This strawberry frosting has an intense strawberry taste without using extract or gelatin. I wanted real strawberry frosting for my real strawberry cupcakes and could not find an acceptable recipe. I came up with this recipe using a strawberry purée reduction that is truly the strawberry-est. If you love strawberries, you'll love this!
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 cup butter
3 ½ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place strawberries in a blender; purée until smooth.
Transfer strawberry purée to a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring often, until reduced by at least half, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
Beat butter with an electric mixer in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in 1 cup confectioners' sugar until combined. Beat 2 tablespoons cooled strawberry purée and vanilla extract into butter mixture until just blended.
Beat in 1 cup confectioners' sugar until combined, followed by 2 tablespoons strawberry purée. Repeat this step once more.
Beat remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar into mixture until just blended.
