Strawberry Buttercream Frosting Recipe
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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!
Table of Contents
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
Hi Robyn,
If I use this buttercream frosting in my layer cake and under fondant, how long will it last unrefrigerated? I plan to make cake the night before our daughter’s birthday party but have read it’s best to not put fondant cakes in the fridge but I’m concerned about the buttercream souring. What do you recommend? Thank you. Toni. PS the buttercream sounds so good. I am planning to use it with chocolate mud cake. Chocolate and strawberries, yum!
Hi Toni,
I’ve never used the frosting under a fondant, so I can’t speak to that. However, if you just use the Strawberry Buttercream Frosting for the cake, then you should refrigerate it. I hope your daughter has a wonderful birthday! Thanks! xo
Does this pipe well on cupcakes ?
Tried this on chocolate cake for my daughter’s birthday. … Deelicious….my son loves this.ate the froasting alone
I was wondering if I could use salted butter and skip the pinch of salt? I’m thinking it could work but I’m also worried it will be a tad too salty. Any thoughts?
Unsalted butter is more pure than salted butter mashing butter cream frosting more white than using salted butter. If you use salted butter your icing will have a hint of yellow and any color you add to it will make it have a yellow hue. For example with salted butter if you add red it will have a slightly orange-ish color to it because red and yellow make orange.
Are you sure it’s tablespoons and not Teaspoons? Tried this recipe and as soon as i put the Vanilla in, the texture completely changed and it gave it a very runny and ugly appearance. I started over using Teaspoons instead like the Vanilla buttercream and no matter how much powdered sugar i put all i could taste was the butter. The buttercream did however look soooo much better, thicker, and had a better taste than the first try.
Love love how you used the leftover strawberry
icing on cookies!!
Has anyone tried folding chopped strawberries into the frosting for the middle layer? I wondering if the berries would lose moisture and it would be a runny disaster. Thanks!
Try using freeze dried strawberries. Many grocery stores carry them nowadays. I personally love the one from Trader Joes. Grind them up a bit first( I throw 2 packets worth in my blend and blend until they form a powder consistency.) If you have the time, press through a small strainer to get rid of the seeds. Add to frosting once you have creamed the butter.
I slice strawberries, then add a bit of sugar to make syrup. Let this set for several minutes. Stir the strawberries a few times, while you wait for juice, to better incorporate the sugar. Then lightly mash the strawberries. I use the juice from the berries and the mashed strawberries as the liquid for my icing. Refridgerate after cake is iced! I use fresh strawberries on the top, before serving, for a beautiful garnish!
HI, does this have any fruit strawberry’ sin the icing or is it syrup only? Where did you buy the syrup?
Hi Crystal,
I make my own strawberry syrup. The link to that recipe is in the ingredients listing for the buttercream. I’ve included it here as well for you: https://addapinch.com/strawberry-buttercream-frosting-recipe/
Anxious to try this – looks so good!!! Which piping tip did you use on the cookie in above photo?
Hi. This recipe looks yummy. Can we use this icing for fondant?
Just made this frosting. It is delicious. We enjoyed it on our cupcakes.