Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

Need a quick dessert? These easy Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes take just a few minutes to make. They are light and refreshing for a summer dessert.

Strawberry season is upon us and it’s time for all things strawberry bread and strawberry sauce. But what better way to use those fresh berries than by making these amazingly delicious strawberry shortcake cupcakes.

This is the perfect cupcake for all of your summer picnics, potlucks and reunions. It’s a cupcake that is light and refreshing is on a hot day.

a vanilla cupcake with strawberries and whipped cream

About this Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe:

Flavor: The cupcake is a simple vanilla flavor, but that pairs nicely with the fresh strawberries inside. The frosting has cream cheese which makes it rich and cuts the sweet slightly.
Texture: This recipe starts with a box cake mix, but has sour cream added in to make it extra moist and rich. The frosting is smooth and creamy, so the only texture you’ll find is in the strawberries themselves.
Method: It’s not always fun to turn on the oven in the summer, but that’s what you’ll need to do to bake the cupcakes. Thankfully they cook quickly in about 22 minutes and have a quick frosting piped on top.

WASC Cake Recipe

This cupcake recipe is very similar to WASC cake recipe (White Almond Sour Cream). I use vanilla extract in the cupcakes, but you can use almond if you’d like.

The cupcakes start with a box cake mix, but they bake up moist and rich. You’d never know they were just semi-homemade. It’s my favorite white cake recipe!

creamed shortening and cream cheese in a bow.

Whipped Buttercream Frosting

This recipe uses a combo of both butter and shortening as the base. This is to help prevent the frosting from tasting too buttery. You can use all shortening or all butter if you’d like, but know that it will change the flavor from the recipe we tested.

Use a pastry bag and a large piping tip to pipe swirls of frosting on top of the cupcakes. You can layer them with strawberries if you’d like.

piping whipped frosting on strawberry shortcake cupcakes

Recipe Variations

Add a strawberry crunch topping: Crush about 20 Golden Oreos into a medium size bowl. Add in 3 tablespoons of strawberry Jello powder and 1⁄4 cup of melted butter and mix together. Sprinkle strawberry crunch over frosting before serving.
Use a strawberry cake mix. Although vanilla cupcakes are It’ll give an extra boost of strawberry flavor.
Triple Berry Shortcakes. Add blueberries, raspberries or blackberries for a triple berry, multi-colored cupcake.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

4.69 from 16 votes

Need a quick dessert? These easy Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes take just a few minutes to make. They are light and refreshing for a summer dessert.

Servings 36

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 22

Cooling Time 30

Total Time 1 17

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe

Ingredients

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix 15.25 ounces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 cup sour cream
4 large egg whites room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Strawberry filling

1 cup fresh strawberries diced
1/3 cup strawberry jam
2 tablespoons honey

Frosting Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup shortening
5-6 cups powdered sugar
5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners (you'll need about 36) and set them aside.
In a large mixing bowl whisk the dry ingredients together: cake mix, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and salt.
Slowly, add in water, sour cream, egg whites, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until everything has been combined.
Add batter into the lined cupcake pan, filling 2/3 full.
Bake in preheated oven for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or the center bounces back when you touch it.
Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.

Make the filling:

In a medium bowl mix together chopped strawberries, strawberry jam, and honey.
Cut out the center of the cupcakes and spoon strawberry filling into the center. Add top back to the cupcake to hold filling in.

Make the frosting:

With an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer (with the paddle attachment), mix butter and shortening until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add in milk and vanilla extract.
Slowly, add in confectioners' sugar a little at a time. If frosting is too thick you can add 1 teaspoon of milk until you have reached the texture, you are looking for. Mix frosting for another 3 minutes using the whisk attachment.
Add frosting to a piping bag with a large tip (Wilton 1M or 2D) and pipe frosting on top of the cupcakes. Layer with sliced strawberries to decorate.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge. These are best served the same day so that they don't get too moist in the center.
Because of the fruit filling, these are not the best for freezing.

Notes

Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.

The calories shown are based on the recipe making 36 cupcakes, with 1 serving being 1 cupcake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**

Nutrition

Author Julie Clark

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Calories 291

Keyword easy cupcake recipe, strawberry dessert, summer dessert

Frequently Asked Questions

Which piping tip works best for cupcakes?

Depending on what style you are wanting to achieve I recommend 2A, 1M, 6B, and 2D. These will give you that bakery-style look at home.

Can I use the whole egg instead of just the egg whites?

Egg whites are necessary for this cake recipe. This is what really makes the cake light and fluffy. You can save the yolks and use them for another recipe or add them to scrambled eggs so you will not have to waste them.

Can you taste the sour cream in the cake mix?

No, but this will help make your cake rich and creamy and make it taste like a bakery cake.