Even though my mom is not the kind of woman who loves everything pink (her color is purple) there is something about planning an elegant Mothers’ Day brunch that makes me want to make pretty pink cupcakes for dessert. These strawberry lemonade cupcakes are perfect for an elegant brunch, an afternoon tea party, or really anytime. In my mind lemon cupcakes topped with strawberry lemonade frosting just scream spring.

I wanted to make an intensely strawberry flavored frosting that is still thick enough to pipe. Because fresh strawberries are so watery it is hard to make intensely flavored strawberry frosting using fresh strawberries. In the past I have made strawberry frosting using strawberry jam. That works somewhat better but still tends to be not as flavorful and more watery than I want from a frosting. The solution is freeze dried strawberries. When ground up into a fine powder freeze dried strawberries add a huge punch of flavor without any added moisture. The frosting stays firm and perfect for piping. It is also beautifully pink without any added food coloring. The one drawback is that the strawberry seeds make the frosting not completely smooth. I found the slight crunch delightful but if that bothers you simply strain the powdered strawberries through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Even better the frosting is both vegan and gluten-free so it can be used in a wide variety of recipes. (An amazing treat is this frosting spread between two graham crackers or gluten-free S’moreables)

I love strawberry but I wanted to make these cupcakes a bit more interesting so I added lemon. The combination is one of my favorites (it is no secret that I love strawberry lemonade) and this might be one of my new favorite cupcakes. (That says a lot coming from a die hard chocolate lover). To make the strawberry lemonade cupcakes I added some lemon flavor to both the cupcakes and the frosting, but feel free to leave it out for a pure strawberry experience.