These Banana Strawberry Cupcakes combine two favorite flavors in one irresistible treat. Each bite bursts with fresh strawberry filling and sweet banana goodness, topped with strawberry cream cheese frosting for a fun, fruity twist.
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These banana and strawberry cupcakes take a little more time than regular cupcakes, but the flavor is totally worth it! After baking, each cupcake gets a hole in the center that's filled with soft, sweet strawberries, then topped with fluffy frosting.
Ingredients
Banana cupcake ingredients
- All-purpose flour - sift your flour if necessary to remove any lumps
- Baking soda and salt - be sure to use fresh baking soda. King Arthur has a great article here on how to test for freshness.
- Granulated sugar
- Bananas - use ripe bananas for the best flavor. This recipe requires 1 ½ cups of mashed bananas, which is about three medium-sized bananas.
- Eggs - use large, room temperature eggs
- Vegetable oil
- Buttermilk - You only need ¼ cup of buttermilk for this recipe. If you don’t have any, you can make your own. Just mix ¾ teaspoon of white vinegar into ¼ cup of whole milk. Let it sit for about 30 minutes. The milk will curdle a bit and become tangy—just like buttermilk.
See recipe card for quantities.
Strawberry frosting and filling ingredients
- Strawberries - use fresh strawberries. Rinse, dry, remove stems before starting the recipe. Strawberries are used both to fill the cupcakes and made into a puree to add to the frosting.
- Granulated sugar - sugar is sprinkled over the strawberries to help soften them and draw out some of their juice before adding the strawberries to the center of the cupcake.
- Unsalted butter and cream cheese (full fat) - bring both of these ingredients to room temperature before starting the frosting recipe
- Powdered sugar - sift to remove any lumps
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Banana cupcake instructions
The first step in making this dessert is to bake the banana cupcakes. Follow the instructions below:
1 - Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Whisk well to combine. Set aside for later.
2 - Mash the bananas until mostly smooth with minimal lumps. Combine granulated sugar and bananas in a large mixing bowl. Stir well until combined. If using an electric mixer, combine using the paddle attachment.
3 - Add eggs to the bowl. Mix until well combined, scraping the sides and bottom of mixing bowl as needed.
4 - Add buttermilk and eggs to the bowl. Mix until well combined, scraping the sides and bottom of mixing bowl as needed.
5 - Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) to the mixing bowl and stir until just combined. Avoid overmixing, as it can result in dense or tough cupcakes.
6 - Scoop batter into the cupcake liners until ⅔ full (note - recipe makes 18 standard sized cupcakes). Bake at 350℉ (180℃) for 20 -22 minutes.
7 - Allow cupcakes to cool completely before adding the filling and frosting.
Strawberry frosting and filling instructions
After the cupcakes have baked and cooled, it's time to fill them with strawberries and add the frosting on top. Just follow the steps below:
1 - Wash, dry, and stem the strawberries, then chop into ¼" pieces. Toss with 2 tablespoons of sugar to soften for cupcake filling. Remove ⅓ cup of the strawberries and place in a saucepan. Set aside remaining strawberries for later.
2 - Place saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir often. Strawberries will break down and thicken into a purée - approximately 15 - 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat and set the purée aside aside to cool completely.
3 - To make the frosting, place softened butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Mix on medium-high speed for 2 - 3 minutes or until creamy.
4 - Add powdered sugar to mixing bowl. Start mixing on low speed and gradually increase speed to medium. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl. Continue to mix until well combined.
5 - Add cooled strawberry purée to the bowl and mix on medium speed until combined. If frosting is too soft, mix in powdered sugar 2 tablespoons at a time until desired consistency is reached.
6 - Place an apple corer in the middle of each cupcake, press down about ⅔ into the cupcake, twist and remove the core of the cupcake.
7 - Fill the hollowed center of the cupcake with chopped strawberries. Reserve a few strawberries to sprinkle over top of frosting.
8 - Spread the frosting over the cupcakes or pipe onto the cupcakes using a piping tip of your choice. Add additional strawberry pieces and banana slices if desired.
Equipment
Gather the following equipment to make these banana strawberry cupcakes:
- Stand Mixer or hand-mixer or whisk
- Silicone spatula
- Cupcake Pans - recipe makes 18 cupcakes
- Cupcake Liners
- Bowls, measuring cups and spoons
- Apple Corer (or knife to dig hole in cupcake)
- Saucepan
Storage
The filling and frosting on these banana and strawberry cupcakes need to stay cold so they don’t spoil. Put the cupcakes in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days. Take them out about an hour before you serve them so the frosting has time to soften.
Once the cupcakes are filled and frosted, they don’t freeze well. But you can wrap the baked, undecorated cupcakes and freeze them for up to 2 months.
FAQ
My preference is to use an apple corer but there are other options available. For example:
- Cut a small circle (about the size of a nickel) out of the top center of the cupcake and scoop out some of the cake. Be careful not to go too deep.
- Use the wide end of a large piping tip (like a Wilton 1A). Push it into the cupcake and twist slightly as you pull it out.
- Gently scoop out the center using a melon baller or the tip of a small spoon.
More filled cupcake recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you enjoy these Banana Strawberry Cupcakes as much as my family and friends have over the years!
📋 Recipe
Banana Strawberry Cupcakes
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer or hand-mixer or whisk
- Cupcake Pans recipe makes 18 cupcakes
- Cupcake Liners
- Bowls, measuring cups and spoons
- Apple Corer (or knife to dig hole in cupcake)
- Saucepan
Ingredients
Banana cupcakes
- 1 Cup Granulated sugar
- 1½ Cups Bananas, mashed approximately 3 medium ripe bananas
- ¾ Cup Vegetable oil
- ¼ Cup Buttermilk
- 2 Large Eggs room temperature
- 2 Cups All-purpose flour sift if necessary to remove any lumps
- 2 teaspoons Baking soda
- ½ Cup Salt
Strawberry filling and frosting
- 1 Pint Strawberries stems removed and chopped into ¼" cubes
- 2 Tablespoons Granulated sugar
- ½ Cup Unsalted butter softened
- 1 Cup Cream cheese full fat, softened
- 2½ Cups Powdered sugar sift if necessary to remove any lumps
Instructions
Banana cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃)
- Line the cupcake pans with paper liners.
- Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Whisk well to combine. Set aside for later.
- Mash the bananas until mostly smooth with minimal lumps.
- Combine granulated sugar and bananas in a large mixing bowl. Stir well until combined. If using an electric mixer, combine using the paddle attachment.
- Add eggs to the bowl. Mix until well combined, scraping the sides and bottom of mixing bowl as needed.
- Add oil and buttermilk. Mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) to the mixing bowl and stir until just combined. Avoid overmixing, as it can result in dense or tough cupcakes.
- Scoop batter into the cupcake liners until ⅔ full.
- Bake for 20 -22 minutes, or until cupcakes are fully risen and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Place cupcakes on a rack and allow to cool completely before filling and icing.
Strawberry cupcake filling and frosting
- Wash, dry and remove stems from strawberries. Chop into ¼" pieces.
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons granulated sugar over strawberries and toss to combine.
- Remove ⅓ cup of strawberries and place in a saucepan. Set aside remaining strawberries for later - these will be used to fill the cupcakes.
- Place saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir often. Strawberries will break down and thicken into a purée - approximately 15 - 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat and set the purée aside aside to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, place softened butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Mix on medium-high speed for 2 - 3 minutes or until creamy.
- Add powdered sugar to mixing bowl. Start mixing on low speed and gradually increase speed to medium. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl. Continue to mix until well combined.
- Add cooled strawberry purée to the bowl and mix on medium until combined. If frosting is too soft, mix in powdered sugar 2 tablespoons at a time until desired consistency is reached.
Cupcake Assembly
- Place an apple corer in the middle of each cupcake, press down about ⅔ into the cupcake, twist and remove the core of the cupcake.
- Fill the hollowed center of the cupcake with chopped strawberries. Reserve some to sprinkle over top of frosting.
- Spread the frosting over the cupcakes or pipe onto the cupcakes using a piping tip of your choice. Optional: add more strawberries for a decorative touch.
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