This recipe for Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes uses natural ingredients, with no artificial dyes or colors. You can feel good about serving these delightful mini cakes. Sponge Cupcakes are dipped in strawberry jam, then strawberry cookie crumbs, given a generous swirl of frosting and finished with a sprinkling of strawberry cookie crumbs and a fresh strawberry sliver.
This recipe for Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes does not use jello. That means the following are omitted:
- Disodium Phosphate (artificial food additive,) which is “generally recognized as safe” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- Sodium Citrate used as a strong acid, it controls the acidity of gelatin desserts.
- Red dye 40 is a synthetic food dye made from petroleum, believed to exacerbate ADHD symptoms in children.
These Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes use premade Cupcakes and Buttercream Frosting.
Ingredients
- Cupcakes: use the recipe for Victoria Sponge Cupcakes.
- Cookies: light colored cookies will work best. I used lemon sandwich cookies.
- Freeze dried strawberries: found in the baker’s section of your local supermarket. Freeze dried fruits contain no moisture in comparison to dehydrated fruits which contain some moisture. This moisture gives dehydrated fruits their chewiness.
- Jam: strawberry.
- Frosting: a buttercream frosting is best. I used Russian Buttercream.
Instructions
Break up the cookies and place into a food processor. Pulse until the cookies resemble fine breadcrumbs. Then put them in a bowl.
Add the freeze dried strawberries to the processor. Pulse them until they resemble course powder, then add this strawberry powder to the bowl of cookie crumbs.
Mix the strawberry jam with 1 tsp of warm water. Arrange an assembly line starting with Cupcakes, then jam, then strawberry crumbs and frosting.
Dip each Cupcake into the jam, and then the crumbs. Pipe or spread the frosting on top of the crumbs and garnish with some more of the strawberry crumbs.
Flexibility
Buy or bake any type of basic Cupcake for this recipe. If you have a particular Cupcake recipe you like, then use it, otherwise I recommend making Victoria Sponge Cupcakes.
Use your favorite buttercream frosting. Pipe it onto the top of the Cupcakes, using a piping bag.
There is no substitution for freeze dried strawberries. However, there is flexibility with the choice of cookies used. Light colored cookies such as vanilla, shortbread, Biscoff, butter crunch or Oreo golden cookies are all great alternatives to lemon sandwich cookies.
Uses for Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes
Make these Cupcakes for Valentine’s Day or really any other day to be honest! Make them year round. Bring them to a potluck, use them as birthday Cupcakes or send them to school with your kids on Valentine’s Day – you will be a hero!
Storage
Store Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes in an airtight container to keep them fresh. If using a strawberry sliver for decoration or Russian Buttercream as your frosting choice, then refrigerate these Cupcakes.
Freeze leftover Cupcakes for up to 2 months without the fresh strawberry sliver. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and place fresh strawberries on them before serving. The Crunch part will not be as crunchy because it will absorb moisture from the buttercream.
Equipment
By clicking on the image, you will be redirected to a third party seller. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
A Tip From Me
If you need or want to make these Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes in advance, then I recommend freezing the components separately. Place the basic Cupcakes into a freezer bag, remove all the air and freeze them horizontally. Put the frosting and strawberry crumbs also in separate freezer bags with the air removed. Assemble the Cupcakes once all the ingredients have defrosted in the refrigerator overnight. The final result will be fresh Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes that nobody will ever know, saw the inside of a freezer.
Got Questions?
I’ve got answers – hopefully!
- Can I use cream cheese frosting? Absolutely, this will compliment the other flavors well.
- What is the difference between Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes and strawberry shortcake cupcakes? The cake part of strawberry shortcake cupcakes is crumbly and crisp, and traditionally uses whipped cream (not buttercream) and fresh strawberries (not freeze dried.)
Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 dozen premade cupcakes use recipe for Victoria Sponge Cupcakes.
- 4 sandwich cookies
- ½ oz freeze dried strawberries do not use dehydrated strawberries.
- 6 oz homemade buttercream use recipe for Russian Buttercream.
- 1 tbsp strawberry jam
Instructions
- Break up the cookies and place into a food processor. Pulse until the cookies resemble fine breadcrumbs. Then put them in a bowl.
- Add the freeze dried strawberries to the processor. Pulse them until they resemble course powder. Add this strawberry powder to the bowl of cookie crumbs.
- Mix the strawberry jam with 1 tsp of warm water. Arrange an assembly line starting with Cupcakes, then jam, then strawberry crumbs and frosting.
- Dip each Cupcake into the jam, and then the crumbs. Pipe or spread the frosting on top of the crumbs and garnish with some more of the strawberry crumbs.
- Garnish with a fresh strawberry sliver or half a strawberry.
Comments