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Strawberry cupcakes are famous all year round. Especially during the strawberry season when you can get them fresh from the farmer!
But have you ever thought of making strawberry ricotta cupcakes as a dessert for your Christmas menu? That would be a change of pace, wouldn't it?
The recipe I would like to introduce to you today is particularly well suited as a dessert for an opulent Christmas dinner menu since I use ricotta for the sponge cake and strawberry buttercream from fresh strawberries as a topping.
Why you'll love these strawberry ricotta cupcakes
The light, subtle ricotta sponge allows the strawberry flavor to develop and dominate its strawberry taste entirely.
Furthermore, will the ricotta give the dough a light and fluffy texture that is not so sweet, and the fresh strawberry flavor will make your heart sing!
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients
For the Fresh Strawberry Buttercream
- 7.05 oz (200 g) Strawberries
- 8.82 oz (250 g) soft unsalted Butter
- 8.82 oz (250 g) Powdered Sugar
For the Ricotta Cupcake Sponge
Do you like my tableware? Snag it from Villeroy & Boch, too!
- 8.82 oz (250 g) Ricotta Cheese
- 8.82 oz (250 g) All-Purpose Flour
- 4.23 oz (120 g) Powdered Sugar
- 2.47 oz (70 g) unsalted butter
- 2.82 oz (80 g) Milk
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 Eggs
- 3.53 oz (100 g) White Chocolate
Decoration (Optional)
- Sugar sprinkles or edible glitter of your linking
🍽 Equipment
- Food processor or Electric Mixer
- Immersion Blender
- 12-Cup Muffin Tin or Cupcake molds
- Piping (Pastry) Bag with Star tip (I used the Wilton star tip to decorate the cupcakes that are photographed)
- Three medium mixing bowls
- Two cooking pots for melting the couverture
- Cooling rack
🔪 Instructions
Make sure, that all of your dairy ingredients are at room temperature! Let's start with the cupcake batter. First, preheat the oven to 356 °F / 180 °C and grease the muffin tins with butter. Now mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and sugar) in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix two eggs, butter, and milk. Add these wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix them with the food processor (medium speed) to a smooth dough.
In the meantime, you can melt the chocolate couverture, or if you prefer small chocolate chips in your muffin batter, you can use them in minced form. It's up to you.
As a variation, you can use dark chocolate if you fancy a dark cupcake sponge. Both white and dark chocolate pairs very well with the strawberry buttercream frosting.
Now stir the melted (or chopped couverture) and the ricotta into the mixture.
Fill the muffin cups halfway with the ricotta mixture. Since you've already greased the muffin tins with butter in advance, there is no need for cupcake liners here. Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven). Since my oven is getting a little old, my sponges took 20 minutes to turn out perfect.
Now take the cupcake sponges out of the oven and let them cool completely on a cooling rack.
How to Make Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
While your cupcakes are cooling, it's time to make the Strawberry Buttercream Frosting.
First, wash, clean and chop the fresh strawberries and then mix them with a blender. If the puree is not fine enough, you can sieve it through a hair sieve. The fineness depends on the blender you use. I used the Nutri Bullet Pro and did not have to strain the strawberry puree.
Now beat the butter for about five minutes until light. After that, sieve the powdered sugar through a sieve and mix it into the butter spoonful by spoonful.
For the next step, mix the strawberry puree into the buttercream, also by the spoonful.
Ensure that you only add the strawberry puree again when the buttercream and the puree have formed a homogeneous mass!
Assemble the Cupcakes
Once the frosting is ready, fill it into a piping bag with an open star tip. Place the cooled muffins on the working surface. Now pipe the strawberry buttercream from the outside to the inside of the cooled muffins.
If you wish, you can decorate the muffins with (Christmassy) sugar sprinkles or edible glitter.
Serve these homemade strawberry cupcakes either on a large dessert plate, an etagère, or individually on a dessert plate.
Fancy more Christmas Dessert inspirations? Check out the Waffle Blossoms with Chestnut puree recipe or my Egg Liqueur Parfait recipe! Even more dessert recipes you are going to find in the Christmas Dinner Cookbook!
🙋🏻 FAQ
Fresh, Frozen, or Freeze-Dried Strawberries?
When it comes to making strawberry cupcakes there are a number of ways to get that delightfully sweet strawberry flavor into your cupcakes. Each different option provides a delightfully sweet addition, if you are thinking about adding strawberry into your baking here are a few things to keep in mind with each one.
Fresh strawberries: I deeply believe when a recipe calls for fresh, fresh is best. It adds a better texture and appearance to the finished product.
Frozen strawberries: These work best when a dessert is going to be baked. You may need to adjust the baking time by increasing a few minutes since they will add additional moisture.
Freeze-dried strawberries: These are most often used to add a pink color and a strawberry flavor without adding additional moisture to a recipe. More often than not, when you are adding freeze-dried strawberries you will need to pulse them into a fine powder.
Source: browneyedbaker.com
How to Store Cupcakes?
Store the cupcakes in an airtight container once cooled down. Take care of the frosting so it won't get squished when you put the lid on!
Can You Freeze Cupcakes?
Yes, but only the Sponge. The finished, frosted, cupcakes, should not be frozen.
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Cupcakes with Ricotta
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Buttercream
- 200 g Fresh Strawberries
- 250 g Soft unsalted Butter
- 250 g Powdered Sugar
For the Ricotta Cupcake Sponge
- 250 g Ricotta cheese
- 250 g All-Purpose Flour
- 120 g Powdered Sugar
- 70 g Unsalted butter
- 80 g Milk
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 Eggs
- 100 g White chocolate couverture
Decoration (Optional)
Instructions
Ricotta Sponge
- First, preheat the oven to 356 °F / 180 °C and grease the muffin tins with butter.
- Now mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and sugar) in a bowl.
- In a second bowl, mix two eggs, butter, and milk.
- Add these wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix them with the kitchen machine to a smooth dough.
- Melt the chocolate couverture (or if you prefer small chocolate chips in your muffin batter, you can use them in minced form).
- Stir the melted (or chopped couverture) and the ricotta into the mixture.
- Fill the muffin cups halfway and bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven).
- Take the muffins out of the oven and let them cool down on a cake rack.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- Wash, clean and chop the fresh strawberries and then mix them with a blender. (If necessary, sieve it throug a hair sieve).
- Beat the butter for about five minutes until light. After that, sieve the powdered sugar through a sieve and mix it into the butter spoonful by spoonful.
- For the next step, mix the strawberry puree into the buttercream, also by the spoonful.
- Ensure that you only add the strawberry puree again when the buttercream and the puree have formed a homogeneous mass!
Assemble the Cupcakes
- Once the frosting is ready, fill it into a piping bag with an open star tip.
- Pipe the strawberry buttercream on the cooled muffins.
- OPTIONAL: Decorate the cupcakes with sugar sprinkles or edible glitter.
- Serve either on a large dessert plate, an etagère, or individually on a dessert plate.
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
⛑ Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
jill
Yum! Strawberry butter cream sounds divine. I can't wait to try this recipe!
Linda
I never knew you could add ricotta to cupcakes! And I love the strawberry icing. So good.
Nora
Thank you so much! I love using ricotta in baking. It gives the dough such a wonderful consistency!
Gregory Halpen
These look lovely and delicious! I am going to try these!
Giangi Townsend
Beautiful and they sound amazing. Thank you for all the detailed photo instructions. Quite helpful, Cannot wait to make it.
Andra
They look so good! I can't wait to try this recipe, hopefully mine look as good as yours 😀
Kim Guzman
Wow, you had me at "strawberry buttercream frosting." Yum! These cupcakes are amazing. The ricotta cheese makes them super moist and the frosting should be given an award. Thank you!
Amy Roskelley
With strawberries in season here, I can't wait to make these cupcakes!
Julia
These look wonderful, I can almost taste them. I'm not going to wait for Christmas though, I'm going to try them now! Strawberries are just coming into season here so I'm going to have to get baking.
Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady
That strawberry buttercream looks so indulgent. What beautiful cupcakes to enjoy all year long!
AISilva
These cupcakes and that butter cream looks so delicious! I’ve never tried adding Ricotta before, what a great idea. I’ll try these this weekend, my kids will love them!
Gina Abernathy
Yessss! I have some fresh strawberries right now! Buttercream frosting is my favorite.
Gabriela Herrera
This recipe is so indulging I love the acidity yet great addition of the ricotta. A perfect summer treat.
Freya
These are absolutely delicious and so full of fresh strawberry flavour!
Toni
This is seriously amazing!! Everyone at my house loved it!
Natalie
These cupcakes look beautiful and so delicious. Love ricotta cheese and strawberry combo. I have to make this soon.
Jere Cassidy
What an awesome cupcake with the strawberries and ricotta, and that frosting is pretty as can be. Such a great dessert.
maryanne
I love strawberry cupcakes but have never thought to add ricotta - what a great idea! These are going to be a big hit!
Audrey
These look so pretty!
Anaiah | Speak Veggie To Me
I love that you used fresh strawberries in your buttercream! It sounds delicious. I love everything strawberry so I will definitely be giving these cupcakes a try.
Jeannie
Absolutely gorgeous cupcakes, I would stare at it before diving and finishing! Its strawberry time and perfect to use them
Oscar
These cupcakes were so delicious. My family is already asking me to make them again. Thank you.
Agnieszka | Wholly Tasteful
This strawberry frosting is a game changer. So, so good!
Joshua
These cupcakes look great! Strawberries are my favorite
Sue
So rich and delicious with the ricotta and strawberries!
Gwynn Galvin
These cupcakes just make me so happy! Such deliciousness!
Jeri
These cupcakes were absolutely divine! The strawberry buttercream frosting is so good! What a great recipe for fresh strawberries!
Chef Dennis
This dessert is sooo satisfying!
Addie
These cupcakes were such a hit! So fun!
Cooking with Carbs
These cupcakes were so good, my whole family loved them. The strawberry was so flavourful and they were really pretty too. Thank you for this recipe!
Toni
This is really impressive! Always a hit at my house!
Meenakshi Thakur
Love this strawberry frosting! Such a great recipe. Can't wait to try them. Thanks for sharing.
Colette
Yum! I love that these cupcakes are not super sweet and the frosting is light and fluffy. I’m drooling just thinking about it 😂
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Sara McHattie
Perfect timing! Strawberry picking season starts in my part of the world within the next 2-3 weeks, and I always love to try new recipes with all the berries I pick. Thank you for sharing, I am so excited to try these 🙂
zen of greedygirlgourmet.com
yum i love ricotta bakes
Gabriela Herrera
Strawberry recipes never-ever disappoint. I love how you combined the tartness of the ricotta and the moistness it gives this dessert.
mihaela |https://theworldisanoyster.com/
Beautiful and just right for the strawberry season! And I love that you used ricotta for the sponge; I did once too, and it was delicious. I can't wait for the first strawberry crop!:))
Cosette
Sounds delicious. Like the adding of ricotta to the cupcakes. Will have to try these out. My family simply loves strawberries.
Fiona Maclean
These look great! I have a strawberry allergy (which means I constantly crave them) but I think they'd work well with any soft berries?
Bobbie
I love the step by step instructions . I’ll definitely add this to my baking list!
Biana
Looks delicious! I really like the step by step instructions.
Soheila
These sound so delicious and very easy to make thanks to your helpful photos! I love the sound of strawberry buttercream as well! Definitely bookmarking this recipe for the upcoming strawberry season!
Michelle
Wow, that strawberry frosting is perfection. It wasn't overly sweet and it was so quick to make. These fresh strawberry cupcakes are a keeper for sure!
Elizabeth
These are SO delicious! My whole family loved them!
Michelle
You had me at Strawberry but when I read the recipe and saw the ricotta I had to try these immediately. They did not disappoint!
Paris
I showed this recipe to my non-vegan partner and she's making them for the weekend 🙂
Katie Youngs
Ricotta is one of my favorite foods. It was so delicious in these cupcakes!
Genevieve | Fitty Foodlicious
These cupcakes look stunning and so delicious!
Addie
These cupcakes were so fun to make!!
Dasha
These were so good!
Amy
I love strawberries and ricotta!! So delicious.
Thanks for this recipe.
Erin
These are perfect for summer bbqs!
nancy
everyone ate all the cupcakes before I got to it! looks like a winner!