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vanilla bean cupcakes with strawberry buttercream
My son came up with his own joke when he was two, and it goes like this:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Why?
Because he had the day off!
He still tells the joke at least twice a week.
Today, after preschool, he came to me crying because no one had asked him to play. He said to me, with tears in his eyes, “I want to be like the chicken who crossed the road!”
Apparently, he wanted the day off from getting a ride home. What ensued was a quiet tantrum of sorts, with me driving slowly alongside him, while he refused to get in the car.
When we got into the driveway, I told him we could have the day off together, but in the end, he only calmed down when he remembered we had some of these cupcakes left in the fridge. After he had his, he was pretty happy.
Once he was taken care of, we took a nice long walk in the sunshine to deliver cupcakes to the people I visit teach for church. My little guy talked nonstop, and I was so glad we got to be like the chicken when he crossed the road.
I have started making a lot of my cupcake batters right in the food processor. It’s easy as anything, and takes only ten or twenty seconds to whip up the batter. If you make mini cupcakes with it, which only take five to ten minutes to bake, you can have cupcakes made from scratch, in under half an hour. I love it.
vanilla bean cupcakes
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
seeds scraped from one vanilla bean (these can always be left out, and the cupcakes will still be delicious)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners. Combine all ingredients in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Fill cupcake liners slightly more then halfway full.
2. Bake for 15 minutes, or until center cupcakes bounce back when touched. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Frost with strawberry buttercream.
strawberry buttercream
3 large strawberries at room temperature
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
In a food processor, pulse strawberries until pureed. Add in butter and vanilla, and about 2 cups of the sugar. Pulse until well combined. Incorporate cream. Add in small amounts of powdered sugar, pulsing after each addition, to reach the desired consistency. Frosting should be smooth and soft, yet hold its shape.
114 Responses to “vanilla bean cupcakes with strawberry buttercream”
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Tried your strawberry buttercream for my daughters 1st bday and can i say YUMMMMMMMYY!! She inhaled 2 in a matter of mins. I am posting a link to your page from my own blog. Thanks for the new fav!
My daughter is in love with the color pink. I think I’m going to make these for her 3 year birthday this week! I hate eating boxed cakes & store frostings, but homemade seems so tempting…
These look amazing, I think I’ll make them for my daughter’s birthday party
) How many cupcakes does this recipe yield?
Me and my BFF tried to make the frosting you have listed, but it would not thicken. We thought maybe we messed up the first batch and tried again, but eat time it became soup. The cupcakes were amazing but the frosting didn’t come out right.
I’m so sorry to hear that, PinkCakes. I actually tried it later in the season, and discovered the strawberries were much wetter than they were in the spring. I ended up added a ton of sugar, which wasn’t great. I will do some more testing to figure out a good volume amount for the strawberries so that we don’t keep having that problem.
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I am trying these for my daughters 2nd birthday today! I can not wait to try this out but I may switch out the fresh strawberries for strawberry jam to avoid having a soup buttercream frosting.
How many cupcakes does this recipe yield?
Sheri—this makes about 12 cupcakes. Thanks for asking!
Thanks for the quick response! I made these before but forgot how many it made (they were a huge hit btw). I’m making a double batch for my daughter’s 1st b-day party this Friday!
What would you think of using FROZEN strawberries in place of fresh?
Sheri—that might work. Maybe. But be very careful about the moisture content. Some of the other commenters had trouble with the frosting being too wet and separating, even when using fresh strawberries. But you could give it a try. I would defrost them first, and then use half as many strawberries to start with. Then I would add more at the end maybe. If you try it, let us know how it turns out.
I used the frozen strawberries and it worked out very well! I just was sure to dry them off on some paper towels beforehand and I used my KitchenAid mixer with the whisk attatchment, adding in the strawberries (did not purée them first) after the butter and sugar were a little mixed. The product was a very light and fluffy frosting with some tiny bits of strawberries mixed in here and there. DELICIOUS! (and PS my one year old daughter LOVED them!)
Thanks for letting us know, Sheri!! So happy they turned out, and now we know we can use frozen strawberries! That is wonderful!
I cant wait to try these I am looking for a recipe for my daughter’s third birthday thank you for posting
Thank you for posting this recipe, I’m making a valentines cake for my fiance the red velvet one and wanted a strawberry frosting for it this one looks amazing…I’ll let you know how much likes it (he loves my baking)
[...] adapted from Sophistamom [...]
Hello, Do I have to refrigerate these after making them?
I used frozen strawberries and after defrosting them I then drained them for a few hours (next time I will drain them over night)and they turned out great. Thanks for the great recipe.
Doni—I don’t think you have to refrigerate them, but if you have a problem at all with separation with the frosting, I would refrigerate them just to give the frosting a chance to set—especially if you plan on serving them at someplace warm.
Thanks, Jamie, you read my mind almost a year in advance. I decided to make vanilla cupcakes, and scoured my cookbooks, only to find NONE of them have a recipe. I should have just checked here first.
Do you think the batter recipe could be used for a multi-layer cake that’s to be covered and decorated with fondant? Thanks!!!!
Yeah, I think that would work, Carolyn. Just keep an eye on it in the oven, and add about 10 minutes of cooking time.
how much cream does this make?
Sam–I think this makes enough to ice all twelve cupcakes.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to make this recipe work at 6300 ft? High altitude is the worst for baking! Thanks!
Lauren—I’m at 4,500 feet, and it didn’t present too many problems. I’ve sort of given up on trying to make things work with high altitude. All the normal suggestions tend to make the cakes less flavorful. So I have finally decided to accept flat cakes. These should work out for you, though. Make sure and let us know!
I made these yesterday and I fixed the frosting by adding another half stick of butter.
Oh good, Erikadenisee. I think everything can be fixed with a 1/2 a stick more of butter.
Thank you for this recipe! I made these today and they are delicious. To fix the runny frosting problem, I made a syrup by cooking a pint of sliced strawberries with sugar and vanilla. I saved back a half of a cup of the syrup and added that to the frosting. The cake was moist and flavorful and the frosting was beautiful and so tasty.
Lauren – Your best option is probably to just add another layer to the cake. It kind of stinks to have to double your ingredients, but it will keep your cake proportions looking nice.
Looks delicious!I’m going to try this tonight and I hope it comes out great like the pictures. Thnx for the recipe!
Hi, do you generally use kosher salt in your recipes? So when your list just indicates salt, which should I assume you are referring to–kosher salt, table salt or sea salt? Does it make a big difference in terms of taste?
I made half of the strawberry buttercream. Wow it tastes like a strawberry cloud. Iam Using this as a filling for shortbread cookies. Nice recipe. (will make cupcakes later)
Thanks, Tina! I’m so thrilled it worked out for you!
Just came across your recipe a I was Googling for vanilla bean cupcakes that didn’t require separating the eggs. They’re baking now (though they seem to need another 5 minutes or so).
For the frosting, I’m looking at using strawberry jam (I just made 3 batches). I found a recipe that looks decent (http://www.yesterdayontuesday.com/2012/01/strawberry-jam-frosting.html). Hope that helps someone.
Thanks, Mama B!
Sophistimom, I’m going to try this recipe tonight. Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Did you make the roses on these cupcakes? If not, where did you buy them?
about how much does the buttercream recipe yield?
Nicole—Enough for 12 cupcakes.
Instead of sour cream, can you use plain greek yogurt, or maybe even strawberry yogurt?? yum!
Mary—I would try a yogurt that has a small amount of protein per serving, as protein tends to make the cake tougher. Greek yogurt tends to have a higher concentration of protein, but check the label. Sometimes the protein is low. To be on the safe side, I would recommend a traditional yogurt.
I made these for my daughter’s fourth birthday and they turned out great! I needed 36 so I tripled the recipe. I have a bunch of batter and frosting leftover to make later this week, so I think I would only double it next time.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Cathy—I’m so happy you would make these for your daughter’s birthday, and that they turned out well. Thank you for letting us know!
[...] this review I chose a vanilla bean with strawberry butter cream cupcake. You can find the recipe on http://www.sophistimom.com I really like this cupcake because it comes out of the oven moist and delicious. The butter cream [...]
for those having problems with the buttercream, it’s because it’s the ‘merican version. You should foam some egg whites, cook some sugar to hard ball and make an italian b’cr. It will hold up like magic. And for those with elevation problems; higher is drier, add a little moisture. Oh, and higher is also less air pressure so reduce leavening agents (baking soda/powder). In this case, it should also be known that mixing the two has no different effect than one used correctly. If you want just baking powder, replace the soda measure for measure. If you want the soda, replace measure for measure but make sure you have an acidic ingredient, like buttermilk instead of the milk/sour cream combo.
Thank you, what great advice!