These Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes combine a fun strawberry cupcake base with the sweetness of a classic buttercream and the crunch of a streusel-like topping. They're perfect for spring and summer, are a great way to use up fresh strawberries, and are sure to impress at any event or gathering.
I'm allll about strawberry! It's one of my favorite flavors and is so refreshing and fun! I love these Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies for a fun twist on a classic dessert and this Strawberry Crunch Pound Cake for another take on strawberry crunch topping!
What are Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes?
Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes are light and moist strawberry cupcakes topped with a simple buttercream and a strawberry crunch topping. The crushed cookie, butter, and strawberry jello mixture is a take on the nostalgic strawberry shortcake popsicles.
This cake is the perfect dessert in the spring and summer months when fresh strawberries are in season. It's great for sharing with friends and family at picnics, barbecues, tea, or other special occasions!
Why You'll LOVE This Recipe
Flavor: These cupcakes bursting with strawberry flavor! The crunchy streusel topping adds a nice contrast in texture and flavor, making each bite a delightful combination of soft cupcake and crunchy topping.
Ease: This recipe is made with simple ingredients and has straightforward instructions, so you can have delicious homemade cupcakes that look professional in no time!
Look: Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes are gorgeous and bursting with color. They have a bright pink base and have the most beautiful contrast created by the bright white frosting and elegant topping!
Cupcake Ingredients
- Granulated Sugar: White granulated sugar adds to moisture, sweetness, and structure.
- Egg: You'll need one large egg at room temperature. If you forget to leave it out ahead of time, place it in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes before using.
- Vegetable Oil: These cupcakes are made with oil for a super moist cupcake that stays moist. You can use any unflavored oil.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is the star of this recipe and ensures that these cupcakes are light and tender! You can make homemade buttermilk. Read "Frequently Asked Questions" below for more information.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract enhances flavor.
- All Purpose Flour: Regular, plain all purpose flour that is measured properly creates light and fluffy cupcakes.
- Strawberry Jello: You'll need strawberry jello powder to create the strawberry flavor and bright pink color in the cupcake base! I used the Walmart brand.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Both of these leavening agents work together to create the gorgeous dome shape and airy texture.
- Salt: Salt enhances sweetness!
Step by Step Cupcake Process
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, line a 12-count muffin tin with liners.
STEP 2: In a large bowl, granulated sugar, a room temperature egg, vegetable oil, room temperature buttermilk, and vanilla extract together until smooth.
STEP 3: Next, add properly-measured all purpose flour, strawberry jello powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together only until you see the dry ingredients disappear into the batter. Do not mix past when you see the ingredients combine to avoid dense cupcakes.
STEP 4: Then, divide the batter between the liners, adding about ¼ cup- ⅓ cup of batter to each liner.
STEP 5: Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are shiny and spring back when poked with your pointer finger. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with some moist crumbs.
American Buttercream
STEP 1: In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and powdered sugar together until smooth.
STEP 2: Then, pour heavy cream into the bowl and mix on high speed for at least 3 minutes to create a light, velvety frosting.
STEP 3: Frost the cupcakes as desired.
Strawberry Crunch Topping
STEP 1: In a medium bowl, mix slightly cooled melted butter, crushed Oreo cookies, and jello powder together with a spoon.
STEP 2: Sprinkle the crunch mixture on top of each cupcake.
Frequently Asked Questions
This strawberry crunch topping is a sweet and crunchy topping made with crushed Golden Oreo cookies, Jello powder, and butter. It's a fun, creative, and nostalgic way to add some crunch and flavor to desserts!
After the cupcakes have been baked and decorated, place them in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up. Then, store them in an airtight container or wrap them individually in cling wrap before storing in a freezer bag. Store the cupcakes for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature before serving.
Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or distilled white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup before filling it to reach the 1 ¼ cup (300g) mark. Mix the two together, then let it sit for 5 minutes before using as buttermilk.
Expert Tips
- Measuring Flour: Measure flour correctly by using a kitchen scale to measure 210g exactly. If you don’t have a scale, spoon the flour into your measuring cups before using a knife to level off the top. Overmeasuring flour will lead to dry cupcakes.
- Don't overmix the batter: Overmixing the batter can lead to tough, dry cupcakes. Mix just until the dry ingredients disappear into the wet ingredients.
- Bake Time: Bake these cupcakes until they are domed, slightly shiny, the tops spring back when poked, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with some moist crumbs.
- Decorating: Top the frosted cupcakes with the crunch topping very quickly after frosting. This ensure that the topping sticks since the buttercream can dry out.
Storing
After the cupcakes have baked and cooled, you can store them before decorating by storing them in an airtight container or wrapping them tightly in cling wrap. They can stay at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Thaw at room temperature before decorating.
After the cupcakes have been decorated, store them tightly covered, in an airtight container, or wrapped in cling wrap at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge before serving
Related Recipes
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Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
- Category: Strawberry, Cupcakes
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes combine a fun strawberry cupcake base with the sweetness of a classic buttercream and the crunch of a streusel-like topping. They're perfect for spring and summer, are a great way to use up fresh strawberries, and are sure to impress at any event or gathering.
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Cupcakes
- ¾ cup (158g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (50g), room temperature
- ⅓ cup (66g) vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cup (300g) buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
- 1 3 oz package of strawberry jello powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Buttercream
- 1 cup (220g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups (300g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30g) heavy cream
For the Strawberry Crunch Topping
- 9 Golden Oreos, crushed
- 1 ½ tablespoons strawberry jello powder
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
For the Strawberry Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12-count muffin tin with liners and set aside until later.
- In a large bowl, mix granulated sugar, room temperature egg, vegetable oil, room temperature buttermilk, and vanilla extract together until combined.
- Add flour, strawberry jello powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the wet ingredients, and only mix until you see the dry ingredients disappear into the batter to avoid overmixing.
- Divide the batter between the liners, adding about ¼-1/3 cup of batter to each liner.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs and the tops spring back when poked with your pointer finger.
For the Buttercream
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth. This should be about 2 minutes of mixing.
- Add heavy cream and beat on high speed for about 3-5 minutes. This will create air in the frosting, resulting in a smooth, bright, white, and fluffy frosting. Transfer it to a piping bag or zippable plastic bag with the corner snipped off for greater control if desired.
- Frost the cupcakes as desired.
For the Strawberry Crunch Topping
- In a medium bowl, mix slightly cooled melted butter, crushed Oreo cookies, and jello powder together with a spoon.
- Sprinkle the topping over each cupcake.
- Store the cupcakes tightly covered, in an airtight container, or wrapped in cling wrap at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Notes
Measuring Flour: Measure flour correctly by using a kitchen scale to measure 210g exactly. If you don’t have a scale, spoon the flour into your measuring cups before using a knife to level off the top.
Let the cupcakes cool: Once the cupcakes are done baking, let them cool for at least 30 minutes before decorating. The frosting will completely melt off if the cupcakes are still warm and the cake portion will fall apart if it doesn't have time to fully cool.
Buttercream: After mixing the powdered sugar and butter together, mix the milk in on high speed for 3-5 minutes until the frosting is bright white and velvety.
Keywords: Strawberry Crunch Topping, Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes
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