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Oh my goodness, this is an absolute winner!  Strawberry cupcakes made with real strawberries and a hint of lemon, that are super moist, soft and fluffy. 

I’ve tried a few different recipes in the past and I’ve finally decided to design my own to create a yummy cupcake full of flavour, which will have you reaching for a second one before you are even done with the first.

Strawberries are of course a favourite when it comes to Valentines Day, so this is a great choice for Valentines cupcakes, and you can add shades of pink and red buttercream with some hearts to create gorgeous cupcake boxes or gifts.

So, if you are looking for an easy strawberry cupcake recipe with which to impress, look no further, since I am sharing the secrets with you right here. 

Top tips:

• The key to success in this recipe is the yoghurt, so don’t be tempted to substitute it for milk or any other dairy products. I recommend a full fat yoghurt for the best results.
• The lemon in this recipe in optional, but a game changer. The sharpness of the lemon complements the sweetness of the strawberries, and is a match made in heaven!
• The key to an even rise is to go low and slow. If your cupcakes form little volcanoes on the top, your oven is too hot.  Try setting the oven to a lower temperature and bake for a couple of minutes longer.

Recipe:

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 22 minutes

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Author: Cornel Schalkwyk

Equipment:

• Kenwood Chef stand mixer  
• Kitchen scale 
• Nutribullet  
• Zester  
• Pyrex glass bowls  
• Stainless steel measuring spoon set  
• Spatula set  
• 12-hole muffin pan  
• Muffin-size cupcake cases  
• Cake tester 

Ingredients:

• 85g room temperature butter
• 200g plain flour (approx. 1¼ cup)
• 225g caster sugar (approx. 1 cup)
• 2 large eggs
• A pinch of salt
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp vanilla bean extract
• ½ cup / 120ml fresh strawberry puree (approx. 9 standard size strawberries)
• ½ cup / 120ml plain Greek yoghurt
• The zest of one lemon

Watch the video here for a demonstration on how to make these cupcakes.

Topping:

• Vanilla buttercream. You can add 1 – 2 tsp of water to this recipe if you are not planning on piping flowers, and simply want to do a normal cupcake swirl.
• For a strawberry flavoured buttercream, you can add ½ cup of freeze-dried strawberries to your buttercream, or else I can highly recommend the Beau Strawberry food flavouring which is super delicious and smells like strawberry ice-cream!
• Sprinkles (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C fan assisted (302°F), or 160 – 170°C (320 – 338°F) for a conventional oven. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin-sized cupcake cases and set aside.
2. Weigh your flour, sugar and butter and add to your mixing bowl.
3. Add your eggs, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, and mix on medium speed for roughly 20 – 30 seconds using a whisk attachment on your stand mixer.
4. Scrape down the sides of your mixing bowl and mix on medium speed for another 20 – 30 second until the batter is smooth and pale. There should be no clumps of butter left in your batter at this stage. 
5. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and add the vanilla extract, yoghurt, lemon zest and strawberry puree. Mix on medium speed for another 20 - 30 seconds until the liquid is well incorporated.
6. Spoon the batter into the cupcake cases to about ¾ full. You don’t have to smooth the batter out, since this will happen automatically in the oven.
7. Bake for 22 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the centre of the baked cupcake.
8. Let them cool for a few minutes in the pan before taking them out on a cooling rack.

9. Once completely cooled, you can frost & decorate your cupcakes. I recommend using a Wilton 2D or Wilton 1M nozzle for a nice buttercream swirl.

Notes:

• I use muffin sized cupcake cases which are quite large in size. If you use standard size cupcake cases, you’ll get more than 12 cupcakes from this recipe.
• No need to sift your flour for this recipe. However, if you find that your brand of flour is particularly lumpy, then you should sift the flour before adding to the mix.
• You can use any type of butter for this recipe, whether it’s a dairy-free alternative or not. I often use Stork for my cupcakes which is dairy-free, and it still tastes divine!
• I always recommend making your cupcakes fresh on the day of serving. They cool quickly, so it’s easy to bake and decorate on the same day.  Fresh cupcakes are just so much nicer!  However, you can prepare your cupcakes 1 day in advance and keep them unfrosted in an airtight container in room temperature to decorate the next day.
• The decorated cupcakes will keep well in cool room temperature for up to 4 days, as long as you didn’t use milk in your buttercream. If you want to keep them for a week or longer, you should keep it in the fridge in an airtight container.
• You can freeze your unfrosted cupcakes in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and bring back to room temperature before frosting and consuming the cupcakes.

Have you used this recipe?  Tag me and hashtag your creations on social media:

 @bloomingbakesbycornel

 @bloomingbakesbycornel

#bloomingbakesbycornel