couple of days.
Making strawberry shortcake cupcakes
The yellow sponge cake base for these strawberry shortcake cupcakes is a bit different than some other cakes you may have made, but it’s still pretty easy to make.
Start by warming the milk and butter together in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter has melted. Set this mixture aside to cool.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer. Gradually increase the speed to medium-high until they are well beaten, then add the salt. Continue to beat the eggs until they begin to foam – this should take about a minute.
Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the sugar, then increase the speed to high and beat until the eggs are voluminous and pale in color.
This will take about 5 minutes – don’t try to rush this process. You need all of that air in the eggs to get the right texture in the cupcakes.
Turn the mixer back to low, add the butter and milk mixture along with the vanilla extract, and mix until just combined, about 45 seconds.
Set aside your mixer and switch to a rubber spatula. Gently fold in the dry ingredients. Use a gentle hand so you don’t disrupt too many of the air bubbles in the eggs.
Divide the batter between 18 lined cupcake wells and bake for about 15-18 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely before assembling.
Stir together the diced strawberries and the granulated sugar and let this mixture rest while you core the cupcakes.
Check out my post on how to fill cupcakes to learn 2 simple methods for coring cupcakes. Core each one, then fill each cupcake with about ½ a tablespoon of the diced strawberries.
Make the whipped cream frosting and pipe it onto the cupcakes. I like to pipe around the edges a couple of times to make a small well to hold the topping.
Just before serving, top the cupcakes with another spoonful of the diced strawberries and enjoy!
MAKING AHEAD
If you want to make these strawberry shortcake cupcakes ahead of time, I have a few suggestions.
You can bake the cupcakes a day ahead of time. Let them cool, then store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a day before finishing the assembly.
You could also tightly wrap the cooled cupcakes and freeze them for up to a month. Let the cupcakes thaw at room temperature before coring and assembling them.
Once you fill and frost the cupcakes, you can store them in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight before you serve them. Keep in mind that the juices from the strawberries will soak into the cupcakes the longer they sit.
I do recommend waiting until just before serving to top the cupcakes with the additional strawberries.
FAQS
What can I substitute for the whipped cream frosting?
If you don’t want to make the stabilized whipped cream frosting, you could top these strawberry shortcake cupcakes with whipped topping instead.
You could also substitute regular homemade whipped cream, but I would ONLY do that if you are going to serve the cupcakes immediately. I would not do this if you need to wait any amount of time before serving them.
Can I use frozen strawberries instead of fresh strawberries?
I don’t recommend using frozen strawberries in place of fresh strawberries in these cupcakes. Frozen strawberries are much softer due to the freezing and thawing process and tend to be juicer, and you don’t really want either of those things in these cupcakes.
How should you store strawberry shortcake cupcakes?
Once the strawberry shortcake cupcakes are assembled, make sure you store them in the refrigerator. They will keep for 2-3 days, but remember that the cupcakes will absorb the juice from the berries as they sit.
Are there other fruits or flavors I could use?
This recipe may be for strawberry shortcake cupcakes, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t use other summer fruits!
Peaches would be delicious, or you could use mixed berries instead of just strawberries. Just make sure that you dice your fruit pretty small so that you can easily fill the cupcakes.
Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup unsalted butter 4 tablespoons
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For filling and topping:
- 3 cups small-diced fresh strawberries
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 batch whipped cream frosting
Instructions
Make the cupcakes:
- Preheat to 350˚F. Line 18 cupcake wells with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk and butter, stirring, until the butter has fully melted. Set aside to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
- Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat eggs in a large bowl, gradually increasing speed to medium-high, until well beaten. Add salt and continue to beat until mixture begins to foam, about 1 minute.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add in the sugar; increase speed to high and beat until the eggs are voluminous, and very light and pale yellow in color, about 5 minutes. With the mixer back on low speed, add in the butter and milk mixture and vanilla and mix until combined, about 45 seconds.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a rubber spatula. Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake wells.
- Bake in preheated oven until the cupcakes are golden golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely.
Assemble the cupcakes:
- In a small bowl, stir together the diced strawberries and the granulated sugar. Let rest while you core the cupcakes.
- Core the cupcakes (see notes). Fill each cupcake with about ½ tablespoon of the diced strawberries.
- Make the whipped cream frosting. Pipe onto the cupcakes; I recommend piping around the edges a couple of times to make a small well.
- Just before serving, top with another small spoonful of the diced strawberries.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made the cupcakes and frosting for the first time and they were a hit! I would really like to make a batch of 24, but I’m kind of a novice baker and don’t know that I can measure out the adjusted ingredient measurements accurately i.e. 0.67 cup of milk and 0.33 cup of butter. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you!
Hi Em – I haven’t attempted to make a batch of 24, so I can’t attest to the right adjustments to make. You might be better off just making a double batch and freezing the extras for later. Happy baking!
Jamie