We’re celebrating strawberry season with Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes with a whole strawberry inside!

These cupcakes are so fun to wow people with! Top them with stabilized sweetened whipped cream, and it’s like pure heaven in every bite! As a child of the 1980s, I grew up loving Strawberry Shortcake everything, so it’s so fun to make real life Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes! My kids sure loved them too! We also have a delicious Strawberry Shortcake recipe that you’ll have to try if you like these cupcakes.

What you need to make Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes:

butter
sugar
vanilla
eggs
sour cream
flour
baking powder
salt
strawberries

For the Stabilized Whipped Cream:

heavy cream
powdered sugar
vanilla
unflavored gelatin from the packet
cold water

How to make Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes:

Preheat: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare tins: Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
Whisk dry ingredients: In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt.
Cream butter and sugar: In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or hand mixer…whatever you have) cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes or so.
Add eggs: Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one,
Combine with vanilla and sour cream: Add in the vanilla and the sour cream.
Mix with dry ingredients: Add in the flour mixture mixing slowly until just combined. Divide batter between the cupcake papers using a 1/4 measuring cup or an ice cream scoop.
Bake: Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Cool: Let the cupcakes cool completely for about 30 minutes. Prepare the strawberries: rinse and pat dry. Cut off the top stem of a few to start.

For the Stabilized Whipped Cream:

Mix water and gelatin: In a small bowl, add the cold water and sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over the top. Let this bloom for a few minutes.
Whip cream, sugar, and vanilla: In a large bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, start whipping the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla together on high speed for a few minutes.
Heat gelatin: Place the bowl with the gelatin water mixture in the microwave for just a few seconds. The mixture will liquify in the heat. Slowly drizzle this mixture into the heavy cream mixture and continue mixing until you reach stiff peaks. The stabilized whipped cream can be stored in the fridge for a couple days.
Assemble: Assemble the Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Cut cupcakes: With a small pairing knife cut out a small hole in the center of each cupcake.
Add strawberry and top with whipped cream: Gently press a full strawberry into the hole of the cupcake Top with whipped cream and a slice of strawberry. Serve immediately.

How to store Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes:

Keep these cupcakes covered and stored in the fridge. They taste so amazing all fresh and chilled, and they will last around two days!

Filling your cupcakes with a strawberry:

Filling these Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes with a whole strawberry is easy! With a pairing knife, cut a small hole in the center of the baked cupcake, making it more wide at the top than in the center. Gently press the clean dry strawberry into the hallowed out cupcake to fill the space. It’s okay if it sticks out the top a bit, because you will be topping it with lots of sweet whipped cream…yum!

How to make Stabilized Whipped Cream

Have you guys ever made stabilized whipped cream? It’s so easy! You can find the full how to in the printable recipe, but it’s just basically adding a unflavored gelatin to the heavy cream as you whip it. This method is great for frosting cupcakes…like these!

How to soften butter:

My butter is always hard and cold from the fridge, or frozen in the freezer. I love this tip to soften butter. This method only works with butter from the fridge (not frozen butter). Fill a wide mouth mason jar with very hot water and let it sit and warm up the jar. After a few minutes, dump out the water and place the hot jar over the top of your butter sitting vertical on a plate. Let the heat from the jar soften the butter. Let the jar sit like this for 5 minutes or so, and Voila…softened butter!

Cupcakes from scratch vs. cake mix:

You can make these Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes with a cake mix, or you can make them from scratch. We’re making them from scratch, because it’s easy enough, but do what works for you! If you choose to go the cake mix route, a white, yellow or angel food cake mix would be best.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes with a surprise strawberry inside! Wow your friends and family with this fun twist on a classic treat.

Author Kami | NoBiggie.net

Ingredients

1 cup butter 2 sticks, unsalted, room temp
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 small package strawberries

For the Stabilized Whipped Cream:

1 pint heavy cream 2 cups
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin from the packet
8 teaspoons cold water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or hand mixer…whatever you have) cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes or so.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one,
Add in the vanilla and the sour cream.
Add in the flour mixture mixing slowly until just combined. Divide batter between the cupcake papers using a 1/4 measuring cup or an ice cream scoop.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool completely for about 30 minutes. Prepare the strawberries: rinse and pat dry. Cut off the top stem of a few to start.

For the Stabilized Whipped Cream:

In a small bowl, add the cold water and sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over the top. Let this bloom for a few minutes.
In a large bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, start whipping the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla together on high speed for a few minutes.
Place the bowl with the gelatin water mixture in the microwave for just a few seconds. The mixture will liquify in the heat. Slowly drizzle this mixture into the heavy cream mixture and continue mixing until you reach stiff peaks. The stabilized whipped cream can be stored in the fridge for a couple days.
Assemble the Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
With a small pairing knife cut out a small hole in the center of each cupcake.
Gently press a full strawberry into the hole of the cupcake Top with whipped cream and a slice of strawberry. Serve immediately.