Adapted from my vanilla cupcakes, these Valentineโs Day Cupid Cupcakes are the ultimate declaration of love: strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla all in one! Fill with Nutella and garnish with a chocolate heart for an over-the-top festive Valentineโs Day treat.
Just in case Valentineโs Day cookies, red velvet cake, and crรจme brรปlรฉe arenโt enough for your February 14th celebration, I have a swirly-topped cupcake for you. These were a BIG hit with taste testers, and the Nutella stuffed inside is such a delightful surprise!
These Valentineโs Day cupcakes are filled with Nutella and topped with strawberry Nutella swirled buttercream. And yes, theyโre every bit as lush as they look!!
My Best Base Cupcake Recipe
Todayโs Valentineโs Day cupcake recipe begins with a very familiar cupcake batter. My vanilla cupcakes are tried and true, combining an extra fluffy crumb and undeniably buttery vanilla flavor. Itโs difficult to replicate that bakery style cupcake perfection, but this recipe nails it EVERY TIME. I depend on this base recipe because the ingredients guarantee success:
- Egg Whites (no yolks): Lift up the crumb instead of weighing it down.
- Sour Cream: Leaves all the moisture.
- Cake Flour: Promises an extra soft texture.
Hereโsย a complete run-down of the vanilla cupcakes recipe if youโre interested.
Thereโs no point straying from this recipe because the results are fantastic and consistent. Plus, itโs really easy to adapt the cupcake into different flavors like peanut butter and jelly cupcakes, pistachio cupcakes, and coconut cupcakes.
My #1 tip: Fill the cupcake liners only about 2/3 full. These cupcakes rise up tall and excess batter will overflow.
Strawberry Nutella Cupcakes = Valentineโs Day Cupidโs Cupcakes
I call these Cupidโs Cupcakes because theyโre the most festive Valentineโs Day cupcakes Iโve ever made! Weโre taking my vanilla cupcakes recipe, stuffing it with Nutella, and topping with beautifully swirled buttercream. (Giving us neapolitan cookies vibes!) Strawberry and Nutella is an underrated flavor combination. Itโs definitely cupid approved.
Filling the cupcakes with Nutella is actually quite simple. You can learn more about the process on my How to Fill Cupcakes post, which includes helpful photos and a video tutorial.
Two Frostings from 1 Recipe
Besides the flavor, what youโll love most is that the two frostings start with 1 basic buttercream. Convenient! Even though thereโs a lot going on, this recipe is just like any homemade cupcake & homemade frosting recipeโthe buttercream is simply split into two flavors.
- Add Nutella to half of the buttercream and strawberry โdustโ to the other half.
Whatโs strawberry dust?ย A dessert miracle, thatโs what! Strawberry dust is the secret to real strawberry frosting. Itโs ground freeze-dried strawberries. Freeze-dried strawberries are REAL strawberries, so you get real flavor without comprising the recipesโ texture. I discovered this trick several years ago and it graces my strawberry cake and white chocolate strawberry cupcakes. And the frosting is naturally pink!
My trick for swirling the frosting:ย I show you how to swirl two frostings together in the video on my sugar plum fairy cupcakes page (scroll about halfway down the post). Donโt overcomplicate things because itโs actually very easy!
Here are a few Valentineโs Day cupcake recipes from previous years. Plus, find even more inspiration over on my Valentineโs Day dessert recipes page.
- Pistachio Cupcakes with Strawberry Frostingย (love these!)
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes
- White Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
Valentineโs Day Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 35 minutes
- Yield: 15 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Strawberry, Nutella, and vanilla all in one! These Valentineโs Day inspired cupcakes begin with my basic vanilla cupcakes recipe. The two frosting flavors are made from 1 basic vanilla buttercream. These cupcakes are fun, festive, and definitely Cupid approved!!
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (207g) cake flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120ml)ย whole milk, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (100g)ย Nutella
Nutella & Strawberry Swirl Buttercream
- 1 cup (about 25g) freeze-dried strawberries*
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 6 cupsย (720g) confectionersโ sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream or milk
- 1 teaspoonย pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup (100g)ย Nutella
- optional for garnish: chocolate heart candies or strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with 2-3 linersโthis recipe makes 14-15 cupcakes. Set aside.
- Make the cupcakes:ย Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Beat in the egg whites on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour and mix in the milk *just* until combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour/spoon the batter into the liners. Fill only 2/3 fullย to avoid baking over the sides. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For aroundย 35 mini cupcakes,ย bake for about 11-13ย minutes, same oven temperature. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before filling and frosting.
- Fill the cupcakes: Using a sharp knife, cut a circle/hole into the center of the cooled cupcakes to create a little pocket about 1 inch deep. The piece you removed will be the shape of a cone. Spoon Nutella inside each carved out cupcake. Use as much Nutella that will fit. Slice off the pointy end of the โconeโ piece you removed so that it can fit on top of the filling. Place on top of the filling. See my How to Fill Cupcakes post if you need extra visuals or help with this step.
- Make the buttercream: Using a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a powderyย crumb. You should have around 1/3 โ 1/2 cup. Set aside. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the confectionersโ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Divide buttercream in half. Beat 1/3 cup of Nutella into half and the strawberry dust into the other half. If either frosting seems too thin for piping, add an extra Tablespoon of confectionersโ sugar. Add an extra Tablespoon of cream if frosting seems too thick.
- Swirled frosting:ย Fill a piping bag with a piping tip (I usedย Wilton 1M piping tip for the pictured cupcakes). Add a spoonful of the Nutella frosting, then a spoonful of the strawberry frosting, then continue alternating spoonfuls of frosting until the piping bag is filled. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. I piped a basic tall swirl. See #2 in this piping tips post about piping a tall swirl. (I have a video tutorial in that blog post if you need a visual.) Decorate with garnishes, if desired.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions:ย Cupcakesย canย be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Frostingย canย also be made 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. Frosted or unfrosted cupcakesย canย be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links):ย 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Piping Bags (Disposable or Reusable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip | Chocolate Heart Candies
- Cake Flour: If you canโt get your hands on cake flour, you can make this DIY cake flour substitute. I suggest doing this twice, mixing it all up in 1 bowl then removing 1/4 cup since you need 1 and 3/4 cups in this recipe.
- What to Do with Leftover Egg Yolks? I have some recipes using egg yolks for you!
- Where to Buy Freeze-Dried Strawberries? I always find them in my regular grocery store in the dried fruit aisle. Wegmans, Giant, Trader Joeโs and Target carries them. Keep your eyes peeledโtheyโre more commonly found that you think! Do not use the chewy/gummy dried strawberries. You need FREEZE-dried strawberries which grind into a powder.
- Why is Everything at Room Temperature?ย Allย refrigerated items should beย at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly.ย Read here for more information on why room temperature ingredients are important.
- Nut Allergy / Alternative to Nutella:ย Instead of Nutella filling, fill the cupcakes with chocolate ganache. Instead of the Nutella frosting, swirl the strawberry frosting with my chocolate buttercream.
- Be sure to check out myย 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakesย before you begin.
Reader Comments and Reviews
6 cups of powdered sugar is an overwhelmingly large amount of sugar. It comes out way too sweet and dense of the instructions are followed as written. It also makes way to much frosting for 13/14 cupcakes.
The recipe for the actual cake also felt a little off.
Itโs a great concept but Iโd definitely tweak the recipe.
Frosting was overwhelmed by the large amount of butter called for in the recipe. Even though I ended up using only a fraction of the finished frosting, my tasters felt cupcakes were too butterfat heavy. And ended up tossing a fair amount of unused frosting.
How do I change the recipe to get just strawberry buttercream, without nuttella?
Hi Mary, you can follow our strawberry buttercream recipe instead.
Wow! Freeze dried strawberries are crazy expensive.
Hi Sally! I canโt find freeze-dried strawberries where I live. Do you think I could replace them with 165g raspberry preserves, like for your raspberry frosting? (I have made that one for chocolate cupcakes and itโs delicious!)
Hi Beatriz, You could certainly use that raspberry frosting. Just keep in mind itโs not as thick so it doesnโt pipe quite as nicely.
Great recipe!! Freeze dried strawberries can be found at ALDIs, Trader Joeโs, Whole Foods in dried fruit section.
could I make this into a 6 inch cake?
Hi Kim, absolutely. This cupcake batter will make 3, 6 inch round cake layers. You can follow this 6 inch cake recipes post as a guide.
I followed the instructions and measurements exactly (room temp ingredients, weighed my flours and sugars), and still my cupcakes expanded beyond their liners even though I made fifteen. I probably could have gotten twenty proper-sized cupcakes. Why did this happen?
Thank you for giving these cupcakes a try! Perhaps your cupcake pan is slightly smaller โ make sure to only fill your cupcake liners 2/3 full if you give these a try another time. Hope you enjoyed them!
Delicious! The strawberry & Nutella frostings are both so good โ itโs hard to pick a favorite. Good thing we donโt have to
These look fabulous and delicious! Your idea of grinding the freeze-dried fruit into dust, then adding it to your frosting is ingenious and makes perfect sense Iโm an old retired baker, but still love to bake new to me things. I will be making these soon. Thank you
I love these!!! They have the look of a cupcake that I would bake and give. Is there anything that I can substitute for the nutella??? Iโm just donโt like it.
Hi Marcia! You could swirl the strawberry frosting with chocolate frosting and fill the cupcakes with chocolate ganache instead of Nutella. Let us know if you give them a try!
They were really sweet though super cute!
Hi Sally,
Could i use thus recipe for a double layer cake ?
With the same Nutella filling for the middle perhaps. Would I need to change the measurements for 2 9โณ cake pans ?
Hi V, For a two layer 9-inch cake I suggest following the recipe for my Favorite White Cake and then you can use this Nutella and strawberry frosting to fill and frost the cake. Enjoy!
Hi Sally,
Thank you so much for your reply. I had a look at the recipe for your Favorite White Cake, and saw that it uses egg whites. Could I use egg replacer for this ? I usually use Bobโs Red Mill. Or flax eggs.
These taste amazing!!! We didnโt have any more Nutella for the middle of the cupcake so we had to make chocolate ganache for it instead.
I do not have a food processor or blender. Is there another way to incorporate the strawberries into the buttercream?
Hi Emily, You can try to place them in a zip top bag and then use a rolling pin to roll over the bag to crush the freeze dried berries. I have not tried this but Iโm guessing it will take a bit of arm muscle to get them to a powdery consistency.
I love making these cakes, but Iโm wondering if you have any Go-To recipe for Gluten Free cupcakes? I have so many GF friends who are sad to be missing out on these creations. Do you have a link you can share, or develop some GF goodies for us?
Hi Mel! I donโt have much experience with gluten free baking, so Iโm not the best person to ask! Here are some of my naturally GF recipes: https://framework-ridge.live/category/gluten-free/%3C/p%3E
Very yummy flavor combo and fun!
These turned out great! Made the recipe exactly as written. The flavor combination is unique and addictive. This does make a ton of frosting! I ended up with 14 cupcakes and had some left over. Not a bad thing- it was nice to have some extra while mastering the swirl. Will definitely make these again for next Valentineโs Day!
I made these for Valentineโs Day and they were FANTASTIC!! My coworkers loved them!! I doubled the cake recipe and made the frosting recipe as is and still had more than enough frosting. Will definitely make again!
These were fantastic! I have never made strawberry frosting using freeze-dried strawberries until now, and I donโt think Iโll make it any other way going forward. Best vanilla cupcake Iโve ever made, thank you Sally for this recipe!
FYIโ I made only 2/3 the frosting recipe and it was definitely enough.
Hi~ I want to make these for a childโs birthday who is gluten free. I am using a 1:1 flour substitute. However, you call for cake flour. Will the corn starch work around you detailed, if one canโt find cake flour work with 1:1 GF flour substitute? Do you know if this recipe will even hold up to a GF flour mixture?
Also, I intend to make my own nutella, for reasons someone mentioned above. They look delish, and I hope the GF option works. Any ideas?
Hi Jenny, Iโm sorry, I donโt have any experience baking with gluten free flour. If you have time for a test batch you can certainly try the corn starch trick and see if it works โ and let me know!!
I canโt find freeze dried strawberries where I live. What can I use instead? I saw some dehydrated strawberries in the bulk section the other day, but Iโm not sure they would be dry enough.
Hi Melanie! I donโt recommend the dehydrated strawberriesโ are they the gummy/dried fruit kind? Instead of freeze-dried strawberries, how about a little strawberry extract or strawberry jam.
Hi I got mine off Amazon. Just type in freeze dried strawberries and there should be a couple of brands.
These are cute! Could you give some details about the chocolate hearts (brand/where to find)? They look familiar, maybe Dove brand? Sorry if I missed it in the post, super tired tonight. I think Iโm going to make these for Valentineโs Day!
Hey Elle! They are Hersheyโs brand, but Dove makes hearts as well!
I would love it if you put out a Sallyโs cupcakes Addiction cookbook. I tried quite a few and they turned very good and delicious. I already have two of your cookbooks they are lovely.