If you’re in the mood for baking, these strawberry crunch cupcakes are a wonderful choice. They are made with strawberry Jell-O, strawberries, Oreos, cream cheese, and more, for a great dessert.
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Making cupcakes is a lot of fun and this is a recipe even a novice home cook will find easy. They are topped with a rich, creamy frosting and then finished off with a wonderful crumb topping. Yum!
These cupcakes are ideal for any occasion. They’re easy to make and taste amazing! And you don’t have to visit the bakery when this recipe is so simple to make by yourself at home.
Be sure to check out my strawberry crunch cake version of this recipe, or perhaps this lemon crunch cake if you want to switch up the flavor!
Main Ingredients
The recipe includes strawberry Jell-O and fresh strawberries for a rich flavor. For the frosting, you will need more strawberries along with cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Finally, the crushed Oreo crumb topping finishes these off perfectly. Here are the key ingredients needed:
- Strawberries: You can’t make it without them!
- Cream cheese: To add a creamy tang to the frosting.
- Golden Oreos: For the crunchy crumb topping.
- White cake mix: This is the basis of the cupcakes.
- Strawberry gelatin: For a triple whammy of flavor, color, and texture.
- Red food coloring: To make the frosting pink.
Instructions Overview
There’s nothing hard about making these, but they will look and taste really professional. Milk, strawberries, oil, gelatin, and eggs combine with a boxed cake mix for the batter. After that, the batter is divided between cupcake liners and baked to perfection.
While they bake, you can get to work on the frosting. Strawberries, cream cheese, butter, milk, and confectioners' sugar are all you need for this rich, tangy frosting, while a couple of drops of food coloring will give a pretty pink color.
The crumb topping is simply crushed Oreo cookies with butter and strawberry gelatin. After frosting the cupcakes, this crumb topping is the final touch. They are reminiscent of strawberry shortcakes and everyone will be impressed with your baking prowess! Shh, you don’t need to admit how easy they were to make!
Common Questions
As you might expect (or guess!) these are vanilla flavored. I find the lighter flavor of vanilla, compared to the richer flavor of chocolate Oreos, complements the strawberry crunch cupcakes better. Both vanilla and strawberries are delicate flavors and they're really harmonious in this cupcake recipe.
There are more ways than one to do this. When I make these strawberry crunch cupcakes, sometimes I like to use a food processor or blender because you simply put the cookies in there after removing the cream filling. If you prefer to go appliance-free, simply put the Oreos in a Ziploc bag and then bash them using a rolling pin or meat mallet. No Ziploc bags? Put the cookies in a deep pot and bash them with a metal potato masher. See? There's always a way!
You can make these strawberry crunch cupcakes with either regular or sugar-free gelatin. Because artificial sweeteners weigh less than sugar, a package of sugar-free gelatin is going to be lighter. So for this particular recipe, you can either use 6 ounces of regular gelatin powder or 0.6 ounces of the sugar-free variety. So basically either use two 3-ounce packages of regular Jell-O or one 0.3 ounce package of the sugar-free kind.
Commercial flavored gelatin is typically made with animal collagen. If you're looking for a vegetarian-friendly replacement, consider using vegan gelatin instead, which comes in different flavors and is made of agar-agar. The amount you need depends on the brand, so check the package to see what's equivalent to regular gelatin.
Once they are cooled, frosted, and decorated with the crumb mixture, store them in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Keep them in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 days.
Making a batch of these and want to freeze some? That’s a great idea and they freeze well, even after frosting and adding the crumb topping. Thaw and eat them within 2 months.
These are so good you’ll want to eat them in every season! But what if fresh strawberries are out of season? If that’s the case, you can use thawed strawberries. Just make sure you drain off as much liquid as possible first.
These will keep for several days in a sealed container in the refrigerator, so if you want to make them ahead, you absolutely can.
Let’s say strawberries aren’t your favorite, or someone at home has an allergy. In that case, you can easily switch the strawberries for raspberries and the strawberry gelatin for raspberry gelatin. You could also try blackberries and then a complementary Jell-O flavor such as lime.
Although whole milk always works well, these cupcakes are just as good whether you prefer 2%, or even unsweetened almond or soy milk.
They go well with anything from a coffee or iced tea to a glass of dessert wine. They’re pretty enough for a special occasion too, so perhaps you’d like to make them as a centerpiece for a dessert table.
Chopnotch Tips
- Mix and match the berries you use. If you are fonder of raspberries, those would also work just fine here.
- Don’t frost them until they are completely cool. Frosting cupcakes that are still warm will melt part of the frosting and result in a messy look.
- A little food coloring goes a long way. Add it literally one or two drops at a time and mix well before adding more.
These strawberry crunch cupcakes might end up being your favorite kind of sweet treat. There’s nothing not to love, from the moist, light cupcakes to the creamy, tangy frosting, and of course that crumbly, crunchy Oreo topping!
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Let us know what you think! Give this recipe a rating in the comments section below.
Recipe
How to Make
Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 box white cake mix
- 3 ounces strawberry gelatin
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup strawberries, mashed
For the frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup strawberries, mashed
- 16 ounces confectioners’ sugar
- 2½ tablespoons milk
- red food coloring
For the crumb topping:
- 1.5 ounces strawberry gelatin
- 20 golden Oreos, cream removed and crushed
- 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
To make the cupcakes:
- Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together the white cake mix, strawberry gelatin, vegetable oil, milk, eggs, and mashed strawberries.
- Pour into a prepared muffin tin and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean from the center.
- Once finished, let cool and remove them from the muffin tin.
To make the frosting:
- Beat together the butter, cream cheese, and mashed strawberries. Add in milk and confectioners' sugar gradually.
- Add a few drops of food coloring and beat until smooth.
To make the crumb topping:
- Add 1.5 ounces (half a box) of strawberry gelatin to a bowl along with the crushed Oreos and 1½ tablespoons of melted butter. Mix until well combined.
- Frost cupcakes by using a spatula and dip into the crumb mixture to coat.
Notes
- Mix and match the berries you use. If you are fonder of raspberries, those would also work just fine here.
- Don’t frost these until they are completely cool. Frosting cupcakes that are still warm will melt part of the frosting and result in a messy look.
- A little food coloring goes a long way. Add it literally one or two drops at a time and mix well before adding more.
Hello,
Do you use the instructions on the cake box for mixing the ingredients? Or do you just mix until combined? I am making them now so, I am going to assumethe box directions.
Thank You
Hi Mary, follow step #2 in my recipe above when you are mixing the box cake mix with the other ingredients. Ignore the mixing instructions on the box. I hope this clarifies, and I hope you love them!
Morning!
Cupcakes seem delish! Can't wait to try them. How much milk for the cupcakes and then the frosting? The list of ingredients only says 2 1/2 tbsp.
Please Advise
Thanks!
Hi LaTanya, use ½ cup milk for the cupcake batter and 2½ tablespoons for the frosting. I've updated the ingredients list and instructions in the recipe so it's easier to follow now. Take a look and let me know if you have any questions. I hope you love them!