Fresh strawberries are one of my favorite fruits and this frosting is absolutely bursting with strawberry flavor. I crammed almost a full pound of fresh berries into this fresh Strawberry Frosting and you can taste the berries in every bite.
Sweet, but not too sweet, and versatile for all sorts of cakes and decorating purposes. The frosting thickens nicely for a pipeable frosting and it thins out beautifully for a strawberry icing that can be poured over a cake.
Strawberry Icing
Truth told, I made a few different batches of the icing, just to get it right, you know. It was torture to eat graham crackers covered in that frosting several times last week and it’s probably a good thing the frosting is gone now!
But for future reference, this frosting is pretty amazing on crackers anytime you don’t feel like baking a cake. (It’s also irresistible right off the spoon. Just saying.)
When the baby of the family turns four, it’s a pretty big deal. And when his cousin turns five and chooses to share a birthday party with him, it’s an even bigger deal. (It’s hard to believe those cousins are turning 11 and 12 this week!)
Strawberry Frosting
The cake requested was “super-extra-strawberry-cake-with-lots-of-strawberries-on-top.” If you say it fast enough and with enough excitement, you just might grasp how excited he was to choose his cake this year.
I’m happy to say that the cake was a huge hit and everyone raved over both the cake and the frosting! (Click HERE for the best Gluten Free White Cake recipe to go with this frosting!)
We’ve also topped the Crazy Cake with Strawberry Frosting. And it’s delicious over these Sugar Cookie Bars.
For a variation, this works beautifully as Blueberry Frosting too!
Updated to add: We’ve been making this frosting for every possible occasion for seven years now. “Cake with the strawberry frosting” is the special request for most birthdays and no one can resist a spoonful of this Fresh Strawberry Frosting when we make it.
The frosting is so easy to make, it just might be your new favorite in record time.
For a laugh, scroll down to the bottom of the post and watch the outtake clip from behind the scenes in our kitchen yesterday. There’s nothing funnier than a 7-year-old’s opinion on cake decorating.
How To Make Strawberry Frosting
The directions for this recipe will make more berry puree than you will need in order to make this frosting. I haven’t found any way around this, simply because it requires a minimum amount of berries in order for the blender to puree them.
Do NOT dump all of the puree into the butter/sugar mixture or you will have a soupy mixture on your hands.
I save the leftover berry puree and add it to smoothies or stir it into oatmeal. You can also freeze the pureed berries in an ice cube tray and toss the cubes in a ziploc bag in the freezer until you are ready to use them.
Kitchen Tip: I used these cupcake liners, this piping tip, and this mixer in the video for this recipe.
Strawberry Frosting Recipe
- Place 1 ½ cups worth of the berries in the blender or food processor and puree until smooth, stop to scrape the sides as needed. This should only take a minute or two. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy, add 1 cup of powdered sugar and beat again. Add 1 more cup of powdered sugar and beat to combine.
- SLOWLY add just ½ cup of strawberry puree (you will NOT use all of the berry puree) and beat again until smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth and fluffy.
- Add more strawberry puree ONLY as desired, for a creamier or pourable icing (the softer icing will only work for a sheet cake, it will need to be as described above for a layered cake) or add additional powdered sugar, for a thicker and more pipe-able frosting for decorating.
- Use the remaining berries to decorate the cake as desired. Store the decorated cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Fresh Strawberry Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh strawberries stems removed and sliced
- 1 cup butter softened
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place 1 ½ cups worth of the berries in the blender or food processor and puree until smooth, stop to scrape the sides as needed. This should only take a minute or two. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy, add 1 cup of powdered sugar and beat again. Add 1 more cup of powdered sugar and beat to combine.
- SLOWLY add just ½ cup of strawberry puree (you will NOT use all of the berry puree) and beat again until smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth and fluffy.
- Add more strawberry puree ONLY as desired, for a creamier or pourable icing (the softer icing will only work for a sheet cake, it will need to be as described above for a layered cake) or add additional powdered sugar, for a thicker and more pipe-able frosting for decorating.
- Use the remaining berries to decorate the cake as desired. Store the decorated cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
{originally published 3/31/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 3/19/21}
Want a peek behind the scenes? (FYI – he calls cupcake liners “skins,” so don’t freak out on me, ok?)
Kathy0414 says
Looks absolutely Yummiful!!! Just a thought, could cream cheese be worked into this recipe? Thanks for the great ideas!
Kathleen
Mary says
I'm sure you could make this a cream cheese frosting without any problems. Either half butter/half cream cheese or maybe even fully swapping cream cheese for the butter might work. Have fun with it!
Maia says
Did you press the seeds out, or just leave them in?
Mary says
I didn't try to remove the seeds. The puree was perfectly smooth after blending it. 🙂
Kim Honeycutt says
I think I could just eat it with a spoon! I like the graham cracker idea! Can't wait for local, fresh strawberries! How sweet for the cousins to share that way. Pinning!
Sue/the view from great island says
This looks luscious Mary — I especially love the pink frosting with the white cake — sharing on fb!
Carla from The River says
Oh MY!!!! I am so excited to try this.
Thank You for sharing.
mountain mama cooks says
Give me a bowl and a spoon and I'm a happy camper!!
Magnolia Verandah says
What a great idea to add fresh strawberries to make the icing.
Kathy0414 says
Thanks, Mary! I was thinking I could, just wasn't sure how to adjust the butter/cream cheese ratio. The recipe I have for my carrot cakes uses 1 stick butter to 1-8oz box cream cheese and 4 c. 10x sugar. I guess this would be equal to the 1 c. butter above, right? I have this on my list to do for Easter – IF I can wait that long!
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes says
I can just imagine how great this frosting must taste with the fresh strawberries!
Karen Petersen says
I can't even deal with how much I want to eat this right now.
Anonymous says
Can I make this frosting a couple days in advance and store in the fridge?
Mary says
Absolutely. It will keep fine for at least a week. Just thaw it at room temperature until it is soft enough to frost the cake.
Anonymous says
What kind of cake would go best with this icing? White, chocolate, angel food cake? I want to try to make thins for Easter!
Mary says
I loved it with the white cake, but a chocolate version is on my list as well. Enjoy!
fawn lewis says
GOING TO MAKE THIS FOR AN ALMOND CAKE FOR A CO-WORKER THAT IS LEAVING.
Anonymous says
Do you think frozen strawberries would work??
Vicky T
Mary says
I think it will depend on the frozen berries. Unfortunately, I've found that a lot of frozen strawberries don't have anywhere near as much flavor as fresh ones. If the berries are flavorful and sweet, frozen ones should work great.
Missie says
Made this frosting for mother's day on a white sheet cake, it was absolutely fantastic and got rave reviews!! It's even better the next day and great chilled. I bet it would great with raspberries too! Thanks for the recipe, it's definitely a keeper.
Missie says
Oh, I used half butter, half cream cheese.
Dawn E says
Would another fruit work, too? I was going to assume same quantities, but maybe not.
Mary says
I imagine it would, though if there are thicker skins or seeds (i.e. blackberries or blueberries) you will probably want to strain the mixture after pureeing it. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Kiley Efrain says
A friend's birthday is coming up soon and I am so glad that I came across this recipe. I am a huge fan of homemade vs bought and this is absolutely yummy! Thanks for the post~
Allison P. says
Any idea how many cupcakes this would frosty?
Mary says
4 cups of frosting should be enough to generously frost 18-24 cupcakes, possibly a good many more. I hope that helps!
Anonymous says
This is perfect for my granddaughter who can not have red food dyes. (Red 40 is in everything!) She loves this, thank you.
Valerie Perez says
What kind of butter did you use?
Anonymous says
Made this frosting tonight and it came out all wrong. When i added the strawberry puree to the mixer, the butter/powdered sugar mixture and the puree did not mix 'until smooth' at any point. I tried adding extra powdered sugar to remedy the situation but it still stayed a lumpy strawberry sauce. I was just wondering what went wrong?
Mary says
Did you add just a 1/2 cup of puree and blend that until smooth? And then gradually add more? I'm not sure why it was lumpy, but it shouldn't have been saucy at all, unless there was just too much strawberry puree. Without being in your kitchen with you, it's very hard to guess what might have gone wrong.