Strawberry Cupcakes

Strawberry Cupcakes – moist, tender crumb cake with a hint of strawberry, topped with a large portion of whipped strawberry buttercream frosting!

Oh my goodness – it’s my favorite time of the year: strawberry season!  If you’ve followed along at all on my Snapchat adventures, then you know this weekend was filled with strawberries.  I bought an entire box, which is a lot more strawberries than I initially thought, but a problem I’m glad to have.

So it’s been strawberries on cupcakes, strawberries in white wine, strawberry ice cream…. and I’m thinking strawberry jam will be next.

Strawberries and I go way back – as a little girl I’d eat them every chance I could, and I loved dipping them in sugar.  Anyone else have this little obsession?  It drove my mom crazy, given that I was a young child who just wanted to eat more sugar.  I guess I’ve always had a sweet tooth…

Now when I see fresh strawberry stands on the corner I’m reminded of my “backpacking” time around Europe.  In Germany strawberry stands were EVERYWHERE, and I think I ate my weight in strawberries during the first two weeks I was there.  Every corner with the big red strawberry my eyes lit up, we pulled the car over, and I bought another pint.

Do you have strawberry stands where you are?  It’s not something I remember having in Minnesota.  In Iowa we had watermelon stands, as I was from what I like to think of as the watermelon capital of Iowa.  On the way to Charlotte we see so many peach stands, but out of all of these the strawberry ones take first place in my book (the rest being very close seconds).

So needless to say, Strawberry Cupcakes were a must when those fresh strawberry stands started showing up around here.  My mom used to make a strawberry cake very similar when I was younger, but it used a box mix, and instead I wanted to create a homemade version that will still knock your socks off.

Cake flour makes all the difference – honestly, I never understood how much of a difference it could make.  It was as though my world completely shifted when I took a bite of the cake flour version, so don’t skimp on this part.  If you don’t want to buy cake flour, no worries, because it’s super easy to DIY with corn starch- see the notes in the recipe below.

My other favorite part about these cupcakes?  Ok, I have two: strawberry yogurt is mixed in with the batter, making them moist, and subtly strawberry-y, without any fake food coloring or jell-o.  PLUS, the frosting is a delicious buttercream with STRAWBERRIES, of course!  Strawberry preserves to be exact, to ensure no juicy, liquid sloppiness, but sweet, strawberry, yumm-tastic frosting.

Serve with fresh strawberries for best results, too.  Results being happy taste buds, and a happy you.

If you like this recipe – check out my Strawberry Coconut Cake, too!

Before I go, on this Memorial Day I want to take a moment to remember and thank those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.  

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I’d LOVE to see what you’re making – whether it’s this recipe or another – so send me a snap (forkinkitchen), or tag Fork in the Kitchen on Instagram or Facebook!  Happy eating!