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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!

These Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes garnished with a lemon slice

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!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes displayed on a wooden table

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.

Fresh berry Strawberry frosting for strawberry lemonade cupcakes

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.

Bite of a strawberry lemonade cupcake

Storing Info

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.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcake topped with a slice of lemon

And for more favorite strawberry treats:

These Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes are so pretty and perfect for spring or summer. They start with fluffy, moist lemon cupcakes. Then they're topped with strawberry frosting made from fresh berries!
4.72 from 32 votes

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

By: Lil’ Luna
Sweet & Tangy Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes start with fluffy, moist lemon cupcakes and are topped with a fresh strawberry frosting!
Servings: 12
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes

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 sugar
  • 2 tbsp lemon zest freshly grated
  • 3 large egg whites (you can discard the yolks)
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 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 heavy 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

 *Use 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon milk for a less strong lemon flavor
**I recommend storing these cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge

Nutrition

Calories: 442kcal, Carbohydrates: 61g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 57mg, Sodium: 75mg, Potassium: 161mg, Sugar: 47g, Vitamin A: 670IU, Vitamin C: 13.9mg, Calcium: 59mg, Iron: 0.8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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About Fiona

My name's Fiona and I love to bake and blog. I share homemade, from scratch, classic recipes for desserts & sweet treats including cakes, cupcakes, cookies and more.

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Recipe Rating




55 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Delicious!!! I’m a sucker for anything lemon flavored and these cupcakes did not disappoint! The strawberry buttercream was a great change from just regular vanilla or more lemon. The buttercream definitely took more time than other frostings that I have made, but it was well worth the extra time because it piped really easily and tasted amazing!!

  2. Hi. What can be substituted for corn starch? I recently been out of cornstarch I never been able to go to the store to get some

    1. So in this recipe, the cornstarch joined with the all-purpose flour serve the same purpose as a cake flour would. So if you have cake flour, you can use that instead of the cornstarch/all-purpose flour. If you don’t, you can try omitting the cornstarch and they should still turn out ok. The cupcakes might be a bit less fluffy and light, but should still taste yummy!

  3. 5 stars
    Absolutely loved these. The recipe was a bit time consuming, but definitely worth it in the end. The lemon flavor was great and not overpowering or sour, and the strawberry complemented perfectly. I would suggest boiling the strawberries and making the frosting while the cupcakes are baking. The frosting was a bit too sweet, but that’s what you expect with cupcakes.

  4. 5 stars
    The cupcakes were amazing! I used a blackberry buttercream instead of the strawberries. It was a huge picnic hit.

  5. 5 stars
    I just made these for my daughters 11th birthday and they were amazing! They are absOlutely the best cupcakes i have ever made. Definitely making these again soon.

  6. 5 stars
    Omg, these are the best cupcakes ever, I made these for a project and the teachers loved them!!!