Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting.
Why can’t you just all agree? I took a poll on Twitter and Facebook last night because I couldn’t decide if I wanted to share a savory or sweet recipe with you today. Yes, I’m indecisive. Sometimes. Yes, it’s annoying. Always. I’m glad the dating portion of my life is over.
You guys were alllll over the board! Especially you – yes you – my friends who said to combine savory and sweet! Oh, you’re funny. Cute. Ummm… that wasn’t an option. And here’s a little secret: I hate to break it to you but these pictures sure don’t come out of my kitchen at 9 o’clock at night. I have MUCH more important things to do at that time, like engross myself in reedonkulous reality dating TV shows and eat animal cookies out of the trash.
Just kidding!
No, seriously… I’m really kidding. But on Saturday I did make Mr. How Sweet throw away a full 5-pound container of animal crackers that he bought months ago and hasn’t touched. I’m just staring at it while it sticks out of the trash can because really… have you ever tried to stuff a 5-pound plastic rectangle into an oval hole?
Don’t answer that.
So yeah. The only savory + sweet recipe development that happens in my kitchen at 9PM is when I crush a peanut butter filled pretzel into brownie fudge ice cream. And I don’t regret it.
If you haven’t X-ed out your browser by now, then you’re wildly aware that today is SWEET. And pink.
I like pink things.
I like pink things so much that I ate all of the strawberries before taking a picture of them. But those are technically red… soooo yeah. You know what I really like that is pink? Strawberry cake. The good strawberry cake – I’m talking about that southern strawberry cake – the one that you’ve searched high and low for on the internet, the one that is impossible to create from scratch, with no readily from-scratch recipes available, so you end up buying the strawberry jello mix and adding it in the cake because it’s just sooo good. And there is nothing else like it. I know. Trust me. I know.
Well, this isn’t that. I’m not going to claim that these are as delicious as that… because I can’t tell a lie. What they are is fluffy vanilla cake made with fresh strawberries. Good stuff. Fresh. Fruity. Fabulous. And topped with really messy coconut frosting! Double like.
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped strawberries
1-2 tablespoons milk, if needed (I did not need/use this)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Beat butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt with the mixer on low speed, then gradually increase speed. Add in chopped strawberries and beat on medium speed until the strawberries break down – about 1-2 minutes. At this point, the strawberries most likely have enough liquid that you don’t need to add any milk to the batter. If you batter seems dry and is not like typical cake batter (see 1st picture above), then add milk 1-2 tablespoons at a time, beating until incorporated.
Pour into cupcake liners, filling 2/3 of the way full, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake is set. Let cool, then frost.
Note: I would not suggest using frozen strawberries because of the high water content. If you must, make sure they are completely thawed and as dry as possible. Even the fresh strawberries have a high water content, so if yours seem very wet, blot them with a paper towel. Also, if you can get your hands on some strawberry extract, it would probably be delicious in these. You can also add some food coloring if desired to give it the bright pink look.
Coconut Frosting
2 sticks of butter, softened (1 cup)
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar + more if needed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of coconut extract (if you don’t have this, no big deal)
1-2 tablespoons of lite coconut milk
3/4 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
Cream butter in the bowl of an electric mixture until completely smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar slowly. Gradually increase mixer speed and add vanilla and coconut extracts, then beat for 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl. If frosting is too thick, add coconut milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached If it’s too thin, add powdered sugar gradually until it thickens. Fold in shredded coconut and mix until just combined.
I’m wordy today. If you made it this far, I love you.
181 Comments on “Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting.”
i’m all about the coconut frosting, i’ll take that with a spoon!
did you seriously throw away animal crackers? i have an obsession..i rarely buy them because i eat the whole dang bag in one day! :)
I LOVE the idea of a truly strawberry cupcake. The addition of chopped fresh strawberries is divine. :)
Just In Time!
Daddy is a huge strawberry fan. More like Straberry ice cream/ cake fan… (No health food in his diet)
Daddy’s Bday is July 7th! So these are going to make a great special treat for the old fuddy duddy :)
Thank you for your fabulous creations!
Are you kidding me?!? I am all for anything “coconut”! These looks scrumptious! :D
oh my goodness! Someone say wear compfy pants to make room for cupcakes or 2 or 3. Okay, but no more than 3. One for me to make sure it’s good. 2 for me because maybe I wasn’t focused enough nope still good. So a 3rd one because the 1st 2 were test try, they just don’t count. Yes, must make these day!!!
Adorable. I’ll take 57. ;)
Where was this recipe when my friend gave me a pound of fresh strawberries that needed to be BAKED!!!
Another beautiful and delicious recipe – but I’m not at all surprised! We love you too :)
I just have to tell you how much I enjoy your blog! I found it about 2 months ago and I’m TOTALLY hooked!! Your writing style is hilarious and your recipes look great! Your’s is one of fhe first blogs I check each day…no, I’m not stalking you!!
I am so glad to be over the dating stage, too. I can’t imagine it.
Strawberry cupcakes – heaven…
LADY! [I felt I could shout b/c you did ;)] The last photo is LOVELY. The hot pink sprinkles are perfect and the messy frosting adds such great texture quality to the photo. I would like to eat one right now!
Haha you’re ALWAYS wordy!
Cupcake look fabulous! Yum.
I can’t believe you threw away perfectly good animal crackers! At least make a crust out of them or something. Sheesh.
Well, I wouldn’t say they were perfectly good. They were about 8 months old. But considering they were from Sam’s Club and loaded with preservatives and stuff, they probably were perfectly good – ha!
First time commenter here. I love your blog! Your recipes are so much fun to make!
I was wondering if you have any suggestions for a summer cocktail. . . I’m throwing a bachelorette party in couple of weeks and am looking for something summery, girly, pink maybe? Any suggestions would be appreciated!
I’ve been having some sweet cravings lately and this isn’t helping! A few days ago I had nothing sweet in the house and literally fried up some corn tortilla and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar to make sopapillas…that’s how desperate I was.
I want to make those… yum.
I missed the twitter poll, but for future reference, I’m always going to vote sweet. Always. So, I’m happy about these pink cupcakes. I want to dive into that frosting.
Those look super good. Thinking about making some for my daughter’s birthday.
omg seriously, those cupcakes look soooo amazing!!! Yum!!! That frosting….has me salivating all over my work desk! lol gross? maybe, i don’t care lol
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these look great! I’m gonna make em for tomorrow, but was wondering if you have an equally scrumptious chocolate-y icing for those not coconut-inclined (weirdos…) thanks! :) love your recipes!
I made these strawberry cupcakes with this frosting back in May: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/06/peanut-butter-cupcakes-with-chocolate-cheesecake-frosting/. Very good!
Love, love, love this!! If you changed the sprinkles to red & blue it would be perfect for July 4th or in my case just red sprinkles would make a fitting Canada Day dessert!
So true!
I’ve had strawberry on the brain for a week now! Now, I’ve gotta go for it!
I like wordy Jessica. And cupcakes. I have a hunch I would like that frosting, even though I don’t love frosting.
Those look SO, SO good!! Yum! What do you do with all the cupcakes you are always baking? Seems like you make a LOT of them!
It depends on when I make them, sometimes for parties, sometimes desserts – there is more about this in my FAQs!
Well I’m glad you came up with this! Great recipe!
I tried this exactly the same way, and they did not bake right? Real soupy. Hmmmmm, I was going to make a keylime icing too :(
Do you think they just needed to bake a little longer maybe? Did you leave them in any longer? Sorry they didn’t work out!
These are amazing, strawberry cake is always my favorite.
I love the pink sprinkles!! Could you do a post on some recipes for July 4th? I need to get planning ;)
Dang. I’ve got some super ripe strawberries in the fridge to use up. Well I spose my eliminating sweets for the week is over. Glad I made it to Tuesday.
Strawberry + coconut + cupcake = a total win in my book….then again anything + cupcake is usually pretty good :)
These cupcakes look fabulous-and strawberries and coconut sound like a perfect combo! What an awesome summer dessert, along with your skillet strawberry cobbler :) Can’t wait to make these for our 4th of July festivities!
Those sound perfect for the tea party I am planning this summer!!!
Oooooo! I’m loving the idea of strawberries and coconut together. And I’m with you about southern cakes being the best. :)
The whole thing sounds fantastic, but I might just make that frosting and put it on, um, EVERYTHING!
I just stumbled on your site, and all of your recipes (especially those involving sugar!) look AMAZING! Just one question… do you usually mix your cake/cupcake batter for a pretty long time? I’m new to baking cakes, and the last one I made was a little dry. When I did some research, I kept reading that you need to mix the batter for a while. Do you agree that that’s the general rule? Thanks in advance! And keep posting! :)
Perfect summer cupcakes and so pretty too!
These might literally be the prettiest cupcakes I’ve ever seen!
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Strawberry cake with coconut frosting, sounds super duper yummy! All of your sprinkles would make my husband and kids so happy!
I LOVE that strawberries are in season right now, yum!!!! These look so good.
This looks fabulous! I absolutely will need to try this recipe.
So I couldn’t even wait one day and had to make these today! They are amazing!! I’ve eaten at least 3…someone come take them away from me….PLEASE!
So glad you liked them! :)
Strawberry and coconut are a GREAT flavor combo! I had strawberry oats yesterday morning with coconut sprinkled on top and it was fantastic! Cupcakes would be even better :)
beautiful photography, i love the contrast between the pink and white frosting!!
Exactly what I needed today!!! Our second daughter has been asking for strawberry muffins, strawberry cake…anything with strawberries!!! This is amesome!
I love your posts!!!! I laugh all day!!!
Thank you!
Strawberry WITH coconut! Brilliant! And the PINK! Even better! :)
Please buy True Lemon crystals, mix a packet in a tall glass of water, add ice and drink. This will
help get rid of your lingering cough and congestion. I swear by it, (Mr.Cupcakes has been doing it all
his life and I didn’t believe it was helpful and I was WRONG). Please feel better and thanks for the wordy entry today and the great recipe!
SPRINKLES! :) these look tasty! :)
This is great. Love the pint sprinkles too!
Ohhh, yum – these looks amazing.