How To Make Sugar Free Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

For most of our special occasions lately, I’ve been quite happy with my grain-free chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting. I’m in a no-fuss season of life and what works…works. To make them a little more special though, I’ll share how to make sugar free strawberry buttercream frosting.

I have little girls in my brood, so when a pair of blonde braids and blue eyes asked for something pink and strawberry for her 7th birthday I left the “what works” zone and went looking for inspiration. I found strawberry frosting on Urban Poser and gave it a no-fuss makeover for GAPS/no starch/fewer ingredients, pairing it with my chocolate cupcake recipe. It was a hit!

The only “special” ingredient you will need is freeze-dried strawberries (preferably organic). I also use a pastry tip to make my frosting a little more special.

May your little girls (or boys) find enjoyment from this frosting recipe.

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Strawberry Buttercream Frosting {Refined sugar free}

  • Author: Melanie Christner - Honest Body
  • Category: Dessert, Birthday

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup room temp softened butter (2 sticks)
  • 10 tablespoons raw honey (almost 2/3 cup)
  • 1 cup freeze dried strawberries (when ground, comes out as about 5 tablespoons)

Instructions

  1. Blend freeze dried strawberries in a blender until powdered (you may want to strain seeds through a fine mesh sieve but this is optional)
  2. Combine butter, honey and strawberry powder in a mixer and whip at medium-high speed for a few minutes until completely blended and creamy.
  3. Frost your cakes or cupcakes when completely cooled.
  4. Enjoy your pink confection!

 

27 thoughts on “How To Make Sugar Free Strawberry Buttercream Frosting {GAPS Friendly}”

  1. I used this recipe today – and did both strawberry and blueberry frosting so I could have pink and purple (for the boys and girls). The purple was so beautiful – and they both tasted awesome!

    Thanks for a great recipe!

    1. Melanie Christner

      Thanks for the feedback, Lydia, and the great idea on the blueberry 🙂

      Glad you liked it!

      Melanie

    1. Melanie Christner

      Hi Maria,

      Are you asking if the frosting will be of the right texture by leaving out the strawberry powder? It should, it will just be plain. You’ll have to play around with the recipe a bit if you want to use other forms of strawberry…

      1. That’s exactly what I meant 🙂 I just don’t have the option of getting or making the powder at the moment, but my cupcakes beg for frosting 😉 The problem is, butter will soften noticeably at room temperature of a hotter climate, so I’m not sure what to do about it :\

  2. Do you use regular or unsalted butter? I feel like it would make a huge difference in the taste so I hope to hear back before I tackle my daughter’s bday cake 🙂

    1. Melanie Christner

      Hi Sara,

      Unsalted would probably be the officially “approved” butter, but most often I have salted on hand…that is what I used in the recipe and it tasted great. Have fun with your daughter’s cake! One more note…you can adjust the stiffness of your frosting by how much strawberry powder you add, so add less at first to get the consistency you want.

  3. We are celebrating my son’s birthday after 7 weeks on intro. Since we have had no sugar or honey or even fruit in this time, I did half a cup of honey. That is sweet enough for us. I also added 3/4 cup of diced fresh strawberry. We are making this for your strawberry cake recipe, and we are so excited! We have a traditional strawberry cake recipe passed down from my grandmother, but it has regular cake mix and strawberry jello and the traditional powdered sugar in the frosting. For years I’ve been trying to make adjustments to make it less awful (primarily trying to get rid of the red dye 40). Using freeze-dried strawberries is genius! Next time I will try adding freeze dried strawberries to the cake as well to up the strawberry flavor. And I love the blueberry idea for purple frosting for my other daughter. One year I tried to make a purple frosting out of nautral things and it looked like cement/sludge. It was hideous :). Even when we are no longer on GAPS, I feel like we will be using these cake recipes. They are so tasty and so much better for our bodies. Thank you!

  4. I am going to make this for my daughters party we have 40 people though so I will be making two sheets on an 18 inch pan. I have never done this before I am worried about it sticking I have a glass pan . Are there any other tips besides greesing it and the paper that I need to do?

    1. Melanie Christner

      Hello Nicole,

      Thank you for your question. The cake should act like any other cake as far as sticking, so buttering (or spreading coconut oil) and parchment paper are appropriate. Happy celebrating 🙂

      Melanie

  5. This frosting looks so elegant. Q- would it hold up at room temp while waiting to be served, or would it need refrigeration until time to eat?

    And, was your raw honey liquid or ‘set?’ My raw honey is always liquid and I’ve tried GAPS frosting recipes before that failed to ‘set’, and I’m wondering if honey was the issue. Thanks!!!

    1. Melanie Christner

      Hi Kathryn,

      It holds up quite well, although if it were very warm (mid-summer perhaps) it would get soft.

      My raw honey was more solid than liquid. The ‘set’ factor also has something to do with the softness of your butter when you are whipping the honey and butter together…your butter should be just pliable but not melted.

      Enjoy!
      Melanie

    1. Melanie Christner

      Hi Rachel,

      You may want to make a small test batch to see how that tastes…are you on GAPS? If not, you could sub maple syrup or coconut sugar.

  6. I am going to try and make your gaps strawberry cake for my soon to be seven year girl, so exciting to find your recipe, thanks so much

  7. Hi there! I thought I already asked this but I guess I didn’t! How many ounces of strawberries do I need? Trader Joe’s sells them in 1.2 oz bags, and I am going there today. Would 1 bag work? 2 bags? Please advise!
    Thanks!

    1. Hello Emily,

      I’m not sure on the weight of 1 cup of freeze dried strawberries…I would measure with your eyes and see if it looks like there is a cups worth in the TJ bag. You’ll need 1 cup for this recipe.

      Enjoy!
      Melanie

  8. I have come back to this recipe time and again! I love it with the chocolate cupcake recipe, as pictured, and I crave these when I’m on and off my GAPS protocol.

    1. Hi Vanja,
      I’ve never tried it, but I certainly would try it if only ghee was tolerated! It may not be as fluffy or creamy as regular buttercream. Let us know how it goes!

      Warmly,
      Deanna, HB Assistant and Certified GAPS Coach

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