Fresh strawberry buttercream is a dream! Fresh strawberries lend both beauty and ripe, juicy flavor to this sweet frosting. It’s perfection for summer cakes and cupcakes.
Strawberry season is something that I look forward to every year. The telltale signs of warm breezes and tiny white flowers signifying the fruit that is to come is like a just reward for surviving the months long blanketing of ice and snow.
A few years ago, during my annual battle of what-can-I-get-to-grow-in-shaded-sandy-soil, I decided to plant a berry patch alongside our woods. Plants that are rumored to be so invasive that they take over my neighbor’s yards have a habit of shriveling up and dying once I plant them in mine. It’s a gift. Wild raspberries grow in abundance in our area, so I thought that I’d try my hand at growing strawberries.
It all makes sense in my head. They’re both berries, right?
I planted several of the Earliglow variety of strawberries because they are said to be hardy enough to withstand our chilly climate, and they bloom throughout the entire month of June.
So I planted.
And I waited.
And I harvested two tiny berries that first season.
Although in all fairness, I think that I had more than a little help from the local rabbit population.
Once I realized that the strawberry plants survived the winter, I was so dang thrilled to have greenery in the yard that wasn’t a tree or a fern. In all the excitement, I doubled the amount of strawberry plants in the yard.
And I waited.
That year I fared a bit better, harvesting enough strawberries for Son #4 to snack on while exploring outside.
This year, I took a half-hearted peek at the strawberry patch and saw this:
Strawberries at last!! Wooooooo! I did it, y’all! I’m a gardener, because I planted something edible and it didn’t die! A happy dance may have happened right there in the yard.
Twice.
Since we had enough strawberries to actually do more than snack on, I had to make something fun to celebrate the occasion. I remembered my friend Mary’s recipe for strawberry frosting, and I knew that I had a winner. I made the frosting on several occasions last summer, tweaking it to my liking before the last berries were picked. My whole family loves it. In fact, I have it on good authority that Fresh Strawberry Buttercream is as delicious on cakes and cupcakes as it is as a fruit dip or simply eaten with a spoon. It really is that good.
The ripe strawberries give Fresh Strawberry Buttercream the most beautiful pink color, while lending a sweet, juicy flavor to the frosting. It’s pure perfection for celebrating the little victories of summer!
Here’s the recipe for the fresh strawberry buttercream.
♥♥♥
Kirsten Kubert
Yields 5 cups
Fresh strawberries lend both beauty and ripe, juicy flavor to this sweet frosting. It’s pure perfection for summery cakes and cupcakes.
15 minPrep Time
15 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 4 oz. (1/2 C. puree) ripe strawberries
- 1 C. unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ½ to 5 ½ C. powdered sugar, divided
- 1/8 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Rinse the strawberries with cool water and pat dry. Remove the hulls and stems and discard. Place the strawberries in a blender carafe or bowl of a food processor. Pulse the berries into a smooth puree. Measure ½ cup of puree and set aside.
- Cream the butter with a mixer until smooth and glossy. Gradually blend in 4 cups of the powdered sugar, beating until smooth. With the mixer running, slowly pour the strawberry puree into the bowl, stirring until well incorporated. Blend in the remaining powdered sugar, one-half cup at a time, and continue mixing until frosting is smooth and fluffy.
Notes
Using the ripest in-season strawberries will yield the best flavor. The recipe works well as both a frosting for cakes and cupcakes, as well as a fresh fruit dip. The resulting frosting will be soft but still spreadable. For a stiffer decorator’s frosting, add more powdered sugar to achieve the desired consistency, but note that some of the ripe strawberry may be lost with the added sugar.
fondly adapted from Barefeet in the Kitchen
♥♥♥
Comments