Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
These Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting are perfect for any type of small celebration. Made with fresh strawberry puree, these cupcakes exude strawberry flavor from the cake to the decadent strawberry cream cheese icing they are topped with!
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place six cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and granulated sugar.
Add the eggs, vanilla extract and strawberry puree. Whisk until all the wet ingredients are combined.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk.
Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, and stir until just combined.
Measure 3 tablespoons of the batter into each cupcake liner.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (Keep an eye on these because if they overbake, they will become tough.)
Allow 30 minutes to cool before icing.
Make the Frosting
While the cupcakes are baking, beat the cream cheese and strawberry puree together in a large bowl with a hand mixer.
When the strawberry cream cheese is mixed, add the powered sugar. Use the hand mixer to incorporate the powdered sugar into the icing.
When the icing is smooth, chill in the refrigerator until icing the cupcakes. You can transfer the icing to a piping bag, or you can simply dollop it onto the cupcakes.
If you don't have coconut oil on hand, you can use another unflavored (or lightly flavored) oil like canola or vegetable oil. You can also use unsalted butter.
The strawberry puree can be made with fresh or frozen strawberries. Simply throw a handful of strawberries (that have the stems removed) into a blender or food processor.