Quick and easy fresh strawberry frosting recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. This berry buttercream icing is smooth, creamy, easy to spread and pipe.
Strawberry frosting is not something that ever blew me away until I made this fresh version. When chilled, this frosting tastes like ice cream and it’s so good that you want to eat it by the spoonfuls! One of my favorite desserts is a strawberry buttercream cake, which is a yellow cake loaded with this frosting and chopped strawberries, yum! This version is very stable, making it great for piping on cakes and cupcakes. For all things strawberry, take a look at these delicious Strawberry Cupcakes {Soft & Moist}, How to Make Strawberry Pie Filling, and Strawberry Cookies.
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Table of contents
How to make strawberry frosting recipe from scratch with fresh strawberries?
- Puree strawberries- Until smooth. Strain the seeds.
- Reduce puree- Until it is reduced by half.
- Chill puree- In the freezer.
- Cream butter and shortening- In a mixing bowl.
- Add ingredients- Including powdered sugar, strawberry, and vanilla extracts and mix again.
- Frost your cakes and cupcakes- Enjoy!
What to pair with this berry icing?
Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
- Triple Chocolate Cookies {Fudgy & Chewy)
- Easy Heart Cookies {With Cake Mix}
- Cream Cheese Cookies
- Macarons
Brownies
- Cheesecake Brownies {Cream Cheese Brownies}
- Fudgy Black Bean Brownies
- 3 Ingredient Nutella Brownies {Super Fudgy!}
- Cake Mix Brownies
Cakes
- Chocolate cake
- Angel Food Cake Recipe
- Lemon Cupcakes {With Cream Cheese Frosting}
- Yellow Sheet Cake {With Chocolate Frosting}
- Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe
Cupcakes
Variations for strawberry buttercream
Make with cool whip or whipped cream- Just add 2 tablespoon strawberry syrup to a container of Cool Whip and mix it together. If you are not using Cool Whip, prepare homemade whipped cream (I use 1 pint heavy cream) and add 2 tablespoon strawberry syrup and mix it together. Add pink gel food coloring if you like.
Make it with jam- Replace strawberry puree with ½ cup of the best quality of seedless strawberry jam you can find. My Homemade Strawberry Jam is the best.
Use shortening- You can omit the butter and use all shortening. However, butter adds so much flavor and richness to this recipe that the flavor will change slightly.
Make a bigger batch- By doubling the recipe ingredients.
Add pink gel coloring- Add it at the end to enhance the color.
Tips and techniques for strawberry icing
This frosting is not the same as a strawberry icing glaze- Glaze is much thinner and used on donuts and bundt cakes.
Use unsalted butter at room temperature- There is nothing worse than using salted butter in a frosting, yuck!
Fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries can be used in this recipe- Just make sure the frozen strawberries have thawed a bit so that it’s easier to blend them into a puree.
Don’t forget to strain the strawberry puree- Because your frosting will be very seedy.
If possible, rest it in the fridge for 2 days- I have noticed the flavor of this frosting gets deeper after it has a chance to rest.
How much frosting does this make? This frosting is enough to fill and frost a 6x2 round cake or 18 cupcakes.
Chill it for 20-30 minutes- This makes piping the frosting much easier.
Use ripe strawberries- If they are not ripe and slightly bland, I highly suggest mixing in 1-2 tablespoon freeze-dried strawberry powder.
How to thicken frosting? This is the rule of thumb, If the frosting is too thick, add water to thin it out. If the frosting is too thin, add powdered sugar to thicken it.
What is a strawberry puree? Strawberry puree is made by blending fresh strawberries into a paste and then straining it to remove seeds and chunks.
How do you puree frozen strawberries? How to make strawberry frosting with frozen strawberries? Let them thaw and soften a bit before processing them in a blender. Use the same instructions but replace fresh strawberries with frozen strawberries.
How to make frosting without powdered sugar? Whenever I post a frosting recipe, I get a few messages asking me if it’s possible to do this. Honestly, I I don’t think that’s possible with my recipe. Powdered sugar helps to thicken the frosting and give it the thick consistency.
Why is my icing runny? How to thicken icing? This means there is probably too much liquid from the puree, simply add more powdered sugar to thicken it.
How to make icing thinner? Add in a little milk until it reaches desired consistency.
Storage of homemade icing
Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 5 days.
Freeze- In a sealed container for up to 1 month. Thaw in fridge overnight and then whip it to make it fluffy again.
More homemade fruit-based icing recipes
- Maraschino Cherry Frosting
- Blackberry Buttercream Frosting
- Mango Frosting
- Orange Frosting/ Buttercream Icing
More strawberry desserts
- Strawberry Icebox Cake (No Bake)
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (Crumble)
- Strawberry Crumble (Strawberry Crisp)
- Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake (With Bisquick Mix)
- Strawberry Strudels
Recipe
Strawberry Frosting (With Fresh Strawberries)
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Ingredients
- 2 cups Strawberries Fresh or frozen, Must be ripe
- 1 cup Butter Unsalted
- ¼ cup Shortening
- 4-5 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Strawberry Extract Optional
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Add strawberries in a blender and puree until smooth.
- Strain to remove all the seeds and any leftover chunks.
- Pour the puree in a saucepan and cook on medium high heat for about 10 minutes until the puree is reduced by half.
- Chill puree the freezer so that it cools down quickly.
- While puree is cooling down, cream together butter and shortening in a mixing bowl.
- Add powdered sugar, alternating with strawberry puree and continue mixing until mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Add strawberry and vanilla extracts and mix again. Frost your cakes and cupcakes and enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Laura Norman
I made this tonight. It definitely needs the strawberry flavoring. Right now it just tastes like pink crisco and sugar. Have to go on the hunt again tomorrow for the flavoring. Haven't been able to find it anywhere and I need the frosting for my niece's bday cake for tomorrow night.
Abeer Rizvi
You really need to use the flavoring coz sometimes the strawberries are just so flavorless and sour, especially if they are out of season. I have used McCormick brand's of strawberry extract, which is usually available at Target or Jewel-Osco. But I love the ones by Olive Nation and Frontier. They really intensify the strawberry flavor. I order my extracts from Amazon.
Jaslyn Merrill
I hope this is good