Real Strawberry Puree Buttercream
Try my real strawberry puree buttercream, that is not only great tasting but a better way to colour and flavour your buttercream. Use not just a homemade strawberry puree but a concentrated puree that gives a lovely pink colour to your strawberry buttercream without the need for artifical flavourings or food dyes.
Real Strawberry Puree Buttercream
**Click link to jump to section**
What Is This Strawberry Buttercream From puree?
This strawberry buttercream is made using strawberry puree. More specifically a concentrated strawberry puree, or strawberry reduction if you like.
This puree, that can be made anytime ahead or even frozen, is added to a simple American buttercream to make a nice light buttercream with specks of strawberry and a lovely pastel pink shade, without the use of food dye.
Why Use This Recipe?
- Easy to make & a beginner’s recipe
- Step-by-step instructions & photos
- No special equipment
- No special baking skills required
- Natural colour & flavour
- Tastes great
- Customize with a different fruit
- Video Tutorial
- Freeze left-over puree
Ingredients
My strawberry buttercream is made from the following ingredients:
- Butter
- Icing (Powdered) Sugar
- Strawberry Puree
- Vanilla Extract (optional)
For the strawberry puree reduction:
- Strawberries
- Water
- Sugar
**Note ingredient amounts are listed in the Recipe card).
Butter & Why Unsalted
Unsalted butter should always be used in baking. Using unsalted butter means you can control the salt level of whatever you are making. But, the main reason for using unsalted butter, is because salted butter has a higher water content than unsalted butter.
This difference in water content can have an adverse effect on the bake. And the amount of extra water can vary from brand to brand (at least in American brands of butter).
This was most noticeable a few years ago when a lot of people were suddenly having issues with their old go to cookie recipes suddenly spreading when baking. It seems after Covid, lots of brands of salted butter have been cutting costs by increasing their water content in their butter. So save yourself the hassle & get unsalted.
You really don’t want to be tasting salt in your buttercream either.
Icing Sugar/Powdered Sugar
The next important component for buttercream, is icing sugar (also known as powdered sugar, but confectioners’ sugar works too). Always remember to sieve this sugar or you will have clumps.
Strawberry Puree
Strawberry buttercream is not complete without the strawberries! The puree is made from strawberries, water & sugar. A simple strawberry puree will give colour and some strawberry flavour to your buttercream. However, if you make a reduction, or concentrated puree, that colour and flavour will be stronger.
So in the directions I have included how to make both. You might just want to use the strawberry puree to make a pink coloured buttercream from a natural ingredient, rather than with food colouring.
The steps for the concentrated puree are a little abbreviated, but you can find more detailed directions and a longer video of the process in my Concentrated Strawberry Puree recipe.
You might also have already made some strawberry puree before, and frozen it. This is really handy and just needs to be defrosted in the fridge for a few hours (or much quicker if you froze portions in ice cube trays).
Vanilla Extract
The vanilla extract is optional, as some people like just a little in their buttercream.
Ideas For Strawberry Buttercream
Use strawberry buttercream in layer cakes such as –
- Victoria Sandwich
- Summer Berry Griestorte (in the photo)
- Funfetti Sprinkle Cake
Or as a filling/topping for –
- Filling Mini Chocolate Bundt Cakes
- Topping Chocolate Cupcakes
Recipe Yield
This recipe makes about 450g (16oz/1 lb/1½ cups) worth of American buttercream & about ⅓ cup/100g strawberry puree. Note the puree is a small amount & can be made with much larger amounts of strawberries, and is listed here purely for how much is required for the buttercream. You can make 1½ cups/350g/12 oz by using the Concentrated Strawberry Puree recipe.
The buttercream is enough for topping 12 cupcakes, or topping a 7″ or 8″ (18-20.5cm) round or square cake. To fill 12 mini bundt cakes, use a ratio of 125g/½ cup butter to 250g/1 cup icing/powdered sugar.
Uses For Left-over Strawberry Puree
Use left-over strawberry reduction for topping your overnight oats, add to layer cakes, add to ice-cream etc. Or freeze the puree in ice-cube trays. Simply defrost in the fridge.
More Strawberry Recipes
Lots of recipes using wonderful strawberries for you to check out. Just click the link below to take a look.
ALL RECIPES CONVERTED & TESTED
All of my recipes include conversions in grams, ounces and cups. All been calculated by hand, by myself and tested several times, since Google is often inconsistent and inaccurate. I also have a conversion table, with common baking ingredients for you to refer to in my Baking Conversions Table.
Lessons Bakers
Beginner Bakers, please ALWAYS read the recipe directions a few times before even attempting to make the recipe. Often things like butter or eggs need to be taken out to bring to room temperature.
Experienced Bakers can skip to the Recipe Card below with abbreviated recipe instructions or check out the step-by-step directions below.
Jump to RecipeStep-By-Step Instructions
(*Note ingredient amounts are listed in Recipe Card below)
1.Begin by preparing the strawberry puree if you have not done so already. Go to the Concentrated Strawberry Puree Reduction step-by-step recipe or follow the abbreviated version below.
2. Clean the strawberries with water and vinegar for a thorough clean & then cut in half, ready for cooking.
3. Cook the strawberries on the stovetop with a little water, on a medium heat for 5 minutes, then on heat till it comes to a boil. Reduce and let simmer until soft. (See photo 1).
4. Transfer to another bowl and puree the strawberries until a smooth consistency (See Photo 2).
5. Transfer back to the cooking pot & add sugar (add more to taste if you like). If you don’t want to make the the concentrated puree, you can skip this step & jump to cooling the puree before making the buttercream.
6. Bring the puree to a boil on a medium to high heat. (**Cover your work area as the puree will bubble a lot & can stain surrounding areas.) Reduce to simmer until a thicker consistency, the level reduces and the colour becomes much darker and deeper a red shade. (See photo 2 or the video for reference).
7. Transfer the strawberry puree to a heat-safe bowl
8. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before placing cling film/plastic wrap, on top of the surface of the puree and carefully lift to position on the puree but to also cover the bowl. Covering the surface, helps prevent a crust layer forming, much like you do when making Pastry Cream.
9. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before placing in the fridge to cool before using in the buttercream. You can store there for up to 5 days before using. Alternatively, you can freeze for 3 – 6 months1
10. To make the buttercream, cube the butter into small pieces while measuring or weighing it out. About 1cm, ⅓″ size, as smaller surface area, the butter will soften and come to room temperature quicker.
11. Once softened enough that you can easily squeeze the butter piece between your fingers, add the butter to a mixing bowl and beat with the k-paddle if using a stand-mixer, till the butter is no longer in cubes.
12. Gradually & carefully add in the sieved icing/powdered sugar, beating well in-between each addition, until you have a nice smooth buttercream. Refer to my Beginner’s Buttercream recipe.
13. Next add in 2 tbsp of the concentrated strawberry puree and mix until combined.
14. This will be enough puree if you just want to make a pastel pink coloured buttercream.
15. For a stronger pink colour and strawberry flavour, gradually add in more puree until you are happy with the colour, consistency and taste. Note, you can add a splash of Vanilla Extract if you like.
16. Note, more puree you add, the more icing/powdered sugar you might need to add, to produce a nice thick but spreadable consistency. This will also depend on how you intend on using the strawberry buttercream.
17. A slightly thinner buttercream is easier to pipe, and a slightly thicker works well for spreading in-between cake layers, or to cover a layer cake.
18. See the deeper pink shade in Photo 5.
19. Transfer the buttercream to a bowl or container if not using right away, and make sure completely covered and air-tight, before placing in the fridge for up to 1 month2. Note placing in the fridge, the buttercream will firm up so if intending piping the buttercream, you will need to leave to soften a little & beat well before using.
20. Homemade buttercream can also be frozen for 2 to 3 months3
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: beginner, easy with guidance
Beginner bakers completing the lessons, please read the step-by-step instructions again before attempting to bake. Save the Recipe Card below but refer back to the detailed instructions & notes, as the Recipe Card is an abbreviated version of the recipe.
Recipe Card
Strawberry Buttercream With A Strawberry Puree
Equipment
- Digital scales or measuring cups
- Knife & chopping board
- Measuring Jug
- Cooking pot
- Wooden spoon
- Bowl for blending
- Blender, stick blender, food processor
- Mixing bowl
- Tablespoon
- Sieve
- Hand/stand mixer (or by hand with wooden spoon)
- Mixer Splash guard (or clean tea-towel)
- Silicone Spatula (or similar)
- Cling film/plastic wrap (if not using right away)
Ingredients
For The Strawberry Puree:
- 128g grams Strawberries (4½ oz, before hulling and trimming – *see notes)
- 1 tsp Water
- 2 tsp Sugar (any but not sweetener)
For The Buttercream:
- 150 grams Unsalted Butter (5¼ oz, ⅔ cup, cubed & softened)
- 300 grams Icing Sugar (10½ oz, 1½ cups powdered sugar, sieved)
- ¼ tsp Vanilla Extract (Optional -make your own Homemade Vanilla Extract)
Instructions
Prepare The Strawberry Puree
- To make the strawberry reduction, clean the 128g grams Strawberries with water and vinegar and then half them before adding to a cooking pot.
- Add the 1 tsp Water (½ tsp to begin with) and cook on a medium heat until the strawberries start to give off some of their own juices. If it seems a little dry at any point, add the second ½ tsp water. Increase to high heat and let come to a boil before reducing to let the strawberries simmer. Leave till softened and the colour will be much less vibrant now.
- Remove from the pot and blend to a puree, with either a blender, stick blender or food processor. Add the 2 tsp Sugar, mix to combine, taste test & add more sugar if required. Leave to cool before using in the buttercream, if you are not intending on making a concentrated puree.
- To make a reduced puree, add back to the cooking pot and heat on medium to high heat and let come to a boil. (**Cover your work area as the puree will bubble a lot & can stain surrounding areas.) Reduce the heat and leave to simmer and reduce. The level of the puree will reduce, be thicker and a much deeper red colour. (See step-by-step process photos before this Recipe Card of the video for reference).
- The puree must cool before adding to the buttercream and can be made ahead of time. Leave for 10 minutes before covering the surface of the puree with cling film/plastic wrap and creating an air-tight seal & leaving to cool down in the fridge.
Preparing The Buttercream
- Cube the 150 grams Unsalted Butter, to about 1cm, ⅓″ size while measuring/weighing out, as smaller surface area, and the butter will soften and come to room temperature quicker.
- Once the butter is softened add to a mixing bowl or your stand mixer, and beat until no longer cube shaped. (*Use the k-paddle if using a stand-mixer). Alternatively beat with a wooden spoon.
- Add about half of the 300 grams Icing Sugar (or about 1 cup's worth), and use a clean tea-towel or splash guard while mixing on slow speed to start with, & bring the mixture together. Then increase the speed till all the sugar is incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl before gradually adding in the rest of the sugar and beat until you have a smooth thick buttercream. Add the ¼ tsp Vanilla Extract if you desired.
- Add 2 tbsp of the strawberry puree to the buttercream and beat just until combined. This will make a light pastel pink colour to the buttercream. If you want more colour and flavour, gradually add more puree till you reach the desired amount. Being aware you might need to add some more icing/powdered sugar, depending on what you want to use the buttercream for. For piping a thinner consistency is required, whilst a thicker consistency is good for spreading.
Using & Storing
- Store in a piping bag with the nozzle completely covered or in a covered container, somewhere cool. Placing in the fridge, will firm up the buttercream and made harder to pipe or spread. So remove form the fridge ahead of time if needed.
- Use to fill, top or cover cakes such as Funfetti Sprinkle Layer Cake, a Victoria Sandwich Cake, my Summer berry Griestorte or fill some mini chocolate bundt cakes with it. To learn how to put together a piping bag, see my Theory Lesson – Assembling & Filling A Piping Bag.
- Buttercream can be stored in the fridge, in a piping bag with tip covered with cling film/plastic wrap or in a well-sealed container, for up to 1 month1. Let the buttercream come to room temperature before using & remove air bubbles by mixing on low speed for a few minutes, (or scrape around the bowl with a spatula).
- Covered buttercream is also fine at room temperature if not too hot, for up to 2 days2. Left-over strawberry puree can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days or you can freeze for 3 – 6 months3
Freezing & Defrosting
- Frozen buttercream is fine for 2 to 3 months4. Use an airtight container with a tight lid & this can even be wrapped over too. Defrost in the fridge overnight & leave out to come to room temperature before using as defrosting too quick can mean you lose some of the smoothness of the buttercream. The texture will change with freezing but is fixed by simply whisking the buttercream.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: easy, beginner ★
Video
Notes
About ⅓ cup/100g concentrated strawberry puree is produced, which is a small amount, but what is required for this amount of buttercream. You can of course increase this amount using this recipe card, where you can double or triple the recipe amount. See storing section above for how to store or freeze any left-over strawberry puree.
Softening Butter Quicker – In a hurry or forget to take the butter out to soften? Here’s a hack I tried, to Soften Butter In About 12 Minutes.
***Use a double batch for 3 layer Funfetti Sprinkle cake as seen in the photo below.
For how to put together a piping bag, see my lesson Assembling & Filling A Piping Bag.
For more cakes of all descriptions, to use your buttercream on, check out my cake page. Or fill these mini chocolate bundt cakes below, with the strawberry buttercream.
Find more uses for strawberries in my Strawberry Recipes page.
References: 1,2 Chelsweets @ https://chelsweets.com/ 3 Freezeit.co.uk @ https://freezeit.co.uk/can-you-freeze-strawberry-puree/ 4 Freezeit.co.uk @ https://www.freezeit.co.uk/can-you-freeze-buttercream/ Additional second and third sources were used to confirm information supplied by the 2 websites named above, as well as information collated from other bakers.
Nutritional Information – I am not a qualified nutritionist and all values are approximate and from website MyFitnessPal.com. Values are based on a yield of about 450g/1,5 cups of buttercream, prepared as listed above. For nutritional purposes, 1 serving is based on 1 cupcake topping, from a yield of frosting 12 cupcakes. Use more or less buttercream per cupcake, and these values will change. Information can be found @ MyFitnessPal.com
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References:
- Strawberry Puree storage information from FreezeIt.Co.UK/Freezing Puree ↩︎
- Storing homemade buttercream in the fridge, information from ↩︎
- Freezing homemade buttercream information from Freezeit.Co.UK/Freezing Buttercream ↩︎
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Happy Baking & Learning!
Caro x
Real Strawberry Puree Buttercream
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Caroline’s Easy Baking Lessons
Excellent recipe and so easy to make. Can be used for so many different bakes. Want to make your Griestorte Sponge next so will be using this recipe. Thanks for sharing
The Griestorte is th eperfect recipe to use the strawberry buttercream on. Will make it more stable too than the whipped cream.
Loved making your strawberry puree reduction and froze it for later use. So going to make some strawberry buttercream at the weekend. Now to pick which cake or cupcake from your great list of recipes! 5 star all the way!
Aww thanks so much mary Ann. That is great to hear, and looking forward to seeing your bakes.