Let me educate you how one can make naturally flavored (and naturally coloured) strawberry buttercream frosting. The key is to interchange some confectioners’ sugar with freeze-dried strawberry powder. This strawberry buttercream is extremely creamy and clean, with a great deal of actual strawberry taste.
Initially revealed in 2017. New photographs & success suggestions added in 2023.
![chocolate cupcake with strawberry frosting on top and garnished with chocolate covered strawberry.](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/strawberry-frosting-buttercream.jpg)
Let’s speak about how one can make naturally flavored, naturally pink strawberry buttercream frosting.
Have you ever ever tried making frosting with recent strawberries? I’ve, and the outcomes have been disastrous. I chopped up the strawberries, even blotted the moisture a bit of bit, pureed them, after which added it to a vanilla frosting. The buttercream immediately curdled on account of the surplus moisture—yuck! Identical factor occurred with strawberry jam, which additionally made the frosting too candy.
As a substitute of counting on synthetic strawberry taste, I attempted a trick I discovered whereas writing my cookbook Sally’s Candy Addiction. Use freeze-dried strawberry powder!
![chocolate cupcake with strawberry buttercream frosting.](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/strawberry-frosting-buttercream-2.jpg)
I’ve a recipe for strawberry buttercream candies in that cookbook—they’re really the beautiful pink striped candies you see on the duvet. The filling is creamy and clean with plenty of concentrated strawberry taste, which comes from—you guessed it—floor freeze-dried strawberries. I made a decision to make precise strawberry frosting the identical actual method. In case you’d like a visible information for how one can make it, watch the video tutorial within the recipe card under.
It’s very easy.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting (6 Elements)
- Freeze-Dried Strawberries: You’ll grind these right into a powder. Wish to make a raspberry buttercream? Use freeze-dried raspberries as an alternative.
- Unsalted Butter: Begin with room temperature butter. Room temperature butter is definitely cooler than you assume. If the butter is simply too heat, the frosting might be greasy.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Confectioners’ sugar is the majority of this frosting, sweetening it and binding the substances collectively.
- Heavy Cream or Milk: Liquid thins out and provides creaminess to the frosting. You should utilize heavy cream, milk, and even half-and-half.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract provides unbelievable taste.
- Salt: A pinch of salt offsets all of the sweetness.
That’s it! No synthetic flavoring or meals coloring on this fairly pink strawberry frosting.
![ingredients on marble counter including confectioners' sugar, freeze-dried strawberry slices, butter, and heavy cream.](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/freeze-dried-strawberries-butter-confectioners-sugar.jpg)
Grind the freeze-dried strawberries into powder utilizing a food processor or blender:
![strawberry powder in food processor and shown again being spooned out.](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ground-freeze-dried-strawberry-powder.jpg)
Success Tip for Tremendous-Clean Strawberry Buttercream:
In case you want a smoother strawberry buttercream, with not one of the teeny-tiny seeds, you may sift out the seeds and bigger items of the bottom freeze-dried strawberries with a fine mesh sieve, and use simply the super-fine strawberry mud. If I’ve an additional minute, I normally do that.
![sieve with red pieces of freeze-dried strawberries in it.](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/sifting-freeze-dried-strawberry-powder.jpg)
The remainder of the recipe is much like making common vanilla buttercream or chocolate buttercream. You’ll want a handheld or stand mixer.
![strawberry frosting in a glass stand mixer bowl with a whisk attachment](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/creamy-strawberry-frosting-2.jpg)
![pink strawberry frosting and a filled piping bag](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/strawberry-frosting-for-lemon-cupcakes.jpg)
The place Can I Purchase Freeze-Dried Strawberries?
I all the time discover freeze-dried strawberries in my common grocery retailer within the dried fruit aisle. Dealer Joe’s, Complete Meals, Goal, and Amazon all carry them.
Don’t use “dried strawberries,” that are chewy like raisins or dried apricots. They’ve a gummy texture and don’t grind right into a powder. You want freeze-dried strawberries, which have all the moisture eliminated. They’re the identical strawberries we use in strawberry and cream cookies.
What Tastes Finest With Strawberry Buttercream?
The flavour-combo potentialities are limitless! This recipe makes sufficient for a dozen cupcakes, a 3-layer 6-inch cake, or a 9×13-inch quarter sheet cake. I might 1.5x the recipe for a 2-layer cake.
![strawberry lemon cupcakes with strawberries and lemons used as garnish](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/lemon-cupcakes-strawberry-frosting.jpg)
![lemon cupcake with strawberry buttercream cut in half](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/strawberry-lemon-cupcakes.jpg)
I additionally halve the recipe and use it to fill these chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes.
Strawberry Frosting Variations
In case you love strawberry buttercream frosting, you’ll additionally love these scrumptious variations!
![chocolate cupcake with strawberry buttercream frosting.](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/strawberry-frosting-buttercream-2-265x265.jpg)
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Prepare dinner Time: 0 minutes
Complete Time: 10 minutes
Yield: about 3 cups
Class: Frosting
Technique: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
Freeze-dried strawberries are the key to including actual taste and pure shade to strawberry buttercream frosting. Wealthy and creamy, this flavorful frosting pairs completely with an array of confections together with chocolate cupcakes, lemon cupcakes, and/or a vanilla sheet cake.
Directions
- Utilizing a food processor or blender, course of the freeze-dried strawberries right into a powdery crumb. It is best to have round 1/2 cup. If it’s not grinding down effective sufficient, you may sift it with a fine mesh sieve to rid bigger seeds/items. Put aside.
- In a big bowl utilizing a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium-high velocity till creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, strawberry powder, heavy cream/milk, and vanilla. Beat on low velocity for 30 seconds, then change to excessive velocity and beat for two minutes. Style. Add 1–2 extra Tablespoons of heavy cream/milk if wanted to skinny out, if desired. (I normally add no less than 1 extra.) Add a pinch of salt if frosting is simply too candy.
- Use instantly or cowl tightly and retailer for as much as 1 week within the fridge or as much as 3 months within the freezer. After freezing, thaw within the fridge then beat the frosting on medium velocity for a number of seconds so it’s creamy once more. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will assist skinny the frosting out once more, if wanted. (It stiffens within the fridge.)
Notes
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Food Processor | Fine Mesh Sieve | Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer)
- The place to search out freeze-dried strawberries: I all the time discover freeze-dried strawberries in my common grocery retailer within the dried fruit aisle. Dealer Joe’s, Complete Meals, some greenback shops, Goal, and Amazon carry them.
- Don’t use recent, frozen, or dried strawberries. Contemporary and frozen strawberries add an excessive amount of moisture. Dried strawberries are chewy like raisins or dried apricots. They’ve a gummy texture and don’t grind right into a powder. You want freeze-dried strawberries, which have all the moisture eliminated.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream produces an additional creamy frosting, however entire milk or half-and-half work too. Decrease fats or nondairy milks work in a pinch, however the frosting received’t be as creamy.
- Amount: This recipe is sufficient to frost 12–18 cupcakes, or a skinny layer on a 9×13-inch quarter sheet cake. 1.5x the recipe for a 2-layer cake. (Doubling the recipe can be far an excessive amount of.)
Key phrases: strawberry buttercream frosting