Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes (VIDEO)

This easy recipe for moist homemade Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes is going to become your new favorite! Flavorful vanilla cupcakes with a simple cream cheese frosting and a yummy, fruity strawberry crunch topping. The highlight of these Strawberry cupcakes is the delicious strawberry shortcake crunch that adds the most amazing texture and flavor to the cupcakes!

Jump to:

• 📖 What is Strawberry Crunch
• 🌟 Why this is the best recipe
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• 🎓 Expert tips
• ☝️ 7 Secrets for making crazy moist cupcakes
• ❓Recipe FAQs
• 🧁 More Cupcake Recipes
• 🍓 More Strawberry Dessert Recipes
• The BEST Stawberry Crunch Cupcakes (VIDEO)

📖 What is Strawberry Crunch

If you grew up in the US, you must remember those Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars! If not, you must try them when you next visit the States! Full of vanilla and strawberry flavor with just the right amount of crunch from Golden Oreos and freeze-dried strawberries is what makes my strawberry crunch recipe irresistible! It's an amazingly good nostalgic taste and super versatile. You can sprinkle strawberry crunch on ice cream, yogurt, oatmeal, frostings, or even add it to batters. Strawberry crunch is easy to make and the perfect addition to so many different desserts just like these Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes! Or, why not try also my Strawberry Crunch Cake?

🌟 Why this is the best recipe

1. It is extremely easy – This recipe does not require any fancy ingredients and is quite easy to make from scratch even if you don't have much baking experience.
2. It is super quick – The steps are clear and uncomplicated. By using my signature 3 ingredient cream cheese frosting without butter the cupcakes come together fairly quickly. And the strawberry crumble takes just minutes to make.
3. It is super delicious – I never compromise on taste! These Strawberry cupcakes are so moist and delicious finished with a lovely cream cheese frosting and a fruity strawberry crunch. They are so good and sure to wow your friends and family!
4. From scratch recipe – Some recipes call for a boxed cake mix to keep it simple. My recipes are always from scratch, but so easy and never complicated. Baking from scratch produces the most tender and moist cupcakes. You just can't get that from a box mix and you'll find that my easy recipe is so simple even for the most novice baker.
5. No special equipment is needed – All you need is a cupcake tin for baking and your favorite piping nozzle for the frosting. No fancy mixer or pan is needed.
6. It is an honest, detailed tutorial – While this recipe might look long, all the information I have written here, every tip and trick will help you achieve the perfect results without any issues on the way. Remember, baking is a science, and every little detail written here is to help YOU!

📝 Ingredient notes

For the Vanilla Cupcakes

1. Butter: Always use unsalted butter in baking to control the quantity of salt. I use European-style butter with an 82% fat content in all of my recipes. For this Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes recipe, the butter needs to be at room temperature, which technically means soft enough to be able to cream. Yet, not too soft or runny. So I suggest you avoid using the microwave to soften the butter. The right consistency and temperature of the butter are very important factors when it comes to the cupcake texture. So it's best to just let the butter sit out on the counter to come to room temperature
2. Granulated Sugar: Standard, all-purpose granulated or white sugar is perfectly fine for making cupcakes. No fancy sugar is needed. If you want to learn about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking, please read my sugar guide
3. Egg: Always use room temperature eggs when baking
4. Vanilla bean paste: For the best flavor, avoid using artificial vanilla. There are several great brands of fine pure vanilla extract. I love to use Nielsen massey and highly recommend the brand
5. Flour: All-purpose flour or pastry flour makes the best cupcakes. They are so-called “soft flour”, which is low in protein and creates a delicate and tender texture. It is also always a good idea to sift your flour as it tends to form lumps. If you want to be a pro when it comes to deciding what type of flour to use in your baking, please read my flour guide
6. Salt: An essential ingredient in most dessert recipes. Salt balances sweetness and enhances the flavor of the other ingredients
7. Baking powder: It has two important functions. It increases the volume and lightens the texture of the cupcakes
8. Milk: Room temperature whole milk is the best choice
9. Pink food coloring: You will need some type of food coloring to make this recipe. Whenever using food coloring try to choose a high-quality concentrated gel or powder to achieve the brightest colors. In terms of quantity of how much food coloring to use, it is hard to give measurements because it largely depends on the brand and type you choose. As a general rule, start with a small amount (using a toothpick) and increase it gradually. If before baking your batter has a bright pink color it should be colorful enough after baking. For reference, see my process picture in the post.
10. White vinegar+baking soda: The SECRET ingredients that make the cupcakes super moist and tender even days later. The exact opposite of those sad-looking dry ones from the store

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

For the Cream cheese frosting

1. Mascarpone: A very rich Italian cream cheese that is exceptionally smooth and easy to spread or whip. The flavor is milky and slightly sweet. Always use the full-fat version for this frosting recipe
2. Cream cheese: I always use full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese in all my recipes. I find it the easiest to cream and has a very pleasant taste
3. Icing sugar / Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar is the first choice when it comes to whipping up the frosting. The question I often get is whether or not the quantity is a typo. NO, it's not! You do not actually need a lot of sugar when you are using mascarpone in frosting! Instead of adding sugar, I like to allow the mascarpone and cream cheese flavors to shine. You will find my tips below for whipping up the perfect cupcake frosting without butter and without tons of sugar
4. Vanilla bean paste: As per above

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

For the Strawberry Crunch

1. Freeze-dried strawberries: You want to use freeze-dried strawberries for the best results when making the strawberry crunch. They are not only the most all-natural choice, but will also add the most flavor to the strawberry crunch.
2. Golden Oreos: These are the vanilla-flavored version of the classic Oreo with the same yummy cream center. They add the cookie crunch texture to the crumble.
3. Butter: This ingredient is optional depending on your desired crumble size. If you like a more crumbled texture then omit the butter. For a more sticky crumble and bigger chunks use the butter. In desserts, unsalted butter is the best choice to help control the saltiness. I use European-style butter with an 82% fat content in all my recipes.
4. No strawberry jelly: I don't use jelly in my recipe. Unlike the butter, jelly turns the crumble crunch into mush over time and simply doesn't work. That's why the freeze-dried strawberries are the star of the show in this recipe. When crushed the freeze-dried strawberries not only add the most delicious sweet strawberry flavor, but add even more color and brightness to the crumble without the use of food dyes and chemical extracts.
5. Salt: As per above.

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe

1. How to make moist Vanilla Cupcakes

This is a super simple vanilla cupcake recipe that works as a wonderful base and makes 6 amazing tall bakery-style strawberry shortcake crumble cupcakes.

1. Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric hand mixer for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Then add the egg to the creamed mixture and whip until fully combined.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour+baking powder+salt).
3. Mix together the remaining wet ingredients (milk+pink food coloring).
4. Add the wet and dry ingredients gently into the whipped mixture (butter+sugar+egg) in 4 steps: first, add half of the wet, then half the dry, then the remaining wet, and then the remaining dry. Make sure you finish with the dry ingredients.
5. Mix the vinegar and the baking soda together in a small bowl. It will be super bubbly. Then immediately fold the mixture into the cupcake batter within a few seconds.
6. Fill each cup of your muffin tin ¾ full of batter. Then bake the cupcakes at 175C / 347F (no fan) for 25 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted comes out clean. When done baking, allow them to cool completely on a Cooling rack before frosting.

💡 Top Tip: Room temperature ingredients encourage proper emulsification in the cupcake batter. So make sure that the butter, egg, and milk are all at room temperature for the best results.

2. How to make cream cheese frosting without butter

This frosting is super simple, however, if you want to learn more about it check my ultimate cream cheese frosting without butter guide.

It consists of full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese, mascarpone, and a small amount of icing sugar / powdered sugar whipped until it is a pipeable fluffy consistency. I love this recipe and use it to frost my pink cupcakes and my pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting as well.

It is a super stable frosting that is creamy and milky. Much less sweet than buttercream and way more delicious!

Using the right ingredients at the right temperature is extremely important while making cream cheese frosting.

1. The mascarpone should be cold and the full-fat version (41%+) should be used.
2. The cream cheese should be also cold and the full-fat version.
3. Powdered sugar must be sifted to avoid lumps.

Whip the mixture with an electric hand mixer for a minute or two until it reaches a creamy, fluffy consistency, and then stop. It won't get any stiffer after this point. In fact, if you overbeat it, it will get only runnier and then it will break. I never use my stand mixer to whip this frosting because it really is so easy to overwhip it.

💡 Top Tip: If you do not have mascarpone, the recipe also works with very cold high-fat content (36%) heavy cream as well. But it must be very cold!

3. How to make the Strawberry Crunch

Making strawberry shortcake crumble is a quick and easy process, please check also my detailed strawberry crunch tutorial. And it is totally up to you as to whether or not you want to keep it as simple as possible and omit the butter. Or, use the butter in the recipe for added crunch texture and bigger chunks.

You have two different options when it comes to turning the Golden Oreos and freeze-dried strawberries into crumbles for the strawberry crunch. The modern way is by putting the freeze-dried strawberries, Golden Oreos, and salt into a food processor and pulsing them together until they are evenly sized crumbles.

Or, you can do it the old-school way by putting the cookies, strawberries, and salt into a ziplock bag and beating it with a rolling pin.

1. Once you have crumbled the cookies and strawberries using a food processor or rolling pin, put the mixture into a large bowl and add the salt if you haven't already. You don't want to forget this step as it helps to bring out and balance the sweetness of the strawberry crunch topping.
2. Add the butter to the mixture and combine together with the crumble. The butter needs to be melted and still runny for this step. But once the crumble is placed in the fridge the butter cools off and acts as a binding agent creating a yummy crunchy texture.
3. After the melted butter is added the mixture may seem a little runny depending on the temperature of the butter, but you do not need to add more crumbled Golden Oreos. The mixture will quickly firm up once it is placed in the fridge.
4. Use a plate or sheet pan to spread the crumble out before placing it in the fridge to set. You can also put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes if you are short on time. Just don't forget about it!

As an added bonus! Because this strawberry crumble topping only uses cookies, freeze-dried strawberries, salt, and butter - if you like, there is no need to bake it! It's an amazing no-bake recipe that is super versatile and easy to make!💡

💡 Top Tip: Do not omit the salt! It beautifully balances out the sweetness and brings out the fruity strawberry flavor

4. How to assemble

Strawberry crunch cupcakes are very easy to frost and decorate! They are almost too pretty to eat, but so delicious you won't be able to resist!

1. Make sure that your vanilla cupcakes have completely cooled and your crunch topping is ready to go
2. Prepare the cream cheese frosting as per the instructions and pipe it on top of each cupcake. The nozzle tip is not too important in this cake since the frosting will get fully covered with the strawberry crunch
3. Gently dip each frosted cupcake upside down into the strawberry crunch to fully coat
4. Sprinkle each cupcake with even more crunchy strawberry crumble and then decorate with fresh strawberries and crushed Golden Oreos
5. Store the cupcakes in the fridge in an airtight container.

And that's it! Easy peasy! Yummy homemade Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes made from scratch! They are best served immediately but will stay fresh in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days.

💡 Top Tip: Never frost warm cupcakes! It will turn into a runny mess. You also want to test the temperature of your frosting. If it's on the soft side, put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up before decorating your cupcakes and proceeding with dipping it to the crunch

🎓 Expert tips

1. Always use room temperature ingredients so that they will properly emulsify. If your butter, milk or egg is too cold, the cupcake batter might even break
2. There is a big difference between pure vanilla and imitation vanilla. Make sure to only use 100% pure products for the best flavor
3. Do not over-mix the cupcake batter. Once the butter, sugar, and egg are whipped together, the rest of the wet and dry ingredients should be gently mixed in without over-mixing the batter
4. Do not overfill your cupcake tin. For this cupcake recipe, I recommend filling each cup of your cupcake tin ¾ full. The recipe is designed to make 6 tall cupcakes. Cupcake liners come in different sizes in terms of their height, so try to buy the taller ones. My cupcake case is 35mm / 1.3 inch in height and 65mm / 2.5inch in diameter.  If you overfill your cupcake tin it will result in “mushroom-style” cupcakes!
5. When using food coloring, avoid cheap supermarket liquid food coloring and aim for high-quality gel or powder food coloring that creates a bright color without needing to use a lot of it.
6. Be careful not to break down the cookies and freeze-dried strawberries too much when making the strawberry crunch. You want the texture to be crumbly not like dust.
7. Do add the salt to the strawberry crunch topping as it adds depth to the flavors and balances out the sweetness.
8. Cream cheese frosting is very easy to overwhip. When whipping the frosting stop as soon as the mixture has reached a fluffy consistency (this will take 1-2 minutes). It won't get any stiffer after this point. In fact, if you overbeat it, it will get only runnier and then break.
9. Never frost-warm cupcakes. Wait until they are fully cooled and come to room temperature.

☝️ 7 Secrets for making crazy moist cupcakes

1. Do not change the recipe ingredients

I suggest that you do not change the recipe ingredients unless you are an expert and know how to fully reformulate the recipe. If you do decide to omit the eggs or choose to go for dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, etc., I can almost guarantee that it will result in an imbalance of the ingredients and make the texture of the strawberry crunch cupcakes either too dry, too crumbly, too wet, or too oily, etc. It is definitely possible to make moist “free-from” cupcakes, but that requires a totally new recipe instead of just leaving out certain ingredients.

2. Use the secret ingredient

I call it the secret ingredient even though I share this tip in all my cupcake recipes. Once the cupcake batter comes together – before baking – mix a small amount of (½ teaspoon) white vinegar with a small amount of (½ teaspoon) baking soda. The mixture will foam a bit and then you want to quickly fold it into the cupcake batter. I promise you the results are amazing and this will make the cupcakes airy and so much lighter than your average cupcakes.

3. Learn the technique

You have to be very careful not to overbeat your cupcake batter. It might be tempting to pour everything into a stand mixer, but please make sure to use a hand whisk from the point when butter and sugar are already creamed. Beating the cupcake batter too hard can result in too much gluten development that will negatively impact the texture of the cupcakes.

4. Be precise while measuring your ingredients

For a consistent and happy baking experience, always measure your ingredients with the help of a digital scale. Cup measurement is inaccurate and not the way to measure ingredients properly. Just a little bit too much of any of the dry ingredients (eg. flour) or too little of any of the wet ingredients (eg. milk) can easily ruin the texture of the cupcakes and make them dry.

5. Pay attention to the temperature

Make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature when making these Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes. If your butter is too hard or your milk or egg is too cold, they won't emulsify properly with the rest of the ingredients and result in an unappealing cupcake texture. When it comes to temperature, the oven temperature is also super important. Baking the cupcakes at too high of a temperature or for too long can easily result in a dry texture. So make sure that you invest in an inexpensive Digital oven thermometer so you are able to measure your oven temperature correctly.

6. Consider applying soaking syrup

Soaking syrup is a common trick that people use to make their cakes moist and you can use the same method for cupcakes. Yet, it is not mandatory. I don't use it in this Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes recipe, but you can always brush the top of the cupcakes or even drizzle them with a syrup that fits with the flavor profile.

7. Store the cupcakes correctly

Once the cupcakes are perfectly baked and beautifully frosted, you want to store them correctly to keep them from drying out. So instead of leaving them on a plate, it is best to store the strawberry crunch cupcakes in a container with a tight-fitting lid – in the fridge.

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