The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting for Cake
The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting for Cake
It is strawberry season and we all know what that means! We need to bake as many strawberry-flavored cakes as possible! Or at least a few so we can soak up all the best flavors that strawberries give us when they are in their peak season. So, to help us get into the spirit of strawberry-themed desserts, I thought I’d share with you the best strawberry buttercream frosting for cake. I know you’ll love it!
There are a few tricks to getting this strawberry buttercream frosting recipe just right for your cakes, and I go over those throughout this post. But I’ll just tell you right now that one of the best things you can do when making the strawberry buttercream is to beat it on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes after all the ingredients are added. This will help to really blend all of the ingredients which will lighten the texture of the buttercream so it’s not too dense.
The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting Recipe
I have used my strawberry buttercream frosting recipe on several different cakes, and I must say it gives a delicious finishing touch to each one. I love adding strawberry jam (rather than strawberry emulsion or something similar) to the buttercream because it gives that authentic strawberry flavor you want to taste in the buttercream.
To make the strawberry buttercream frosting, you will need:
- 1 ½ cups (327 g) unsalted butter, slightly cold
- ¼ cup (40 g) freeze-dried strawberries, pulverized
- ⅓ cup (76 g) heavy cream
- 2 tbsp. strawberry jam
- 4 cups (500 g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Side note: This recipe makes enough to fill and cover a cake, so if you want to pipe your cake, you will need to make an extra ½ batch.
You will first cream your butter for about 2 minutes in a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. This will help soften your butter without it having to be warm. Next, add your sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time while your mixer is on low speed. Make sure to mix it a little in between each cup of powdered sugar.
Next, add the freeze-dried strawberries and the strawberry jam. Once mixed in, add your whipping cream and vanilla while your mixer is on medium speed. Turn your mixer on medium-high speed and beat for an additional 5-7 minutes. The strawberry buttercream frosting is ready once it becomes lighter in color and texture.
Another thing to take note of is that freeze-dried strawberries tend to thicken the buttercream. To help offset this, I reduced the amount of powdered sugar and added more heavy whipping cream used in the recipe. If you find your buttercream to still be too thick, I recommend adding more heavy cream and beating it a little longer.
The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosted Cakes
I thought I’d showcase three of my strawberry buttercream frosted cakes just to give you some ideas on how you could use this buttercream on your own cakes. These are some of my absolute favorites! And even my husband is a fan when he normally isn’t one who prefers a cake with fruit in it. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Strawberry Buttercream Frosted Cake #1: Biscoff Strawberry Cake
My Biscoff Strawberry Cake is inspired by an ice cream flavor at Rockwell Ice Cream in Utah. It features Biscoff cake layers, Biscoff filling and cookies, strawberry buttercream, and fresh strawberries. Biscoff somehow pairs so well with so many flavors and strawberry is definitely one of them!
Strawberry Buttercream Frosted Cake #2: Strawberries and Cream Cake
This Strawberries and Cream Cake has quite the natural strawberry flavor, thanks to the freeze-dried strawberries and strawberry puree reduction. This cake also features a whipped cream filling that I stabilized with gelatin. I think you’ll have a lot of fun with this one! And, I have to say I made this cake in celebration of the Steel Magnolias movie, which you can read more about in the original post for this cake!
Strawberry Buttercream Frosted Cake #3: Light and Fluffy Strawberry Shortcake
My Strawberry Shortcake is exactly what you hope it would be! It’s made up of the most tender and fluffy vanilla cake layers, filled with homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries, and covered in strawberry buttercream. I know strawberry buttercream isn’t typically included with a strawberry shortcake, but I think it was a risk well worth it! The buttercream is super light just like the cake!
The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting for Cake
I can’t wait for you to try the best strawberry buttercream frosting for cake. Which one of my cakes on this list convinced you to try it? Now is the time to try out these recipes while the strawberries are in season! I hope you enjoy baking your strawberry dessert and especially making and tasting your strawberry buttercream frosting! For more tips and recipes on all things cake, you can follow me on Instagram @cakebycourtney.
Similar Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (339 g) unsalted butter slightly chilled
- 4 cups (500 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
- 1/4 cup (40 g) freeze dried strawberries pulverized and then measured
- 1/3 cup (76 g) heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp. strawberry jam
- 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
*This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter for about 2 minutes. This will soften the butter without it having to be warm.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
- Add the freeze dried strawberries and strawberry jam.
- With mixer on medium speed, add whipping cream, and vanilla.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. The frosting will become lighter in color and texture.
I followed your recipe for the strawberry & cream cake for Thanksgiving & I want to let u know the cake turned out perfect, it was so moist & smooth, the filling & icing for the cake was magnificent, everyone loved the cake & I am so thrill & happy it turned out so well, I will be getting your cookbook as & look forward to making a new cakes from now on, thank you so much
This is my go-to recipe not just for strawberry cake, I use it for all my summer cakes that pair with strawberry too!
Hi! Can you use fresh strawberries instead? Thank you!
For this one, you’ll want to stick with the freeze dried, but I’ll be post a new recipe Friday that has fresh strawberries in the buttercream.
Hi! I am excited to make (and TASTE!) this recipe this week, but noticed the recipe and your instructions in the post differ on the amount of butter; is it 1.5 cups or 2 cups of unsalted butter for this recipe? Thank you for the help!!
Sorry about that. It should be 1.5 cups. I’ll fix in the recipe.
Thank you so much for the clarification! It’s “strawberry” time of year, so I am excited to use this with your chocolate cake!
Ya’ll… this TASTE! 🍓😋 Such a wonderful, REAL strawberry flavor and the color is BEAUTIFUL! My husband couldn’t believe I didn’t add any food coloring. It was a dream to work with and I am using it again in a cake tomorrow!
Could you make this icing a day or two ahead of time and then whip it to make it light and fluffy again, or is it best made and used fresh?
Thank you!
Yes you totally can, keep in fridge.
I’m getting about 16 grams in 1/4 cup of pulverized strawberries… should I go by the 40 grams or 1/4 cup?
1/4 cup