Strawberry Filled Cupcakes with Zesty Lemon Glaze

These delicious dairy-free strawberry filled cupcakes are made with tender vanilla cakes, fresh strawberries, and a lemony glaze. It’s the perfect flavor combination for spring and summer celebrations. And the recipe suits a variety of dietary needs. In addition to dairy-free, these single-serve desserts can be egg-free, nut-free, and soy-free, if you wish.

Dairy-Free Strawberry Filled Cupcakes add Zest to the Dessert Table

This dairy-free strawberry filled cupcakes recipe were an honorable mention winner in The Spring Fling Dairy-Free Recipe Contest that we cohosted with So Delicious about a decade ago. It was created and submitted by Tina Coopman, but our taste-testers couldn’t get enough of these gems. Sarah baked them up, and said they are a little difficult to fill, but worth it. We’ve added more specific instructions to help make it easier, and have some more cupcake recipe tips in the FAQs below.

How Many Lemons do I need for the Glaze?

You only need 1/2 a lemon to get enough zest and juice for the glaze.

Can I Use Jam instead of the Strawberries?

You can use strawberry jam or preserves. Just make sure to get a brand that tastes bright and fresh and doesn’t have large chunks that will get caught in the piping tip. Of course, fresh will taste better! If the strawberries at your store don’t look good, think about substituting fresh raspberries or blueberries instead. Both go well with lemon.

Can I Use Frozen Strawberries?

Yes, you can substitute frozen strawberries for fresh. They might be more watery, so you might need to cook the filling down a little more. Also, frozen strawberries are often lacking in strawberry flavor. Taste the filling and add more sugar for sweetness and/or a squeeze of lemon for brightness, if needed.

Is there a Brand of Butter Alternative that you Recommend?

I like to use baking sticks, not spread, for cupcakes. Lately, I’ve been using Country Crock Plant Butter sticks as they are readily available, relatively inexpensive, perform well, and have a nice lightly salty taste that seems to heighten the flavor in most recipes. But most brands should work just fine.

Is there a Substitute for the Dairy-Free Yogurt?

Keep in mind, you only need one small container of yogurt for this recipe (and you will have some leftover). And you can use a plain, vanilla, or fruit yogurt flavor if your store doesn’t have an unsweetened variety. Tina uses So Delicious Dairy-Free Yogurt, which is readily available in many major grocers. But, you can substitute unsweetened applesauce or simply use more milk alternative with a squeeze of lemon juice in place of the yogurt, if needed. The batter will be a little thinner, but it should still create a nice lightly moist texture.

Does it Matter What Type of Milk Alternative I Use?

The milk alternative isn’t a key ingredient, so you can use your favorite type. Almond milk, coconut milk beverage, soy milk, oat milk, or pea protein milk should work fine. In a pinch, you could even substitute water.

Can I Make these Cupcakes Gluten Free?

These dairy-free strawberry filled cupcakes should work with your favorite gluten-free flour baking blend used in place of the flour. Avoid substituting a single gluten-free flour – you really do need a blend for the best results. And definitely do not use coconut flour or another grain-free flour in place of the flour. These types of flour perform very differently, and can’t be used as a 1:1 substitute. Also, if you are using gluten-free flour, I recommend using eggs (not the egg-free option) if possible.

How Can I Make a Vanilla Glaze Instead?

If you want to skip the lemon flavor, omit the lemon zest and lemon juice from the glaze. Increase the milk alternative to 1 1/2 tablespoons and add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. For a thicker glaze, start with just 1 tablespoon of milk alternative, and optionally whisk in a little butter alternative. You could alternatively frost these dairy-free strawberry filled cupcakes with dairy-free vanilla buttercream frosting and garnish them with fresh strawberries.

Special Diet Notes: Strawberry-Filled Cupcakes

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, optionally egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian. Just be sure to choose the buttery spread, milk alternative, and yogurt alternative that suit your dietary needs.

Tina Coopman

Dairy-Free Strawberry Filled Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze

5 from 3 votes

These light and tender vanilla cupcakes have a delicious fresh strawberry filling and sweet-tart glaze. They're perfect for spring gatherings and summer holidays.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Servings: 12 glazed cupcakes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 263

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

Vanilla Cupcakes

• 1 cup sugar
• 10 tablespoons dairy-free buttery sticks or spread
• 2 eggs (see Egg-Free Option below)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup unsweetened dairy-free yogurt
• ⅓ cup unsweetened dairy-free milk alternative

Strawberry Filling

• 2 cups diced strawberries
• 2 tablespoon sugar

Lemon Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons dairy-free milk alternative

Method

 

Vanilla Cupcakes

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line 12 regular muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. In a large mixing, bowl cream together the sugar and butter alternative with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs or flax eggs and vanilla and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt and milk alternatives.
5. Alternate whisking the dry flour mixture and the wet milk-yogurt alternative mixture into your batter, starting and ending with the dry flour mixture.
6. Divide the batter evenly between your prepared muffin tins.
7. Bake the cupcakes for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Strawberry Filling

1. While the cupcakes bake, put the strawberries and sugar into a saucepan.
2. Place the pan over medium heat, and cook, while whisking to break of the strawberries, for about 10 minutes. Make sure the strawberries are well mashed to avoid clogging the piping tip when filling the cupcakes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and let the filling cool.
4. Once the cupcakes and filling have cooled, spoon the filling into a piping bag with a round piping tip.
5. Insert the piping tip straight down into the center of a cupcake about 1 inch down. Gently squeeze some filling (about 1 to 2 tablespoons) into the middle. Repeat until all cupcakes are filled.

Lemon Glaze

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, milk alternative, and lemon zest until smooth.
2. Dip the top of each cupcake into the glaze or spoon the glaze over them. Set the cupcakes upright on a flat surface to set.
3. The cupcakes will keep covered at room temperature for a couple of days, but should be refrigerated or frozen for longer storage.

Nutrition

Serving: 1filled cupcake with glazeCalories: 263kcalCarbohydrates: 43.8gProtein: 2.8gFat: 8.8gSaturated Fat: 2.4gSodium: 159mgFiber: 1.1gSugar: 30.4g

Notes

Egg-Free Option: In a blender or food processor, blend 6 tablespoons water with 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed until the mixture becomes egg like. You can alternatively whisk them together in a bowl. Use this mixture in place of both eggs in the recipe.

Mini Cupcakes Option: Line 32 mini muffin tins with mini cupcake liners. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared tins. Bake the mini cupcakes for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. When piping the filling, squeeze lightly. You only need a teaspoon or so of filling in each mini cupcake.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

Try our Dairy-Free Lemon Cupcakes too!