This homemade Strawberry Buttercream Frosting is loaded with fresh strawberries and is creamy and delicious for topping cakes, cupcakes, and more! Just six real ingredients, and easy to make!
Baked goods like cakes, cupcakes, and cookies taste amazing with this scrumptious, fresh-tasting Strawberry Buttercream frosting. It’s so tasty, comes together easily, and is made with only six real ingredients, including strawberries, butter, and sugar. The pink color and strawberry flavor are all natural from the strawberries. It’s amazing on everything from Strawberry Cake to Chocolate Cupcakes or swirled on top of a chewy sugar cookie! Such a favorite frosting!
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How to Make Strawberry Buttercream
My family loves this frosting! I get requests for it often. It’s so good and such a favorite that my niece wanted it for a graduation celebration cake. Strawberry lovers adore it – but everyone that I’ve served it to loves it, too! The taste is fresh and amazing – I hope you try it soon.
This buttercream frosting only takes a few ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter that is softened to room temperature
- Confectioner’s sugar – Also called powdered sugar
- Strawberry syrup – A strawberry simple syrup made with fresh strawberries, sugar, and water
- Vanilla extract -Use this homemade vanilla or your favorite high-quality vanilla
- Half-and-half – Or use cream or whole milk
- Salt – Use a pinch of kosher salt to balance and enhance the sweetness
Tip for Bakery-Perfect Buttercream!
Here’s a tip to make your buttercream frosting light, fluffy, and bakery-perfect!
To make my strawberry buttercream frosting, you’ll want to be sure to follow the instructions of adding the confectioner’s sugar 1/2 cup at a time and then turning your mixer on high speed for the fluffiest of frostings.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Mix together butter and sugar. Cream together the softened butter and a small amount of confectioner’s sugar at a time.
Combine with strawberry and vanilla. After each bit of the sugar has been added, add a bit of strawberry syrup at a time. Add the vanilla and then beat on high for about 20 seconds to lighten the frosting.
Mix with half-and-half. Add one tablespoon of half-and-half at a time until the buttercream has reached a consistency that will hold shape. Add a pinch of salt and whip on high for a final 20 seconds.
Frost the dessert or store it. Use this immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to three days.
Storage Tips
To refrigerate. Cover well or place in an airtight container with a lid for up to three days.
To frost the dessert. To use once refrigerated, slowly allow it to reach room temperature and then beat on low speed until the buttercream is smooth before using.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Just cover the frosting well, or be sure to place it in an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.
When ready to frost, let it sit out of the fridge for a bit to slowly reach room temperature. Whip on low speed until the buttercream is smooth.
This delicious buttercream works perfectly on so many baked goods, from cakes and cupcakes to topping cookies or just placing a dollop between two vanilla wafers.
Here’s my Strawberry Buttercream Frosting recipe. I can’t wait to hear how you love it.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 1/2 – 4 cups (397-454 g) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- 4 tablespoons (80 g) strawberry syrup
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) half-and-half, heavy cream or whole milk
- pinch (0.4 g) kosher salt
Instructions
- Cream together butter and ½ cup of confectioner’s sugar at a time. After each cup of sugar has been added, add strawberry syrup 1 tablespoon at a time. Add vanilla and then beat on high for about 20 seconds to lighten the frosting.
- Add half-and-half, one tablespoon at a time until the buttercream has reached a consistency where it will hold it’s shape. Add pinch of salt and whip on high for a final 20 seconds.
- Use immediately or cover and refrigerate up to three days. To use once refrigerated, slowly allow to reach room temperature and then beat on low speed until the buttercream is smooth before using.
Notes
Storage Tips
To refrigerate. Cover well or place in an airtight container with a lid for up to three days. To frost the dessert. To use once refrigerated, slowly allow it to reach room temperature and then beat on low speed until the buttercream is smooth before using.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Robyn,
I have never made frosting before in my life. I tried this for cupcakes for my daughter’s 6th Birthday party. It was delicious!! It was also helpful to add 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar at a time. Thanks for the tip!! I did add an extra tablespoon of Strawberry syrup for flavor and an extra tablespoon of heavy cream. It was amazing and easy , now that I have done it. I will do again.
I’m making assorted cupcakes for my daughter’s 1st bday.. Wanted to do some with buttercream and some with strawberry buttercream.. If I follow the recipe omitting the straw syrup, is the buttercream tasty? And then I would add strawberry for the rest.. Hope this makes sense! TIA!
It turned out delicious!! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Hi I’m making this recipe today and excited! Question though is it ok if I use salted butter? Its all I have on hand 🙁 please let me know your thoughts. Thanks
Hi Lisa,
Yes! I actually use salted butter in nearly all of my recipes. Hope you love it!
Girl, this frosting has made my life. I spent my Sunday night sneaking spoonful after spoonful of this stuff from the bowl to my mouth instead of the cake I baked. I eventually saved myself and frosted the cake, but this is incredible. Thank you so much!
So glad you loved it!!! I bet you’d love it on cookies, too!!! Yum!!!
Thanks for sharing! This recipe is awesome. I used my great grandmother’s 1-2-3-4 cake recipe and made your strawberry frosting! Well done. We used the rest of the strawberry sauce with each slice of cake. This one will definitely be in my rotation. Will you post a tutorial on crumb coating a cake?
Many Thanks!
Hello. I am going to try this out for sure. Want to use it for my daughters birthday but was wondering if using it to cover the cake and then cover the cake with rolled icing would be ok. I am afraid that the icing would get wet in the fridge. Can u give me your opinion pls
How would this frosting taste with lemon cake? My friend’s bridal shower is this weekend and she loves lemon cake with pink frosting so I assumed strawberry would be best!
Can this be frozen for later?
I made this beautiful strawberry syrup and icing for my son’s 4th birthday cake at kindergarten and it was a hit! Great recipe.