Strawberry buttercream recipe made with fresh, ripe strawberries and a hint of lemon makes a silky smooth buttercream packed with strawberry flavor
I love a strawberry buttercream recipe made from fresh strawberries! When strawberries are fresh, juicy and warmed by the sun, there’s nothing like it! You can harness this flavor by growing your own, going to a you-pick strawberry farm or buying frozen strawberries. Frozen strawberries are usually picked at the peak of ripeness (is ripeness a word?) and then flash frozen to seal in that flavah. You can freeze strawberries yourself or you can even can them. Something I definitely want to try at some point!
To make a strawberry buttercream recipe successfully, the best way to start is with some yummy strawberry puree. The best strawberry puree is made from fresh strawberries or frozen that have been reduced so that there is not as much liquid in the strawberries but you still get all that delicious strawberry flavor. I like to add in some lemon zest to up that strawberry zing.
You got yourself some delicious, sweet, packed with strawberry flavor buttercream! This strawberry buttercream recipe pairs so well with so many cake flavors! Lemon cake, vanilla cake, even chocolate cake.
Recipe
Fresh Strawberry Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 cup strawberry puree https://sugargeekshow.com/recipe/strawberry-reduction-recipe/
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 cup pasteurized egg whites room temperature
- 2 lbs powdered sugar
- 2 lbs unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place egg whites and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment. Whisk to combine. Add in butter in small chunks then vanilla and salt. Whip on high until light and fluffy and white. Optional: switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes until all air bubbles are gone.
- Combine 2 cups room temperature puree and zest with buttercream. Fold together to combine.
- Because this buttercream has fresh fruit in it make sure it stays refrigerated. Store excess buttercream in the fridge or freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost buttercream in the fridge and re-whip before use.
Would this recipe be the same with other berries like blueberries or raspberries?
Yes they work great 🙂
Very delicious!💞💞
Hi Liz,
Is it 1 cup of strawberry puree or 2 cups? In the ingredients list says 1 cup but in the instructions indicates 2 cups.
Thanks
Sorry, it depends on how much buttercream you are making. If it’s single batch I would add 1 cup of the puree but you can add more if you want a stronger strawberry flavor
Hi, just to double check, are all the quantities in the ingredients list for a single batch – so 1 cup puree, 1 cup egg whites, 2lbs sugar, 2lbs butter etc? Thanks.
Yes you are correct
Hi – where it says ‘Optional: switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes until all air bubbles are gone,’ what is the effect of this? Thanks.
It removes all the air bubbles in the buttercream to make it smooth
Hi there, how much icing would this recipe yield? I want to ice an 8″ round cake but have no idea if this is enough/too much icing and if it may be worth halving the recipe to save wastage.
One batch is the perfect amount for an 8″ cake
You mentioned on your strawberry cake made with freeze dried strawberries blog that you used freeze dried strawberries in this strawberry buttercream (lots of strawberry, lol). I’m assuming you replaced the puree with the freeze dried strawberries, but how much did you use? Thank you.
I used the whole packet 🙂 Just ground it down in the spice grinder
Hi! I am a cottage baker. With the fresh fruit in this one, i would not be able to use it, because it must be refrigerated. Do you have any suggestions for what I could use?
Try my other strawberry cake recipe that uses freeze dried strawberries.
I feel that 2lbs of butter is alot for a 2 layer cake. I just want to make sure I was reading this right- 8 sticks of butter and about 8 cups of powdered sugar? Do you normally have left over frosting? I’m excited to make your strawberry cake this weekend.
Please use weight. It is 2 lbs of powdered sugar, not cups. And yes the butter is correct. If you have leftovers you can freeze them.
I would love to know what the egg whites do in this buttercream………. I’ve never used them in basically, an American Buttercream. Will the consistency be adequate to cover a stacked cake and will decorations hold their shape? Love the idea of not heating and beating the whites first.
I’m looking forward to trying it this weekend.
This is a mock swiss meringue buttercream. Because the egg whites are already heat treated (pasteurized) they don’t need to be heated again. Whipping the egg whites with the sugar creates a sort of meringue and then adding in the whipped butter makes it very light and fluffy and less sweet than ABC. It’s definitely stable enough for piping and stacking. It’s all I use. The added fresh strawberries are just a way of customizing it 🙂
Could I substitute jam for the purée.
Totally 😀
Question: This is probably the first recipe of yours that I see the ingredients are listed as measured, not weighed. Is this correct?
I prefer weighing my ingredients as it helps with accuracy. Should I convert to weighed ingredients? Thanks for your reply.
Can this be used in a fondant covered cake? If so, it must stay refrigerated correct? Also, when would you suggest removing from fridge to serve?
Yes you can cover this cake in fondant and it needs to be refrigerated. I typically will let a cake be at room temperature for 3-4 hours before cutting so that the butter is no longer cold. Bigger cakes take longer to come to room temp obviously.
Loved it!