Strawberry season is in full swing and today I’m sharing a fantastic Strawberry Buttercream Frosting Recipe that is easy to make, pipes beautifully, and is bursting with strawberry flavor!
This versatile strawberry buttercream recipe can be used as a filling or frosting, and tastes AMAZING with all sorts of cake and cupcake flavors.
(*In the photo above, I covered our thinly crumb coated lemon cake in Strawberry Buttercream piping using a Wilton Star 21 tip. Spirals of buttercream covered the top of the cake, and I continued my buttercream piping around the sides with a simple braided buttercream design.)
We have quite a few favorite buttercream recipes in our Recipes section, and this latest strawberry addition does not disappoint!
Not only is it the perfect complement to Strawberry Cake, but it is divine with white, yellow, chocolate, and even lemon cakes and cupcakes! In fact, Strawberry Lemon Cake is a brand new favorite of mine!
Strawberry Buttercream
Ingredients
- 10 to 12 large strawberries, sliced and pureed in blender or food processor
- 2 sticks (1 cup) (226g) unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 6 cups (690g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt (optional) this will cut the sweetness (popcorn salt will dissolve more quickly)
- 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon pureed strawberries, add more to reach your desired spreading consistency
- 1 teaspoon (4g) strawberry extract (optional) use if the buttercream needs more strawberry flavor
Directions
- Cream the softened butter until smooth.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar and pureed strawberries beating at medium speed until blended.
- Continue mixing on medium speed another 3 to 4 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally
- Slow down the mixer to very slow (#2 on a KitchenAid) and mixing another 1 to 2 minutes. This will eliminate air pockets. The buttercream will become very smooth.
- If the buttercream is too thin add more powdered sugar, if too thick add more puree or a bit of milk.
- Any extra strawberry puree can be spread between the cake layers
- Makes 4 to 4 1/2 cups
Hi, I was wondering about this recipe, is it 10-12 strawberries pureed AND 1/4 c of additional puree? Or is the 10-12 strawberries the ones you use to make the puree?
Hi Rebekah, The 10 to 12 large strawberries should make more than 1/4 cup of pureed strawberries……..it is good to have more than 1/4 cup in case you need to add more to the frosting to reach the spreading consistency you like. Also, that should give you enough to spread a thin layer of puree on the cake layers.
I just made this tonight and wanted to thank you for sharing this! Absolutely delicious and fresh, strawberry taste – I put it on a yellow cake.The best! Thanks again
Hi Cathy, Thank you for posting your thoughts on the recipe. I am very happy that you like it!!
This Frosting was absolutely delicious! It
Tastes like Breyers strawberry ice cream!
Thank you for this recipe!
Thanks Pamela! I’m so happy to hear that you loved the recipe! Thanks for your feedback! xo
This frosting is amazing, I just made it today with a yellow cake, I was wondering though, I’m not a fan refrigerating my cakes, but with pureed strawberries in the frosting, do you recommend refrigeration or will the butter prevent spoiling as it usually creates a seal? thank you!
-Tristan
Hi Tristan, I am happy you like the frosting! We were not sure how the puree would hold up so we did not leave this cake out overnight. We refrigerate and take out 30 to 45 minutes before serving so it can warm up a bit
Hi, thanks for sharing this recipe. I was wondering if I could use strawberry jam/preserve instead of fresh puree. Thanks, Kay from Nigeria.
Can crisco be used instead of unsalted butter? I’m just a big fan of crisco instead of unsalted butter in my icings.
Hi, I made this with the lemon cake and it was SOOOO good. It was a huge hit!! Thanks so much for the recipe. I’m going to make it again for a dinner this weekend, and I was just wondering if you’ve ever tried using frozen strawberries to make the puree? Do you think that would work?
Thanks again! -Rebekah
Hi Rebekah, Wonderful!! We are thrilled you like the lemon cake!! I use frozen strawberries when making the strawberry cake, I haven’t used them for the strawberry frosting but they should work fine for you.
This recipe was incredible!! I had quite a bit left, how long will the extra frosting stay good for in the fridge?
Hi Candice, I’m happy you like the recipe! Frosting can usually be refrigerated for 2 weeks but since this has strawberry puree I think it should be good for a week. Another option is to freeze it, we have frozen this in an airtight container for 4 months, thaw in the refrigerator then remix adding a bit of milk if needed, and it was fine.
I am getting ready for a missions dessert Auction. How far in advance can I make the strawberry butter cream frosting and how should it be stored?
Hi Teresa, Since it is an Auction dessert and not knowing how long the cake will be kept before eating and because of the strawberries, I think I would make it only 1 to 2 days in advance. Refrigerate in an airtight container. The day you are going to decorate, let it come to room temperature. Remix with a spoon or with a hand mixer.
I noticed it is not fluffy. I’ll need it to hold up as I will transport
In the hot Tx. weather. I’m making your lemon strawberry cake. Can I advise on making i to a fluffy that has shortening? Sorry I am a beginner.
I noticed it is not fluffy. I’ll need it to hold up as I will transport
In the hot Tx. weather. I’m making your lemon strawberry cake. Can u advise on making it into a fluffy that has shortening? Sorry I am a beginner.
Hi Teresa, Yes, you can replace half or all of the butter with Crisco.
Hi. will this buttercream melt if not stored in the fridge? thinking of adding it as a filling for macaron and then ship it.
Hi Dory, I’m sorry but this would not be a good choice of frosting for shipping. The butter used in the buttercream will become very soft if it gets warm and the fresh strawberry puree is an issue also.
My frosting isn’t thinking up, what went wrong ??
Hi Michele, you can add powdered sugar bit by bit until it reaches a consistency that you like.
This site is better than I went to Culinary school. To be fair all we did was make pies and bread. I wanted to know if I can substitute High ratio shorting for all the butter in this recipe.
Hi Claudia, Thank you for your compliment. Yes, you can substitute high ratio shortening for the butter if you like. You will need to add additional strawberry puree as you will need more liquid when using high ratio, or you can supplement with part strawberry puree and part milk. Hope all goes well.
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. One more question or two. When making this frosting with high ratio shorting do you eliminate the almond and butter extract (flavoring) from the recipe? If not how much do you recommend. I had to order strawberry extract on line it is had to find where I live. Again thank you for getting back to me so quickly and for all those little hints.I have told all my friends on Facebook whether they just like to bake cakes or do it for a living, this is one of the best sites to go to. Thank you
Hi Claudia, I’m glad you asked the question, the butter flavoring slipped my mind. When eliminating all the butter you will need to add that flavor. I think based on the quantity of the strawberry recipe I would add 1/4 teaspoon butter flavoring . I would leave out the almond and use only the strawberry extract. I would use 1 teaspoon strawberry extract unless after tasting the buttercream you think it needs a bit more. The high ratio shortening has no flavor so you might need to adjust the amounts of butter flavor or strawberry extract to suit your taste. If you were open to using some butter, you could change the recipe to 1/2 cup (1 stick ) butter and 1/2 cup high ratio shortening, eliminate the butter flavoring and keeping the recipe otherwise the same except you might need to add a bit more liquid (strawberry puree or milk) as I mentioned earlier. Let me know if you have other questions.
I opened my small bottle of Strawberry Extract but before using I tasted of it…. so bitter and an after taste… I didn’t use it… it wasn’t good!! Not sure what brand you use but this one I ordered from a great company was not good.., I poured it down the drain!! So I bought fresh strawberries and made a strawberry syrup to use… haven’t used it yet… But it taste wonderful!!