These strawberry and cardamom cupcakes with strawberry basil buttercream are made with fresh strawberry puree and freshly chopped basil. They are delicate, fluffy, and loaded with strawberry goodness. The cake is strawberry and cardamom, and the icing is a swiss meringue buttercream with strawberry puree and freshly chopped basil. They are the perfect balance of sweet, floral, and just a hint of savory from the basil.
Tips for a perfect strawberry cardamom cake:
This cake is so easy to throw together. It just takes a little extra time since you need to cut and puree your strawberries.
- Puree your strawberries. For both the cake and buttercream, you need quite a lot of strawberries. I usually buy between 2 and 3 16 ounce containers for this recipe.
- Really beat the butter and sugar together. For a fluffy cake, you want to beat the mixture until its super fluffy, not just until it comes together. It takes about 3 minutes.
- Tap your cupcake pan against the counter before baking. This will get rid of any bubbles or gaps in the batter.
Tips for a perfect strawberry basil swiss meringue buttercream:
Swiss meringue is my favorite buttercream base. Its made by whisking the eggs whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water until it gets to 140-160 degrees.
- I use my metal bowl from my kitchen aid. That way, I can just attach it back to the kitchen aid and continue whisking the mixture with the whisk attachment.
- Don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. That will put too much heat on the egg whites.
- Whisk the egg white and sugar mixture constantly when cooking them over the simmering water.
- If you don't have a candy thermometer to check the temperature, cook the mixture until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is very thick and stable.
- Once the mixture has been cooked, whisk in the butter a little at a time. This helps keep the egg whites stable.
- If, after you add in your strawberries, the buttercream becomes watery, mix it on high until it bounces back or
stick it in the fridge for a while to firm up.
Looking for more springtime and summer bakes? Check out these:
Thanks so much for making these strawberry and cardamom cupcakes with strawberry basil buttercream! See below for more recipes you might love!
Lemon, Thyme, and Rosemary Cupcakes
Blueberry Muffins with Lemon and Cardamom
Angel Food Cake with Mint and Cardamon Strawberries
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Strawberry Cardamom Cupcakes with Strawberry Basil Buttercream
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter (one stick)
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup pureed strawberries
For the swiss meringue buttercream:
- 2 egg whites
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks)
- ½ cup pureed strawberries
- ¼ cup finely chopped basil
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Whisk flour, salt, cardamom, and baking powder together in a large bowl.
- Cream butter and sugar together in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time beating completely before adding the next egg.
- Mix milk and vanilla together and while the mixer is on low add ⅓ of the flour mixture followed by ⅓ of the milk, keep alternating wet and dry ingredients until all are incorporated.
- Pour in the strawberries and mix to combine.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
For the buttercream:
- Put eggs whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture reaches 160 degrees.
- Remove bowl from heat and attach the bowl to a mixer, whisk on medium-high speed for 5 minutes or until very stiff peaks form. Lower speed to medium and start adding butter one piece at a time until are all combined. Add in the chopped basil. Whisk until stiff peaks form again if you lost definition when adding the butter.
- Switch to the paddle attachment and on low speed slowly add a little bit of the strawberries, keep mixing and adding strawberries until all are combined. Whisk on medium speed to firm up the mixture.
- Frost the cupcakes and garnish with leftover strawberry puree and rose petals.
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