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 1/2 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 1/2 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 1/2 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 1/2 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.
Anonymous says
I made this frosting to put on top of cupcakes and it turned out wrong. It was lumpy and had clumps of powder sugar and butter in it. This recipe didn't work out to well for me.
Mary says
It sounds like you might have added the berry puree before the butter was creamed with the powdered sugar. I can't imagine how else you wound up with lumps of butter. Without being in your kitchen with you, it's hard to guess what might have gone wrong. This is a recipe I've made numerous times without any issues at all.
Emily says
I have make this frosting along with banana cupcakes for my daughter every year for her birthday and have also made the combo on several other occasion by request! Everybody loves these! I do add a bit less sugar than it calls for but I do that with almost every frosting recipe I use so maybe I'm just weird!
Stacey says
I simply could not put in enough powdered sugar to make this stiffen up. Was a runny mess. I used it as a glaze.
Mary says
Without being in your kitchen, I have no way of telling what might have gone wrong. It sounds as if you might have simply had too much puree or other liquid in the frosting. I can't even imagine what else could've caused it to be runny enough for a glaze!
Nichole says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I've been using it every Valentine's Day for Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes and it is phenomenal! It taste so fresh unlike store-bought or buttercream and it's so flavorful 🙂
Zane Trively says
This recipe is horrible. I used frozen strawberries but i used three quarters of a pound trying to make up for the extra water in frozen strawberries. The result? Strawberry juice with butter and sugar. Wasted five bucks.
Mary says
The RECIPE is not horrible at all. You did not make the recipe as written. Frozen berries will not work in this recipe. I've made it countless times with fresh berries and it works beautifully every single time.
Denise says
Wayyy too runny. I followed the recipe exactly and ended up with a syrupy sauce. I ended up doubling the powdered sugar and it was STILL too runny.
Mary says
I have no idea why this frosting would have turned out syrupy for you. Were you using fresh berries? Was your butter soft, but not melted? I’ve made this frosting countless times (as have so many other people) and I’ve never run into that problem. I’d love to help you figure it out. I’m sorry you were frustrated with it not working for you. I hate when that happens!
Valerie says
Once blended.. the next day I realized I wanted a little more strawberry puree in it. Can i add more and blend it without ruining it?
Thank you
Mary says
I think you could probably stir in a bit of puree, but I wouldn’t try blending it again. The additional puree will definitely thin it.
KT says
Sadly, it came out really thin, even with almost a full cup of extra sugar. I think a cream cheese based frosting would have held up better and reducing the strawberries down by simmering them would have been helpful.
The flavor was really strawberry-licious and without any changes, would have been very nice as a dip of some sort.
Yvonne says
is there any specific way that you are supposed to add the ingredients together
Stefanie says
This is absolutely the best frosting recipe!! I paired it with a really good, light & fluffy 3 layer cake…it’s to die for!! And I’m a big chocolate fan, so that says a lot!!
Quelle says
When I first made this the frosting turned into this weird scary looking sauce. The butter and powder sugar were not mixing with the puree. I tried it again but added the strawberry puree *very* slowly. It turned out wonderful and my mom loved it on her birthday cake. If you’re running into the same problem I had most likely you’re adding too much puree or adding it too fast.
Lita Waston says
Can i use cream cheese, butter and vanilla extracts to make that strawberry frosting? If yes, what should i note to make that frosting as good as possible?
Mary says
I haven’t tried this with cream cheese myself, but you should be able to substitute half the butter for cream cheese without any issues. Let me know how it works out if you do try it!
Holly says
I’ve been making this for over a year now – it is the best icing in the world! Paired with your GF white cake it’s magical 🙂 I also love it with my Mom’s old fashioned triple layer chocolate cake too (topped with chocolate dipped strawberries) Thanks for the great recipe!!
Cheryl says
I wanted to use this frosting to put on the layers of a cake that will end up with fondant covering it. I know that the cake can’t be refrigerated once the fondant is covering it. Can I use this frosting on the layers without refrigeration or would it go bad?
Mary says
I honestly have no idea. I’ve never worked with fondant. I’ve always refrigerated this frosting when I make it, but I have no idea if it’s actually required.
Jason says
It taste good, but even after adding 2 extra cups of powdered sugar, it is the same consistency as cake batter. No where near thick enough to use on the sides of a layer cake. I followed the instructions exactly adding half the puree and a cup at a time of sugar. Everything mixed well, just never thickened.
JenP says
I suggest using an immersion blender so you can make just the amount of puree that you need. (My immersion blender came with a tall, narrow cup for that sort of purpose, or you could use a jar or anything like that.)
The recipe sounds delicious; I will be trying it today, with the gluten-free white cake. THanks!