I used to steer clear of using fresh strawberries in buttercream recipes simply because I believe using freeze dried berries yields the best consistency and most flavorful buttercream. I still think it’s much easier to use freeze dried fruit when flavoring buttercream, but after years of chatting with people making my recipes all over the world, I realize that not everyone has access to it. So, I took to the kitchen determined to find the best way to make strawberry buttercream with fresh or frozen berries. And guess what? I came up with a recipe that is flavorful and easy to work with for filling, frosting, and decorating cakes and cupcakes. Plus, just look at this naturally beautiful color!
How to Use Fresh or Frozen Strawberries for Buttercream
Fresh and frozen berries contain a lot of liquid. That’s why you can’t just blend them up and add them into your buttercream – it will ruin the consistency to the point of no return! Instead, the secret to creating the best flavor + consistency is to first purèe the strawberries and then reduce them into a jam-like consistency over the stove. This reduction process keeps all the flavor intact while getting rid of the unnecessary liquid content.
Making the reduction is super simple, but does take a little time. You’ll purèe the strawberries using a food processor, then transfer them to a small saucepan set over medium heat and bring them to a boil. Once this happens, turn the burner down to low and simmer the strawberries for 10-15 minutes, until the majority of the liquid content evaporates from the rest of the purèe. This leaves you with a jam-like consistency that you can add right into the buttercream to flavor it (once it’s room temperature, that is).
Why Reduce the Pureè?
After purèeing your strawberries, they will be extremely liquid in consistency. Adding too much liquid to your buttercream causes it to curdle and thin to the point where it’s soupy and unusable. By cooking that purèe to the point of reduction, you’ll be able to remove as much liquid from the strawberries as possible and amplify the flavor of the berries by getting rid of all that extra water. This yields a much smoother, more flavorful buttercream in the end.
Best Cake Pairings for Strawberry Buttercream
This strawberry buttercream goes perfectly with pretty much any cake flavor. Here are some of my favorite flavor pairings to date:
- Strawberry Cake
- Strawberry Lemonade Cake
- Chocolate Cake
- Vanilla Cake
- Lemon Cake
- Funfetti Cake
- Matcha Cake
Whatever you end up pairing it with, I hope you love this fresh strawberry buttercream as much as I do!
Fresh Strawberry Buttercream
Ingredients
- 5 Oz (1 Cup) fresh strawberries, chopped* see notes if using frozen berries
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 1/2 Cups (420g) powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Make the Reduced Strawberry Purèe
- Using a food processor, purèe the chopped strawberries (you’ll end up with about ½ Cup after this). Add the strawberry purèe into a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until it becomes jam-like and has reduced by half. You’ll end up with about ¼ Cup of reduced purèe after this step. Let it cool completely to room temperature (either in the refrigerator or on the counter) before moving on in the recipe.
Make the Strawberry Buttercream
- With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar about a cup at a time and mix on low speed, making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl and paddle as needed.
- Add the (room temperature!) reduced strawberry purèe and a pinch of salt. Continue mixing on low speed until fully incorporated and smooth, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed, 1-2 minutes.
Notes
- Frost 12-15 cupcakes with a piping bag
- Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 8-inch cake
- To have enough for frosting and decorating as well, double the recipe.
Did you make this fresh raspberry buttercream? I want to know what you paired it with and what you think! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!
Just made this for my husband’s strawberry birthday cake, and it is SO GOOD! Thank you for the recipe!
Yay, Lisa! I’m so happy you love this recipe as much as I do!
Help! This is a question(s) more than comment. I am the mother of the groom for an end-of-August wedding. We are doing a Pittsburgh Wedding Cookie Table. I am making several traditional cookie table cookies (chrusciki, lady locks, nut horns) all of which call for egg yolks. So, to use the egg whites, I’ve been trying to craft an angel food mini cupcake recipe with a beautiful topping that would hold up to a 5-hour wedding reception table. I found your strawberry buttercream with pureed fruit and was hoping it would meet the criteria and be safe for everyone for that time. The venue would plate the cookies the day before, store them in their walk-in cooler, and place them on the table before the reception begins. You did answer a previous question about storage but not exactly what I need. I plan on spending the day before the wedding with last minute things like powder sugaring many cookies, so I will add fruited buttercream to the list but would love to do it even earlier that week and store the cupcakes in the fridge. So this is multiple questions and I’d love your advice. Thanks.
Hi Peggy! This buttercream is fine at room temperature for a few hours but if you want a strawberry buttercream that has amazing flavor and can be stored at room temperature for much longer, I would recommend my freeze-dried strawberry buttercream: https://sugarandsparrow.com/strawberry-buttercream-recipe/. I think that will be the easiest to make ahead, store at room temperature in an airtight container (or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks), frost the cupcakes the day you’re adding finishing touches to your other desserts (or the day before would be fine too), and then the cupcakes won’t need to be in the refrigerator at all. The refrigerator can dry out cupcakes since part of them is exposed, so if you can avoid storing them in the refrigerator I would try to. Hope that helps!
About to tackle this but I only have a hand mixer or a food processor with a whisk attachment. What would you recommend using and on which setting? Thank you!
Hi Emma! This recipe works fine with a hand mixer and large bowl. The times and speeds listed in the recipe should work just fine. Enjoy!
Hi !!thank you for the recipe 🙂
Can I do this with Swiss merengue buttercream?
Thank you
Hi Fran! I’m not sure, I haven’t tried this technique with Swiss Meringue buttercream yet! But I have seen people add strawberry jam to SMBC, so my hunch is that it would work. You could also try freeze-dried strawberries ground into powder, I’ve seen that done a lot!
Delish and it was super easy to make
Hi I made this buttercream for 2 8″ chocolate cakes I made. Wow it was amazing. I grated freeze dried strawberries on top along with drizzling a little dark coating chocolate. My husband ate all but 2 slices within a wk! Thank you
Just used this recipe to make strawberry buttercream and it worked like a dream!
I am making a cake for my boyfriends mom. I am wanting to make it super creamy, no pieces of the strawberries. I also plan to if needed to add some coloring gel to make it more pinkish/red. How can i make sure i get it extra smooth and not chunky. Do i need to remove all the seeds, strain it. Open to suggestions. Thank you!
Hi Mallary! To make a super creamy strawberry frosting I would use my freeze dried strawberry buttercream recipe (https://sugarandsparrow.com/strawberry-buttercream-recipe/) or use strawberry extract in a vanilla buttercream recipe. This fresh strawberry buttercream will have some pieces of strawberry in it no matter what. Hope that helps!
Hi!
Love your recipes!! Just a quick question – since this buttercream uses fresh strawberries, how long does it stay fresh for? Once used to decorate, can I store the cake like I normally do (in an airtight container)?
Thank you in advance 😀
So happy you’ve been loving my recipes! The fresh strawberry buttercream is good for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container stored in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temp and re-mix it with your stand mixer on low speed. Once the cake is decorated you can store the cake as you normally would. Enjoy!
Hello…just wondered…how much icing will I need to decorate a 2 layer 8 inch cake? I want to fill it with a different filling, but would probably use your trick of making a buttercream dam with the same icing I decorate with.
Hi Jacy! If you’re just using this frosting to make the buttercream dam + frosting the cake, you’ll have enough as-is. If you’re planning on adding more piping (like a border or other details) I would make 1.5x this recipe just to be safe. Hope that helps!
Do you recommend to freeze the puree after reduction? Need to add sugar for preservation? How long will it stay good in the freezer? Thank you!
Hi Shannon! I’ve never tried freezing the reduced puree, but you can make it up to a week ahead and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator before continuing on with the recipe. Just bring it to room temperature before you add it in step 3.
Hi Whitney,
Sorry for another question! We made the buttercream for my daughter’s birthday cake and it went down so well with everyone. I overshot and have a lot spare. Could I freeze it? Many thanks, Lisa
Hi Lisa! Yes, you can freeze the buttercream for up to 3 months.
Thanks Whitney!!
Hi..I am new to this baking world… I have a doubt… 420 gm sugar or icing sugar?
Hi Raj! 420g of icing sugar is correct for this recipe.
Can i use margarine instead of butter?
Hi! I’ve never tried this recipe with margarine but you are welcome to experiment!
Is this enough to first a 9×13 cake with a butter knife?
Hi there! Yes, you should have enough to frost the top of a 9×13 cake with this recipe.
Hi
I wanted to reach out quickly and ask if you’d have any interest in selling your website Sugar & Sparrow?
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I’d love to hear your feedback
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Best
Not interested in selling, but thanks for your interest!