What’s more red than strawberries, red velvet!
But what if we could combine the two together? Now that’s exactly what I thought by taking the morrishly popular red velvet cupcake and giving it a strawberry surprise. And since strawberries pair well with vanilla, and with chocolate, why not bring them all together in one red cupcake.
Perfect for any occasion, birthdays, valentines or simply weekend baking for those who love both red velvet and strawberries. Taking what we already love about the red velvet cupcake, I didn’t want to change this too much, all I wanted to do was top it off with a subtle strawberry buttercream made from freshly made strawberry coulis. You can find the link to my Berry Couli recipe here!
Do I have to make my own couli, or can I buy it?
If you’d prefer to buy rather than make, that is absolutely fine. However it is super easy to make at home yourself, all you need is 500g of fresh or frozen berries and some caster sugar. It takes around 15 minutes to make, so I’ll share the recipe for my Berry Couli here.
Can I add more strawberries to the cupcake?
You’re more than welcome to. Personally I wanted to keep the red velvet cupcake just as it was and give the strawberry flavour through the buttercream. However you could dice and add small pieces of strawberry to your cupcake batter, just keep an eye on any changes to bake time. Alternatively you could use a tool such as an apple corer to remove a small portion of the cupcake’s centre once baked. This could then be filled with extra coulis for an extra strawberry surprise.
>> Strawberry Coulis Recipe here! <<
- 120g Self Raising Flour
- 80g Caster Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Cocoa
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 140g Butter – Room Temperature
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Tablespoon Buttermilk
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ – 1 Teaspoon Red Food Gel
- 1 Teaspoon White or Cider Vinegar
- 150g Butter – Room Temperature
- 340g Icing Sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons Strawberry Couli (See recipe link above)
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To begin, preheat the oven to 180°C and line a cupcake tin with 12 paper cases.
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In a medium sized bowl (or using a free-standing mixer), add and mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa and a pinch of salt (leaving out the baking soda). Then add in the eggs and butter and beat for about 1 minute, or until nicely combined.
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To this mixture, add in the buttermilk, vanilla and red food gel. Beat again for another 30 seconds until incorporated.
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Using a small bowl or ramekin, add in the baking soda. Then add in the vinegar, giving a slight mix through. Then, working quickly, add this mixture into the cupcake batter while baking soda and vinegar are still fizzing. Fold this through by hand until incorporate.
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Fill paper cases about two-thirds full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched or skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before icing.
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To make the buttercream, beat the butter with a hand-beater or in a free-standing mixer for 5 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally.
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Sift the icing sugar in to a bowl and add to the butter in two stages, beating for another 3 minutes between each addition.
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On a slower speed, add in 2-3 tablespoons of strawberry coulis, then bring the mixing speed back up and beat for another few minutes. Taste the buttercream and keep an eye on its consistency, if needed you can add more coulis to give a touch more flavour.
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Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, pipe a swirl or blob of buttercream on top. You can then drizzle more coulis over top if you like, or make a slight well in the centre of the buttercream and fill with coulis (as I've done in the photos above). Enjoy!
