Strawberry buttercream frosting is smooth, creamy, and packed with strawberry flavor. This strawberry frosting recipe is made with strawberry reduction which is a homemade concentrated strawberry puree that gives this buttercream amazing strawberry flavor! This strawberry buttercream recipe is perfect for cakes and cupcakes.
Ingredients for Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted butter: Room temperature, softened butter for easy creaming. You could also use half salted butter and half unsalted butter, just omit any additional salt.
- Powdered sugar: No need to sift unless there are lumps.
- Strawberry reduction: Fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries cooked down and blended to create a concentrated strawberry reduction. (See below how to make it!)
- Vanilla extract: A bit of pure vanilla extract adds great flavor to the buttercream.
- Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the flavor of the buttercream.
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream helps the buttercream become smooth, light, and fluffy.
Tools & Supplies for Making Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- Saucepan – to make strawberry reduction
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- Spatula
How to Make Strawberry Reduction
To make the strawberry reduction, all you need is 2 cups of fresh or frozen strawberries.
Add strawberries to a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Use the spoon to mash and break up the strawberries as they cook and soften. The mixture will start to reduce and thicken slightly. After about 10-15 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat.
Carefully use an immersion blender or transfer the strawberries to a food processor and pulse until smooth. The mixture will be very hot, so be careful.
Once the strawberry mixture has a smooth consistency, transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool completely. The strawberry reduction can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days if you are making your buttercream at a later time.
This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of strawberry reduction. Two cups of strawberries will typically yield about 1/2 cup of strawberry reduction but be sure to measure it out when adding to the buttercream.
How to Make Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
To make the buttercream, I recommend using a stand mixer for the best results. You can use a paddle attachment or a whisk attachment based on your personal preference. If you do not have a stand mixer, you can also use an electric hand mixer.
- Whip the room temperature butter for about 5 minutes until light, fluffy, and pale in color.
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed until the sugar is combined with the butter. Then add the remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix on low speed.
- Add the room temperature or chilled strawberry reduction and continue to mix on low speed.
- Add the vanilla extract and salt and continue to mix on low until combined.
- Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl after this step to ensure everything is well mixed.
- Turn the mixer to medium speed and whip the buttercream for about 3-5 minutes.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting Recipe Tips
Make perfect buttercream frosting
Check out my baking tips blog post on 10 Tips for Making Perfect Buttercream to get more information and tips on how to make the best buttercream frosting.
Whip the butter
One of the keys to making the best buttercream is whipping the butter until it is light, pale, and fluffy, before adding the other ingredients. This adds air to the butter which helps prevent the buttercream from being dense and heavy. Whip the butter for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl every minute or so.
Strawberry reduction
Be sure that the strawberry reduction is completely cooled before adding to the buttercream. If it is warm or hot, it will melt the butter and there is no coming back from that! Also, you want to ensure that the strawberry reduction is as smooth as possible. If there are chunks of strawberries, it can clog a piping tip. And yes, you could also use blueberries or raspberries if you prefer!
Storing and serving
Store the homemade strawberry frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To use the buttercream, simply bring it to room temperature and rewhip for 5 minutes. I recommend keeping the buttercream chilled once you frost a cake or cupcakes. The buttercream tastes best served at room temperature, so remove your cake or cupcakes about an hour before serving.
Click here to see a quick video on how to make strawberry buttercream frosting! Follow Cake Me Home Tonight on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more recipe videos and baking tutorials!
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Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle/whisk attachment
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup strawberry reduction see blog for more info
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, add in room temperature unsalted butter. Whip the butter for 5 minutes on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally. The butter will be light, fluffy, and pale in color.
- Add one half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed setting until fully combined. Add remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix on low until incorporated.
- Add in strawberry reduction and continue to mix on low speed.
- Add vanilla extract and salt and mix on low until combined.
- Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure the frosting is well mixed.
- Turn the speed on the mixer to medium and whip for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
Notes
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