These Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are made with REAL strawberries - no artificial colors or flavors. A perfect fluffy strawberry cupcake is topped with cream cheese frosting mixed with a strawberry puree for a delicious dessert that's perfect for Valentine's Day, parties, or Easter.
This was one of the first recipes I every developed for The Dizzy Cook in honor of VeDA's Fiona the Flamingo. It took me about ten tries to get the perfect mix of gluten free flours and strawberry puree ratio. Too much and the frosting gets thin and messy. Not enough and you can't taste the strawberry!
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Strawberry Cupcakes with Real Strawberries
It seems as if every recipe online for strawberry cupcakes contains a lot of ingredients you wouldn't normally have on hand like dried strawberry powder or flavor. I wanted to make a recipe that was delicious with real strawberries and no food colorings. You don't need it with these because the strawberry puree shines through in both the cupcake and icing. Together you get a bold flavor. You'll love these because:
- These gluten free strawberry cupcakes work well with my xanthan-gum free gluten free flour blend or using regular all purpose flour.
- No artificial flavors - these have real strawberry flavor.
- The strawberry cream cheese frosting would work well on almost any flavor, so you could pair these with a vanilla cupcake.
- The light pink cupcakes are perfect for Easter, Valentine's Day cupcakes, baby showers, or spring and summer parties. Pair them with this Sparkling Strawberry Mocktail for a pink party.
Ingredients
This isn't all of the ingredients, but the most important ones with some tips on what to look for.
- Flour - I've used all purpose flour for this recipe, a 1:1 pre-mixed baking flour like Bob's Red Mill, and my gum-free gluten free flour blend. All turn out great. Xanthan gum is typically used as a binder in gluten free flours, but some people with migraine find it to be a trigger. For the gum-free blend, I used psyllium husk powder which is a substitute for xanthan gum. It can be found at local health food stores in the supplement area.
- Homemade Strawberry Puree - About 1 ½ cups of whole strawberries, green tops removed, blended in a blender or food processor till smooth. This is used in the cream cheese frosting and in the cupcake batter.
- Butter - I use unsalted Kerrygold butter for the best flavor!
- Milk and White Vinegar - This is mixed together to create a quick homemade buttermilk. I use whole milk or 2%, but you could also do oat milk for this recipe.
- Eggs - Although eggs are used in this recipe, an egg substitute would also work. I've previously used flax eggs and applesauce.
- Sugar - Standard white cane sugar will work for the cupcake portion and powdered sugar is necessary for the frosting.
- Cream Cheese - An integral part of the cream cheese frosting, I use Organic Valley or Philadelphia block-style cream cheese. It's important to use a block-style cream cheese for better measurements and texture.
Step by Step Process
- Make sure everything you need for these gluten free strawberry cupcakes is at room temperature - the butter, cream cheese, strawberry puree and eggs. This will help blend the ingredients properly for the best texture. Wash and dry the strawberries and place them in a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth and set aside - this is the real strawberry puree.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. In a small measuring cup, combine the milk and vinegar and allow it to sit to make the buttermilk. Meanwhile in a large bowl, combine the white sugar and butter, blending at medium speed. Blend for 3-4 minutes or until the butter mixture is really light and fluffy. Scrap down the sides of the bowl and add eggs and vanilla, beating on medium till just incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, add the dry ingredients and stir. With the mixer running at low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 3 parts till fully mixed. Do not overmix! Finally, stir in the milk mixture and strawberry puree.
- Prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners and add the strawberry cupcake mix to each one, filling almost to the top. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees F. Gluten free flours will take a little longer to cook than all purpose flour. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside to cool. Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before frosting.
- Meanwhile make the strawberry cream cheese frosting. Add the room temperature butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and strawberry puree. Mix on medium speed till smooth.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar starting at low speed and increasing to medium to mix. Continue adding powdered sugar as needed to thicken the mixture and remember it will also firm up a bit in the fridge.
- Fill a piping bag with the frosting by placing it over a cup and folding the edges back over the cup - this helps it stay up right while you fill it! Place it in the fridge for at 10-30 minutes.
- Squeeze the piping bag from the tail end, guiding the tip in a circle around the top of the cupcake till it is fully frosted. Serve immediately or keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Recipe Tips for Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes
- 3 cups of whole strawberries for me equaled 1 cup of puree. These puree quite easily in my vitamix, but you may need to smash them a few times in a regular blender or food processor. If you have some leftover, it’s really great in sparkling water or mixed in oats for breakfast.
- You might be tempted to add more strawberry puree into your cupcakes to make them have a deep pink color - DO NOT DO THIS. I assure you that I have already tested this and they were way too gummy. I was also tempted to reduce the sugar in this recipe, but I find that gluten free baking needs a little more sugar to keep things moist.
- With the cream cheese frosting, adding more strawberry puree for a deeper pink color won't affect the texture as much, but you will have to balance it with more powdered sugar. If you add too much puree, you may end up with super sweet frosting. Taste and adjust as you go. Remember you're using real ingredients for this recipe, so the cupcakes will be a very light pink.
- Remember the icing firms up in the fridge because of the butter. If you keep it in the fridge for too long, it will become too hard to pipe. I recommend between 10-30 minutes to help it slightly firm up before frosting the cupcakes. If stored overnight, leave the frosting out at room temperature for about 20 minutes before frosting the cupcakes.
Storage Instructions
I recommend making these gluten free strawberry cupcakes the day you intend to serve them, but here are a few tips for storage.
If making a few days ahead, store the cupcakes and icing separately. The cupcakes can stay at room temperature for 1-2 days. The icing will keep in the fridge for at least a week and can also be frozen and defrosted in the fridge.
If you intend to frost the cupcakes the same day, store the frosted cupcake in the fridge for 3-4 days and bring to room temperature before serving. Cold cupcakes will be much more dry and won't be quite as tasty!
These freeze well! Just freeze the cupcakes and icing separately and defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Only if they're frosted! For this recipe, you can keep them at room temperature for 1-2 days. If you intend to frost them that day, they will keep best in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days.
The best way to keep these cupcakes moist is to allow them to cool completely, then place them in an airtight container. Keep the cream cheese frosting separately in the fridge till you're ready to serve. If this won't work for you, place the whole cupcake in the refrigerator but bring it to room temperature before serving. Cold cupcakes are naturally more dry and not as good!
Two things will help to achieve a light and fluffy cupcake - 1. room temperature ingredients and 2. creaming the butter and sugar well. Often people don't cream the butter and sugar long enough - it shouldn't just be smooth, but should have an almost fluffy quality to it. Sometimes this can take up to 2-3 minutes of mixing! The pockets of air you create help to fluff up the cupcake batter. Although gluten free cupcakes are a little more dense, this works well for both methods.
Strawberry Recipes
Have leftover strawberries after making these gluten free strawberry cupcakes? Here are some great ways to use the extras!
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Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
For gluten free flour mixture
- ¾ cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup potato starch
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup oat flour
- ¾ teaspoon psyllium husk powder
For the strawberry cupcakes
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup strawberry puree at room temperature *approximately 1 ½ cups whole strawberries blended. You will need about 2-3 cups of strawberries total for this recipe
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups gluten free flour mixture or all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
For the cream cheese frosting
- 4 oz block cream cheese at room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (or more) strawberry puree
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- It is necessary for the butter, eggs, cream cheese, and strawberry puree to be at room temperature. Wash and dry the whole strawberries (about 2-3 cups total), trim the green tops, and place the in a high speed blender or food processor. Puree till completely smooth then set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine milk with vinegar in a small bowl and allow to sit for at least 5 minutes. This creates homemade buttermilk.
- In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, blend the butter and sugar together on medium high speed until fluffy and creamy - roughly 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed, and beat until just combined and smooth.
- In a medium bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet in 3 parts, beating on low speed after each addition till just combined. Add the milk mixture and strawberry puree on low speed, or stirring by hand, till just combined. Do not overmix!
- Spoon batter evenly into 12 cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes (17-18 for all purpose flour) at 350F degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops are firm to touch. Allow to cool at room temperature before frosting.
- Meanwhile, in a stand mixer or with a handheld, beat together the room temperature cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and strawberry puree. The puree tends to clump up the cream cheese and butter at first - don't worry, this will all smooth out as you continue mixing. A whisk attachment helps!
- Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until desired thickness and sweetness is reached. Taste and add more strawberry puree if needed for color and flavor, keeping in mind this will thin it out and more powdered sugar may be necessary. It should be a very light pink color. Fold a piping bag over a tall cup and fill it with the frosting. Transfer to the refrigerator for 10-30 minutes to get the frosting to firm up slightly. Frost right before serving!
Notes
- If using all purpose flour, these cook faster than gluten free. Plan to check at 17-18 min.
- Troubleshooting tips- if the frosting is too sweet, add a pinch of salt. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add more strawberry puree. Make sure to frost them right before eating. The frosting gets a little melty in the heat.
- I used a piping bag, but you could also spoon the frosting into a ziplock bag and trim off the end for a cheap, quick piping bag.
- If the frosting has been in the fridge for over 30 minutes, give it some time to soften at room temperature before piping on to the cupcakes.
- When making the gluten free flour blend, psyllium husk powder binds the batter, however these still crumble fairly easily. The frosting is important as it also helps binds everything together.
- If you have no xanthan gum sensitivity - feel free to substitute the flours and psyllium husk powder for regular 1-1 gluten free flour. Or regular all purpose flour.
- Cupcakes and frosting can be frozen 1-2 months.
Nutrition
This post was originally published August 20, 2018 and was updated January 19, 2022 to include new recipe tips, step by step instructions, and photography. Below are some photos from the original post.
Natalie says
These cupcakes are everything! The flavours balance so nicely and you might have a difficult time stopping at eating just one! I made these for my birthday and gifted to coworkers too! These freeze so nicely there is no worry about tyramine build up if you don’t have them all in one shot.😜
January Plantage says
Could I put this in a 9X13 pan and make more like a cake?
Ashley says
I love these so much and appreciate they're made without a 1:1 flour and xanthin gum! The icing is perfect