Sweet & Tangy Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes start with fluffy, moist lemon cupcakes and are topped with a fresh strawberry frosting!
Nothing says summer like a cool glass of Homemade Lemonade, or even better – Strawberry Lemonade! These Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes bring that delicious summer flavor, but in cupcake form!
Summertime in a cupcake
I absolutely love strawberry lemonade because it’s like summertime in a glass and pretty in pink. And whenever there’s a delicious flavor combination – I always want to make it into cupcake.
These strawberry lemonade cupcakes are moist, perfectly fluffy, and bursting with fresh fruit flavors. The cupcakes have a delicious slightly tangy lemon flavor. Then we’re using fresh berries for the frosting. Isn’t strawberry season the best?
These have the perfect flavor combination. The hint of tanginess and fresh lemon flavor, moist cupcake crumb, and creamy strawberry frosting – I hope you love them as much as I do!
Making Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
PREP. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line a 12 cavity muffin pan with muffin papers.
DRY INGREDIENTS. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.
WET INGREDIENTS. Then in a large bowl using an electric mixer beat together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until fluffy. Add in the egg whites and vanilla extract and continue mixing until combined.
COMBINE. Turn the mixer down to low speed and mix in about ½ of the sour cream followed by half of the flour mixture. Then turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Repeat with the rest of the sour cream and flour mixture. Then turn off the mixer and stir in the lemon juice. Be careful not to over mix.
BAKE. Spoon the batter into your prepared muffin pan, filling each muffin paper about ⅔ to ¾ full. You’ll end up with 12-14 cupcakes total. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Strawberry Frosting
PREP. Core the strawberries to remove the green centers. Then puree in the food processor or blender until smooth. Then push the puree through a wire sieve to remove the seeds. You should have about ¾ cup of puree.
BOIL. Transfer the puree to a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil while gently stirring. Allow the mixture to boil for about 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture has reduced to about ⅓ to ¼ of the original volume (about ¼ cup). The thicker your puree is, the thicker your frosting will be.
CHILL. Remove from the heat and allow mixture to cool fully. You can place it in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process.
BEAT. In a large bowl beat the butter until fluffy, then beat in about 1.5 cups of the powdered sugar. Then turn the mixer down to low and beat in 2-3 tablespoons of the reduced strawberry puree. The mixture must be cold when it’s added to the frosting, otherwise the frosting will separate. Once added, beat in the rest of the powdered sugar and the whipping cream if necessary.
FROST. Frost the cupcakes either with a piping bag (I used a 1M tip) or with a knife.
recipe tips + Storing Info
How to substitute buttermilk for sour cream: When baking you can interchange buttermilk with sour cream. You do need to keep in mind they do not have the same texture and so you’ll need to make adjustments. Since buttermilk is more liquid than sour cream you will need to mix it with some butter. To substitute 1 cup of sour cream mix together ¾ cup buttermilk and ⅓ cup butter.
Here are a few great tips when making the frosting:
- The brighter red the strawberries are the darker the frosting will turn out. If you want a deeper color you can add a drop or two of red food coloring.
- If your frosting has separated sometimes it can be tricky to figure out why this might have happened. For this particular frosting one reason it doesn’t turn out is because the strawberry puree was not boiled down long enough to let the excess water evaporate. Another reason is that the puree may not have been cold enough before mixing it with the butter/sugar mixture.
Make ahead: These cupcakes can be made a day ahead of time, covered, and stored in the fridge before serving. If you want to make these cupcakes farther in advance you can store them separately and then assemble before serving.
STORE frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
STORE cupcakes in an airtight container on the counter for 2-3 days or in the fridge for about 5 days. To FREEZE them you’ll want to individually wrap them and store them together in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months.
And for more favorite strawberry treats, check out:
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes
- Strawberry Shortcake Bars
- Strawberry Shortcake Poke Cake
- Frozen Strawberry Dessert
- Strawberry Cookies
Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcake
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon zest freshly grated
- 3 large egg whites (you can discard the yolks)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup sour cream room temperature
- 3 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed*
Strawberry Frosting
- 8 oz fresh strawberries
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tbsp whipping cream if needed
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line a 12 cavity muffin pan with muffin papers.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.
- Then in a large bowl using an electric mixer beat together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until fluffy. Add in the egg whites and vanilla extract and continue mixing until combined.
- Turn the mixer down to low speed and mix in about ½ of the sour cream followed by half of the flour mixture. Then turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Repeat with the rest of the sour cream and flour mixture. Then turn off the mixer and stir in the lemon juice. Be careful not to over mix.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared muffin pan, filling each muffin paper about ⅔ to ¾ full. You'll end up with 12-14 cupcakes total.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Strawberry Frosting
- Core the strawberries to remove the green centers. Then puree in the food processor or blender until smooth. Then push the puree through a wire sieve to remove the seeds. You should have about ¾ cup of puree.
- Transfer the puree to a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil while gently stirring. Allow the mixture to boil for about 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture has reduced to about ⅓ to ¼ of the original volume (about ¼ cup). The thicker your puree is, the thicker your frosting will be.
- Remove from the heat and allow mixture to cool fully. You can place it in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process.
- In a large bowl beat the butter until fluffy, then beat in about 1.5 cups of the powdered sugar. Then turn the mixer down to low and beat in 2-3 tablespoons of the reduced strawberry puree. The mixture must be cold when it's added to the frosting, otherwise the frosting will separate.
- Once added, beat in the rest of the powdered sugar and the whipping cream if necessary.
- Frost the cupcakes either with a piping bag (I used a 1M tip) or with a knife.
Notes
**I recommend storing these cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge
For more delicious recipes, head on over to Just So Tasty!
The taste was amazing – truly tasted like fresh lemon and REAL strawberries. We had a family cupcake bake-off and these took first place! Yes, they were time consuming, but worth it. I think we overmixed them, though. Our cupcakes were very dense, not fluffy and moist. Overall, lots of fun, great recipe.
Thanks so much for your feedback! I’m so glad to hear the cupcakes were a hit!