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These amazing Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes make the perfect summer treat! This classic flavor makes the most delicious cupcake that is lightly sweetened with fresh strawberries, and complimented with the tang of lemon. Moist and fluffy, with a delicious strawberry lemon frosting. Paleo friendly, gluten-free, and so yummy!
I have summer all wrapped up in this pretty package for you all today! Let’s kick off the day before summer with these absolutely amazing: Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes!!
With multiple summer desserts on the blog, I realized we are desperately lacking one type of dessert: cupcakes. How did this happen? So let us also celebrate, the very first cupcake recipe on Wholesomelicious. Bless it!
No joke, I ended up with 3 pounds of strawberries this past week. My kitchen was busy with all of the strawberry recipes we were eating (Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins, Strawberry Lemon Bars), and we even went savory with Strawberry Basil Chicken!
My kids were asking to make homemade strawberry lemonade, and that was when we came up with the idea of Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes. We set to work on these, trying two different batches until we got it right. Let’s just say, we were all very pleased with the results of moist lemon cupcakes with an amazing strawberry twist!
Ingredients
So first up, we will want to gather up these ingredients:
- blanched almond flour
- tapioca starch or arrowroot starch
- baking soda
- coconut sugar
- himalayan salt
- eggs
- coconut oil
- full fat coconut milk
- lemon or vanilla extract
- fresh strawberries
- lemons for zest and juice
- freeze dried strawberries
- grass fed butter
- organic powdered sugar (can use honey for strict paleo)
Ingredient Substitutions
I made these gluten-free and paleo, but you would never know it! They are so moist and delicious, and way better than pre-made cake mix. If you don’t need these to be gluten-free, you could make them with all purpose flour instead. Additionally, you could use baking powder in place of the baking soda and tapioca starch.
This easy homemade strawberry frosting is so good, so I highly recommend making your own. You can also buy strawberry buttercream frosting. You could also change it up and make a lemon cream cheese frosting to make it more lemony! If you use a lemon frosting, add a bit of strawberry jam on top for a fun addition.
How to Make
We start by prepping your strawberries. You will dice up some of the strawberries to get 1/2 cup finely diced strawberries. The remaining strawberries go into a food processor or blender, so that a puree is made.
Mix the dry ingredients into one large bowl: flours, baking soda, coconut sugar, lemon zest, and Himalayan salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: eggs, full fat coconut milk, extract, and strawberry puree. Combine both the flour mixture and the wet. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Once incorporated, fold in the diced berries.
Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare a cupcake pan by lining with cupcake liners. Using a cookie scoop, fill each liner 3/4 of the way full with batter.
Transfer to the oven and bake for 16-18 minutes (depending on oven). You can check the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from heat and let cool on wire racks while you make the frosting.
For the Frosting:
To start the frosting, place the freeze dried strawberries in a food processor or blender so that it creates a “powder”.
You have a few options for the frosting. For strict Paleo, use coconut butter (or grass-fed unsalted butter) and raw honey, the strawberry powder, along with lemon juice. If using this option, you will need about 1/4 cup tapioca starch to get a thicker consistency.
For a GF option (not strict paleo), use grass-fed butter, powdered sugar, strawberry powder, and lemon juice. Use an electric beater or stand mixer to whip on medium speed for a few minutes until nice and fluffy.
You can use a knife and spread a few tablespoons along the cupcakes, or pipe the frosting on using a piping bag.
Storing:
You can store cupcakes at room temperature for the day in an airtight container, but I recommend the fridge. These can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week! You can even store these strawberry lemon cupcakes in the freezer for up to three months.
Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch or arrowroot starch
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 12 oz strawberries*
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk
- 2 tsp lemon extract or vanilla extract**
For the Frosting:
- 1.5 cups freeze dried strawberries***
- 3/4 cup grass-fed butter****
- 1.5 cups organic powdered sugar*****
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 12 cup cupcake tin with liners. Set aside.
- Prepare the strawberries: Dice up about 5-6 strawberries until you have 1/2 cup. The remaining strawberries will need the stems removed, and then placed into a food processor or blender. Pulse until smooth and you have a puree. If you need to add a tad bit of liquid, use 1-3 tsp of lemon juice to move the process along. Set aside both the diced strawberries, and the strawberry puree.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients: both flours, sugar, lemon zest, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and coconut milk. Now add in the oil, extract, and pureed strawberries. Whisk to combine, then slowly add in the dry ingredients. Continue to stir and completely incorporate the wet and dry ingredients. Now fold in the diced strawberries.
- Fill each cupcake liner to 3/4 cup full. Transfer to the oven. Bake for 16-18 minutes (depending on oven), until lightely golden and spongey to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
For the Frosting:
- In a food processor or blender, pulse the freeze-dried strawberries until a powder is formed. Remove to the side.
- Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, powdered sugar, strawberry powder, and lemon juice (see notes for the strict Paleo option). Continue to beat until light and fluffy.
- Once cupcakes are completely cooled, frost by using a knife, or place the frosting in a piping bag (or ziploc bag), and pipe the frosting.
Notes
Delicious and wholesome, the white sugar is much reduced from similar strawberry frosting recipes but equally delicious (not health food 😉). My husband is wild about strawberries, so these were a hit with him, my stepmom, and me. It makes me want to try your strawberry lemonade bars. There is alot to prep here; I advise reading the recipe and prepping what you can the day before. I baked an extra 5 minutes but the center was not quite fully cooked for me either.
My family loves these. The icing is extremely rich, so I usually cut the recipe in half. These are moist and delicious.
Hi! In the recipe you say “flours”and all I see is the almond flour. Are you calling the starch a flour?
Yes! Tapioca flour or starch. It is called both depending on the brand. Sorry for the confusion!
Thank you! These were a huge hit!! I made them for my 8 year old’s birthdays and we all loved them. I did have to bake them an extra 5 minutes. I also used powdered sugar and butter in the frosting, and it was delicious.
You’re welcome! they are definitely great for a birthday party!
I didn’t have great luck with these. Followed the directions to a T. I could not get them to cook in the middle. They went back in multiple times and cooked for probably 20 extra minutes total and just would not cook inside. I’m sad because the ingredient list isn’t cheap. I’m thinking it might be due to baking soda vs powder? Pretty disappointed.
Hi Katie, sorry they didn’t turn out. My one thought could be the strawberry puree being too much liquid if they were extra water logged? The baking soda does work well for me in this recipe.
Can I substitute flax eggs instead of eggs?
I have not tried that, but I think it should work just fine!