These light and airy strawberry filled cupcakes are frosted with a dreamy pink strawberry whipped cream.
Take a bite and you’ll discover a surprise—a fresh, juicy ripe strawberry tucked inside! The strawberries are cut in quarters before you put them into the cupcakes, so they’re easy to bite and enjoy.
These flavorful strawberry vanilla cupcakes are one of my family’s favorite desserts, and I love serving them for birthdays, dinner parties, Mother’s Day, and celebrations.
If you love the flavor of fresh strawberries, be sure to check out our recipes for Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes, Strawberry and Cream Tart, and Strawberry Cheesecake Dip.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to make: They look fancy, but these cupcakes are simple to bake and assemble.
Incredible flavor: These cupcakes have homemade, made from scratch flavor because you add some tasty extra ingredients to the cake mix.
Fun to serve: People love biting in the cupcakes and discovering the surprise of sweet berries inside. Be ready to share the recipe, because everyone asks for it!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s a picture of what you’ll need to make this cupcake recipe:
1 box (15.25-ounces) white cake mix – Southern Living conducted a taste test and chose Great Value brand as the best white cake mix. I’ve always been partial to Duncan Hines. Feel free to use your favorite brand. You can also make your own homemade cake mix if you like.
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1 teaspoon almond extract
24 medium-sized fresh strawberries, divided – I prefer to use organic strawberries, as conventionally grown strawberries are usually on the Dirty Dozen Foods list.
1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled – It’s important to look for heavy whipping cream at the store. The higher fat content will help you make strawberry whipped cream that is both fluffy and structured to use as frosting.
1/3 cup powdered sugar
Pro Cooking Tip
When baking cake or cupcakes, it’s best to use room temperature ingredients so that the batter cooks evenly.
For this recipe, simply take the eggs out of the refrigerator and let them sit on the counter for an hour before starting the recipe.
Equipment Needed
Here’s what you’ll need to make these fresh strawberry cupcakes:
- Two 12-cup muffin tins
- Paper cupcake liners
- Electric mixer and bowl, or stand mixer
- Wire cooling rack
- Sharp knife
- Blender or food processor
- Small rubber spatula or piping bag for frosting cupcakes
Step by Step Instructions
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.
Combine the cake mix, water, egg whites, butter, 1 teaspoon of the vanilla, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
STEP 2: Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until well blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl once, about 2 minutes.
STEP 3: Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
STEP 4: Bake the vanilla cupcakes until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 2 minutes. Remove from pan, transfer to a wire rack, and finish cooling to room temperature.
STEP 5: Using a sharp knife, cut a 1-inch-round by 1-inch-long core from each cupcake; reserve cores.
STEP 6: Remove the stem and quarter 1 strawberry lengthwise, reassemble it, and carefully insert it into the center of a cupcake. (Trim to fit, if necessary.)
STEP 7: Trim the reserved cupcake core to fit over the strawberry and replace on top of cupcake, covering the strawberry.
STEP 8: Repeat with remaining berries and cupcakes.
STEP 9: Put the remaining 6 strawberries in a blender.
STEP 10: Purée until smooth.
STEP 11: In a large bowl, combine the whipping cream and powdered sugar and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
PRO TIP: To insure stiff peaks, chill the bowl and beaters in the refrigerator for 30 minutes prior to whipping the cream.
STEP 12: Pour the puréed strawberries into the whipped cream mixture.
STEP 13: Gently fold the strawberry sauce into the whipped cream mixture until it is fully incorporated.
STEP 14: Frost the cupcakes with the strawberry cream, and add sprinkles if you like! I used a pastry bag and tip to frost these, but you can also frost them with a knife or spatula.
Serve and enjoy!
How to Store Leftovers
Frosted, filled cupcakes are best served within 4 hours. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Enjoy as soon as possible.
Recipe Variations
You can top the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting instead of strawberry whipped cream.
Instead of sprinkles, top the cupcakes with mini chocolate chips or shaved chocolate.
Printable Recipe Card
Strawberry Filled Cupcakes
Equipment
- 2 12-cup muffin tins
- paper cupcake liners
- Electric mixer and bowl, or stand mixer
- Wire cooling rack
- Sharp knife
- Blender or food processor
- Small rubber spatula or piping bag
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix 15.25 ounces
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/3 cups water room temperature
- 3 large egg whites room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract divided
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 24 medium-sized fresh strawberries divided
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream chilled
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- sprinkles for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Combine the cake mix, flour, water, egg whites, butter, 1 teaspoon of the vanilla, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until well blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl once, about 2 minutes.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
- Bake the vanilla cupcakes until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 2 minutes. Remove from pan, transfer to a wire rack, and finish cooling to room temperature.
- Using a sharp knife, cut a 1-inch-round by 1-inch-long core from each cupcake; reserve cores.
- Remove the stem and quarter 1 strawberry lengthwise, reassemble it, and carefully insert it into the center of a cupcake. (Trim to fit, if necessary.)
- Trim the reserved cupcake core to fit over the strawberry and replace on top of cupcake, covering the strawberry.
- Repeat with remaining berries and cupcakes.
- Purée until smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine the whipping cream and powdered sugar and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Pour the puréed strawberries into the whipped cream mixture.
- Gently fold the strawberry sauce into the whipped cream mixture until it is fully incorporated.
- Frost the cupcakes with the strawberry cream, and top with sprinkles, if you wish. Makes 18 cupcakes.
Notes
Nutrition
FAQs
Eventually, they will — especially if your strawberries are especially juicy; the juices will start to be absorbed by the cake. For this reason, I recommend eating the filled cupcakes within 4 hours of making them.
Most cupcake liners are made to peel off easily, but if you like, you can spray a tiny little puff of nonstick cooking spray in the liners before filling with the cupcake batter.
They are best eaten on the same day you make them. Leftovers can be stored in a tightly wrapped container and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
We Love Your Ratings and Comments!
If you enjoy this recipe, we’d be thrilled if you clicked on the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and left a rating and short comment. It helps so much!
Got questions? Just ask! I’m happy to help.
If you post your creations on social media, tag #HappySimpleLiving so I can share! Thank you for your support. – Eliza
Nutrition Disclaimer: All nutritional information shared on this site is an approximation. I am not a certified nutritionist, and any nutritional information should be used as a general guideline.
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Note: This recipe was originally posted on February 13, 2017, and has since been updated with new information and photos.
Eliza Cross is the creator of Happy Simple Living, where she shares ideas to help busy people simplify cooking, gardening, holidays, home, and money. She is also the award-winning author of 17 cookbooks, including Small Bites and 101 Things To Do With Bacon.
What a cute idea
Those look amazing and yummy. They are perfect for Valentine’s day. I love the combination of red and white.