Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes (2025)

Picture cupcakes. Strawberry cupcakes. Picture sweet creamy frosting and a crunchy topping. Now put them all together, for my Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes, with natural strawberry flavor, and the most amazing contrast of textures.

Strawberry Crunch Inspiration

Do you remember strawberry shortcake bars from your childhood? Delicious strawberry ice cream with vanilla crumb coating? I loved them as a child, but trying one recently, they were sadly not the special treat I remembered. Others seem to have had the same experience. I decided to try making my own version in cupcake form – maybe leading up to a future attempt at a homemade strawberry shortcake ice cream bar!

Gather the Ingredients

You only need a handful of basic ingredients from the pantry, plus some fresh strawberries to make strawberry crunch cupcakes. I like to have them all laid out in bowls, so I can add them in the right order as I’m making my cupcake mix.

Making Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes

The cupcakes themselves are incredibly easy. I do them in my stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, but you can mix by hand if you want. All you need to do is add the ingredients in the right order; first the butter and sugar, then the egg, followed by the strawberry purée, and finally the flour.

After that, it’s only a matter of spooning the mix into the cupcake cases and baking until risen, colored to a beautiful golden brown on the top and blush pink interior. Don’t worry if the tops crack slightly, like mine did. We’re going to be using frosting later on, which will cover it all up.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

We’re making a classic buttercream frosting but with a twist – replacing half the butter with cream cheese. This gives a slight savory edge to the frosting and helps take the edge off of all that strawberry sweetness. I keep my frosting plain, for a color contrast. But if you want cupcakes that are Barbie-pink throughout, you could add a little strawberry purée to the frosting too!

Once you’ve beaten all the ingredients together, transfer to a piping bag and leave in the fridge until the cupcakes have cooled down to room temperature.

How to Get the Best Strawberry Flavor

I’m a big believer in using real ingredients. Many recipes for strawberry cupcakes involve using artificial strawberry flavor, but not this one. I mix strawberry purée into my cupcake mix, for a beautiful blush pink color, and a great natural strawberry flavor. If you’re not sure how to make strawberry purée, don’t worry. It’s easy! Just blend fresh strawberries. It’s that simple.

And to boost the strawberry taste even more, I used freeze-dried strawberries in my crunch topping. Freeze-dried strawberries are usually crisp and brittle straight out of the packet. They make the best crunchy topping with cookies!

Storage

The cupcakes themselves keep well for a few days in an airtight container, but I advise only adding the frosting right before serving. Once the cupcakes have been frosted, they need to be kept in the fridge, and that can have the effect of drying out the cakes a little. Store the frosting in the piping bag in the fridge, and the cupcakes separately, at room temperature in an airtight container. When ready to eat, squeeze out the frosting onto the cakes, and sprinkle with the crunchy topping.

Conclusion

When strawberries are in season, I really like to make the most of them. Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes have become one of my favorite new strawberry recipes, with a nostalgic throwback to the strawberry shortcake bars of childhood. Have a go at making them, and see if you agree with me that they’re even better than the original!

And More…

Looking for delicious strawberry recipes? Try out one of these:

• Strawberry Rhubarb Bread
• Strawberry Mini Muffins
• Strawberry Custard Tartlets
• Strawberry Brownies
• Strawberry Cherry Crumb Cake