Real Strawberry Frosting

4.7
(445)

This strawberry frosting has an intense strawberry taste without using extract or gelatin. I wanted real strawberry frosting for my real strawberry cupcakes and could not find an acceptable recipe. I came up with this recipe using a strawberry purée reduction that is truly the strawberry-est. If you love strawberries, you'll love this!

close up view of cupcakes with Real Strawberry Frosting and garnished with pink candy flowers on a serving platter
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Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
40 mins
Servings:
18

The key to this irresistible strawberry frosting? The fresh strawberries are puréed, then reduced on the stove until the puree is thick. This results in a sturdy frosting that holds up incredibly well.

Strawberry Frosting Ingredients

You'll need just four easy-to-find ingredients for this sweet strawberry frosting recipe: fresh strawberries, butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract.

How to Make Strawberry Frosting

You'll find the full, step-by-step recipe below — but here's a brief overview of what you can expect when you make homemade strawberry frosting:

  1. Purée the strawberries. Boil the strawberry purée until it's reduced by half.
  2. Beat the butter, then beat in one cup of sugar.
  3. Beat in two tablespoons of purée and the vanilla.
  4. Beat in another cup of sugar, followed by another two tablespoons of purée.
  5. Repeat until everything is blended.

Recipe Tip

For more intense strawberry flavor, reduce strawberry purée longer until desired intensity is reached.

How to Use Strawberry Frosting

Spread this strawberry frosting on your favorite strawberry cake — we recommend our top-rated Best Strawberry Cake from Scratch. It also works well with chocolate and vanilla cake. You can also use it to make cake balls or sandwich it between two cookies for a bakery-worthy treat.

How to Store Strawberry Frosting

Store the strawberry frosting in a shallow, airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. We don't recommend freezing the frosting, as it may separate and become grainy as it thaws.

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

"Now THIS is the VERY VERY BEST strawberry frosting," raves angie. "I was able to frost 22 cupcakes with some leftovers. Definitely going to keep this one."

"Amazing," according to Irena. "I've made this recipe multiple times and I love how fresh and sweet the strawberries are in this buttercream. I put it on top of a chocolate cupcake, what a treat."

"Loved this recipe," says Hayeskid. "Cooking the purée gave a very sweet, strong, and non-watery strawberry flavor. I'm looking forward to experimenting with other flavors using this technique."

Editorial contributions by Corey Williams

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Ingredients

Original recipe (1X) yields 18 servings

  • 1 cup fresh strawberries

  • 1 cup butter

  • 3 ½ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted, divided

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Place strawberries in a blender; purée until smooth.

  2. Transfer strawberry purée to a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring often, until reduced by at least half, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.

  3. Beat butter with an electric mixer in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in 1 cup confectioners' sugar until combined. Beat 2 tablespoons cooled strawberry purée and vanilla extract into butter mixture until just blended.

  4. Beat in 1 cup confectioners' sugar until combined, followed by 2 tablespoons strawberry purée. Repeat this step once more.

  5. Beat remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar into mixture until just blended.

773 home cooks made it!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

177 Calories
10g Fat
22g Carbs
0g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 18
Calories 177
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 10g 13%
Saturated Fat 6g 32%
Cholesterol 27mg 9%
Sodium 82mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 22g 8%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 21g
Protein 0g 0%
Vitamin C 6mg 6%
Calcium 5mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 19mg 0%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.