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
What are your thoughts on adding a tablespoon of meringue powder to the frosting to help it stiffen after piping it onto a cake? Do you think it would compromise the frosting?
My daughter LOVES strawberries and requested strawberry cupcakes to take to school. We live in Germany and typically German children are not fans of buttercream so I quartered the recipe and only made small rosettes on top… BAD decision. They all LOVED it. Wonderful recipe. Anytime my picky daughter pronounces something “Deeelicious” I know I have a winner. Thank you!
I followed step by step. Being careful that I didnt mess up but at the end the consistency was not right. It wasn’t as thick. It wasn’t fluffy enough to spread on my cake and the taste wasn’t like I had imagined. The flavor was not strawberry enough to me and I also made the simple strawberry syrup recipe. I dont know what went wrong. My only thought is too refrigerate it and wait till tomorrow to see if I can spread it on my cake. Thanks for the recipes though. I might have to do it again.
Hi Jennifer,
I hate that you had difficulty with it turning out for you. Usually by beating on high speed for about 20 seconds or so after each addition of sugar makes it very fluffy. Once you remove it from the refrigerator, maybe try beating it again for a few more seconds to see if that helps any.
Aprroximately, how many cupcakes will this recipe yeild? need enough to frost 50-60 cupcakes.
This is second time making this frosting and syrup. Officially in love. The syrup came out thicker thus making the frosting a pretty pink. This frosting is here to stay.
I just made this for a birthday cake and it is absolutely delicious – I can’t stop eating it!!
This looks like a GREAT recipe! Can you use fresh strawberries with this recipe?
Never mind, I saw the answer in the feed 🙂 Can’t wait to try this on my red velvet cupcakes for Valentine’s day!
Hi,
I would like to use your frosting recipe to make a strawberry birthday cake for my daughter’s birthday. Do you think this particular frosting would go well with a hello kitty face made out of marshmallow fondant would look right sitting on top of this kind of frosting? I’m new to this and trying to think it through before I do this lol. I’m thinking maybe after frosting the cake, putting into frig and then take it back out after a while to help frosting to become more stiff and then put hello kitty face on top. Just need someone’s opinion.
Thanks for Sharing Your Recipe.
Storm
Can I add more strawberry syrup in the frosting, I just made mine. But can I add 1 extra tablespoon to it..:) it taste so good
And can I add food coloring to make it more pink
If I’m making and frosting the cupcakes the day before, should i refrigerate them? Thanks!