High Altitude Strawberry Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Filling

These fresh high altitude strawberry cupcakes start with a high altitude recipe for the most delicious, fluffy and moist vanilla cupcakes. I filled the centers of the cupcakes with homemade strawberry compote, and then used more of the compote to make the pretty strawberry buttercream. Ruffly swirls of pink buttercream on top of the cupcakes are lovely and simple, although you could also top each cupcake with a fresh strawberry, or even more of the strawberry sauce, if you like. These are the perfect strawberry treat for strawberry season!

You might also love these lemon cupcakes, chocolate coconut cupcakes, and spiced peach vanilla cupcakes.

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Ingredients

Fresh Strawberry Compote

• Strawberries. If you can, use fresh strawberries when they’re in season, so they’ll have the best flavor. But frozen and thawed strawberries will work perfectly fine for the compote, too, and I often rely on using frozen berries for winter baking.
• Lemon Juice. Adds tartness and enhances the flavor of the strawberries.
• Sugar. Sweetens the strawberries and balances the tartness. Plain granulated sugar is fine, but I used Turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw) for a little more depth.

Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes

• Cake Flour. With a lower percentage of protein than all-purpose flour, cake flour keeps the cupcakes soft, light and fluffy.
• Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
• Baking Powder. Leavens the cupcakes so they rise.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Eggs + Egg Whites. I use eggs, plus a couple of extra whites, to add structure and lightness to the cake crumb.
• Buttermilk. The tang and acidity of buttermilk adds wonderful flavor, and tenderizes the texture of the cupcakes.
• Melted Butter + Vegetable Oil. Butter adds flavor, richness and moisture, while oil promotes a moist, light texture. Using both gives these fluffy vanilla cupcakes the best of both for a perfect texture.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.

Strawberry Buttercream

• Unsalted Butter. Adds fat and richness to buttercream, as well as makes a fluffy frosting when it’s whipped with the powdered sugar.
• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the strawberry buttercream.
• Meringue Powder. Adds stability and improves the texture. You can leave it out, if you’re not able to find any.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Strawberry Compote. The strawberry compote that fills the cupcakes is also used to flavor and color the buttercream, as well as to thin it to your desired piping consistency.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Instructions

Make the Strawberry Compote.

• In a large saucepan, combine the chopped strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Let sit for 15 minutes until the strawberries start to release their juice.
• Set the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stirring frequently, simmer the strawberries until the juices thicken into a syrup, and the compote is reduced to about 2 1/4 cups.
• Remove the pan from the heat, scrape the strawberry compote into a container, cover and refrigerate until well chilled. You can make the strawberry compote up to 3 days in advance and keep refrigerated.

Bake the Vanilla Cupcakes.

• Preheat the oven to 350. Line a standard-sized muffin pan with paper liners. If you only have one 12-cup muffin pan, you’ll have to bake the cupcakes in batches.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• In a liquid measuring cup, measure and whisk together the eggs, egg whites, buttermilk, melted butter, oil and vanilla extract.
• Add the liquid ingredients to the dry, and whisk until well combined, about 15 seconds.
• Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to spoon the cake batter into the paper liners, filling them no more than 2/3 full.
• Bake the cupcakes on the center oven rack for about 14-15 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly touched.
• Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 2 minutes, then use a spoon to gently lift them out of the pan and onto a cooling rack.
• If you have more batter to bake, refill the pan (without stirring up the batter again), and bake the remainder of the cupcakes.
• Cool the cupcakes completely before filling and frosting.

Fresh strawberry compote serves as a filling for the cupcakes, as well as to flavor and naturally color the pink strawberry buttercream.

Fill the Cupcakes with the Strawberry Compote.

• To fill the cupcakes with the strawberry compote, take the chilled compote and lightly strain any excess liquid, but don’t throw away the liquid.
• Use a cupcake corer to remove a small plug from the center of each cupcake, then fill the cupcakes with the strawberry compote. Make sure to reserve 1/4 cup of the strawberries for the buttercream.
• Blend or puree in a small food processor the remaining 1/4 cup strawberries with the strained strawberry liquid, until smooth. Set the puree aside to use for the buttercream.

Frost with the Strawberry Buttercream.

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the softened butter on medium speed for 1 minute until smooth.
• Separately, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients by spoonfuls, mixing just to combine.
• Add the vanilla and the strawberry puree. Whip the buttercream on medium speed (#6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) for about 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to Stir, and mix for 1 minute.
• Scoop the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with tip 2D. After filling the cupcakes with the strawberry compote, pipe swirls of buttercream on top.

Instead of filling the cupcakes with the strawberry compote, try piping a “ring” of buttercream on top of the cupcakes with a well inside, then fill the well of buttercream with the strawberries so you can see the sauce on top.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use strawberry jam for the filling instead of making fresh strawberry sauce?

Yes, you can absolutely buy a jar of strawberry jam to use for the cupcake filling, as well as to flavor the buttercream. I’d recommend you use a good-quality strawberry jam or preserves, that isn’t full of corn syrup.

Why do you add meringue powder to your buttercream, and where can I buy it?

Besides its most common use in making royal icing for cookie decorating, meringue powder adds stability and improves the texture of the buttercream. If you struggle to make good buttercream, I’d encourage you to read my comprehensive post all about American Buttercream. You can buy meringue powder on Amazon, or shop for it at your local craft stores such as Michaels, Joanne and Hobby Lobby, as well as on the cake decorating aisle at Walmart. Meringue powder has a long, stable shelf life, so it will last you quite a while.

Are the vanilla cupcakes tested for high altitude?

This is a high altitude vanilla cupcake recipe, perfected for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you live at a higher or lower altitude, you can certainly make the recipe, with a few minor adjustments. Refer to this article on how to make specific adjustments for your altitude.

How many cupcakes does this recipe make?

This recipe makes about 30-32 cupcakes, but you can easily cut the recipe in half to make just 15-16 cupcakes.

What if I only have one muffin pan?

A standard-sized muffin pan has 12 cups, so if you only have one pan, you’ll need to bake the cupcakes in batches. Bake the first batch of cupcakes, letting the remaining batter sit, undisturbed, at room temperature. After taking the first batch of cupcakes out of the pan, refill the pan, making sure not to mix the batter again. Since baking powder is double acting (meaning it’s activated when mixed with liquid, and then activated again by the heat of the oven), the subsequent batches of cupcakes made with the leftover batter will still bake just fine.

Why aren’t there any strawberries in the cupcake batter?

Strawberries tend to turn pale and mushy when baked, so I don’t like adding them to cake batter. All of the strawberry flavor in these cupcakes comes from the strawberry compote filling the cupcakes and flavoring the buttercream.

How do you make perfect cupcakes?

A perfect cupcake should be moist, soft and fluffy, with a gently rounded top that’s not domed or puffing over the edges like a muffin, and there are a few best practices to making perfect cupcakes.

• Start with a great cupcake recipe. This should be a given, but make sure you’re using a recipe that’s been tested as cupcakes. Not all layer cake recipes work well for cupcakes, and vice versa.
• Use paper liners. Make sure to line your muffin pan with grease-proof paper liners.
• Don’t over-fill the cups with too much batter. You should use a 1/4 cup measuring cup (or an ice cream scoop with release lever for thicker batters) to scoop the batter into the cups, and fill them no more than 2/3 full. If the cups are too full, the batter will spill over at the top and create puffy muffin tops. And no one likes a cupcake with a muffin top.
• Bake at a moderate temperature. The ideal temperature for baking cupcakes is 350 F, and you should use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven doesn’t run hot or cold. If your oven is too hot, the cupcakes could dome or crack on top.
• Don’t over-bake. Again, obvious, but it needs to be said. Take the cupcakes out of the oven as soon as the batter is set, and the tops of the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched.

What piping tip did you use to pipe the buttercream?

I used tip 2D.

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