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These Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes are a fun twist on the classic ice cream bar! If you grew up on Good Humor strawberry shortcake bars, you will be blown away by how much these strawberry cupcakes taste like them–starts with a box cake mix, but tastes like they are straight from the bakery!

Strawberry crunch cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and strawberry crunch topping on counter with crumbs surrounding.

Why You Will Love These Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes:
Recipe Ingredients:
Step-By-Step Instructions:
Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes Recipe Tips:
Storage Instructions:
Other Cake and Cupcake Recipes:
Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes Recipe
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What do you get when you take the flavors of a Strawberry Shortcake Crunch Bar and give it a baked good twist? These wildly delicious Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes, that’s what!

Starts with a box mix but tastes like they are straight from the bakery, these are a strawberry cupcake topped with a vanilla buttercream and then a heavy sprinkle of a strawberry crunch made of Golden Oreos and freeze dried strawberries. A strawberry lover’s dream!

I borrowed from my favorite easy vanilla cupcake recipe but gave it a strawberry twist with Jell-O! You are going to love these so much!

Why You Will Love These Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes:

They taste like nostalgia! The strawberry shortcake bars have been around for a long time and remind so many of the ice cream truck, summers by the pool, good times at the park and more. These strawberry crunch cupcakes will take you straight back to childhood with each bite.
All things considered, they are really easy to make. Since you are starting with a boxed cake mix, the entire recipe is quite easy and fairly foolproof. The recipe takes time, and steps to make the cake, the icing and the strawberry crunch, but overall, any baker can successfully make these cupcakes successfully!
The cupcakes are super moist. Don’t knock the box mix until you try it this way! Just a few tweaks to the classic cake mix can make for an outrageously delicious cupcake. A bit of sour cream and milk instead of water are two of my favorite ways to make cupcakes even better!

Strawberry shortcake crunch cupcakes with vanilla icing on counter with Golden Oreos and strawberry crunch crumbles.

Recipe Ingredients:

For the Cake:

white cake mix: while there are strawberry cake mixes out there, I am not a fan. I prefer to use a classic white cake mix and add the strawberry Jell-O.
strawberry Jell-O: a 3 oz. boxed package of strawberry gelatin/Jell-O mix. I have not tried this recipe with a sugar free version, but I imagine it will work as well in these strawberry crunch cupcakes.
eggs: large eggs
oil: a neutral flavored oil, canola is ideal, and vegetable oil is another great option.
whole milk: most cake mixes call for water. Skip the water and use whole milk for a richer flavor and texture.
sour cream: sour cream is a key ingredient when making a boxed cake mix to make it extra rich and moist–this makes it bakery cupcake like for sure!

For the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

butter: unsalted or salted can work. If you use unsalted, a pinch or two of salt can really help the frosting flavor pop. Choose the butter to your liking!
vanilla: Use a high quality vanilla in this vanilla buttercream frosting for the best flavor.
powdered sugar: sometimes called icing sugar or confectioners sugar. Sift the powdered sugar to help make the buttercream extra smooth.
cream: used to thin the buttercream out a touch. You won’t need a lot. You could use whole milk or half and half if preferred and still have success.

For the Strawberry Crunch Topping:

Golden Oreos: the regular, not the double stuff if possible. Keep the cream in the cookies. Another vanilla sandwich cookie can work as well.
freeze dried strawberries: these have a rich red color and a great strawberry flavor
butter: salted or unsalted, again, whatever you prefer will be great!

Step-By-Step Instructions:

Start by preheating your oven to 350°F.

Whisk together the eggs and milk until incorporated. Add the sour cream, oil and Jell-O and whisk until smooth.

Add the cake mix and whisk until smooth and no lumps remain.

Whisked eggs with Jell-o mix, sour cream and oil added to mixing bowl.

Line your cupcake pan with muffin liners–for best results, make sure they are nonstick. Not all cupcake liners are equal!

Spoon the strawberry cupcake batter into the cupcake pan, filling approximately 2/3 of the way. I like to use a cookie scoop (the 1.5 tablespoon size). Takes about two cookie scoops to fill each cavity.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you prepare remaining ingredients.

Cupcake tin with strawberry cake batter in each muffin cup.

Baked strawberry cupcakes in muffin tin.

Prepare the buttercream frosting. Using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate.

Begin adding the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to incorporate all of the powdered sugar.

Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, add the milk or cream a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

You can pipe the frosting or spread it over top. The amount in the recipe is perfect to spread over top of 24 cupcakes, if you want to pipe them high, double the frosting recipe.

Check out these tips for frosting your cupcakes!

Two sticks of butter in glass mixing bowl.

Finally, make the strawberry crunch topping. Combine the freeze dried strawberries and Golden Oreos in a food processor. Process until broken down into crumbs.

Add in the butter and pulse several times to incorporate into the mixture.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can place the ingredients into a plastic bag and crush them with a large wooden spoon or a rolling pin. Then transfer to a bowl and stir the butter in.

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, frost them as desired and sprinkle a generous amount of the strawberry crunch over top of the frosting. Enjoy immediately!

Freeze dried strawberries and golden Oreos in food processor.

Strawberry and cookie crumbles in food processor.

Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes Recipe Tips:

You can make and store the cupcakes for up to 2 days before frosting. If you need to do some of the work ahead of time, you can make the strawberry cupcakes within 2 days of icing. Store in the refrigerator, in an air tight container until you frost them.
To save time, use a container of frosting instead. If you don’t have time, grab a tub of frosting. This will cut down on the work and still give you the fun of these strawberry crunch cupcakes.
If you plan to pipe the frosting on the cupcakes, double the frosting recipe. If you are like me, it’s the frosting that wins. If you want to pipe these cupcakes with a sky high frosting top, then just make sure to make 2 batches of the frosting so you have plenty!

Strawberry cupcakes with buttercream frosting and strawberry crunch topping lined on counter with freeze dried strawberries and crumbs.

Storage Instructions:

Room temperature: You can store these strawberry crunch cupcakes at room temperature up to 2 days in an air tight sealed container.
Refrigerator: for best results, refrigerate these cupcakes up to about 5 days in the refrigerator, also sealed air tight. They will be best within 2-3 days, but still amazing on day 5, just a slight dryer. Allow the cupcakes to sit out for 10 minutes before serving.
Freezer: these cupcakes can be frozen. You can freeze the unfrosted cupcakes after fully cooling in a single layer using a freezer safe, air tight container. They will freeze for up to 3 months. Frosted cupcakes can also be frozen. It’s ideal to partially freeze them before wrapping them so the icing doesn’t get smashed. Place them on a plate or sheet pan and allow them to freeze fully before transferring to a container or ziplock bag.