Remember Harry Potter’s birthday cake from The Sorcerer’s stone, the one Hagrid made? Today, I am here with that recipe. Harry’s birthday cake might not look perfect but it was the perfect gesture for the boy who never got a cake for his birthday (*holding back tears*). Well, it is also a great cake for baking beginners and Potterheads. It is a simple chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream icing. The magic is in the decor.
The cake is chocolate-and-coffee-flavored which technically makes it a mocha cake. The icing is a vanilla buttercream one with the pink icing covering the cake and some green icing for writing the birthday wish. What more could an 11-year wizard ask for?
I’ll tell you the simple recipe for the cake and the icing so you can bake the cake at home. Also, you should also stay true to the original spelling “HAPPEE BIRTHDAE”. So, let’s move on to the recipe for the Harry Potter Birthday Cake. But before you read out the entire recipe, check out other Harry Potter recipes from our website.
1. Harry Potter Pumpkin Juice : Pumpkin juice is the second best drink in the wizarding world. Now, you can drink it too. Just mix some apple cider, pumpkin sugar, vanilla and some sugar and spice. Serve it on the rocks and enjoy!
2. Harry Potter Pumpkin Pasties : We all want the Honeydukes Trolley treats. Here’s a step closer with these delicious pumpkin pasties. These half moon pies are filled with a sweet and spicy pumpkin filling. These are perfect partners to your fall aesthetic and your pumpkin spice latte.
3. Butterbeer Cupcakes : A butterbeer themed dessert line-up sounds like a great idea. Add butterbeer cupcakes to the list. These delicious and spongy cupcakes are covered with a sticky butterscotch sauce and buttery-smooth dressing. Drizzle a few drops of the sauce on the frosting as well and enjoy this delicious treat.
4. Harry Potter Butterbeer Ice Cream : Want to make the butterbeer ice cream just like the one at Universal Studios. I am here to help. Just mix the butterscotch sauce with some whipped cream. All there’s left to is freeze it and wait and yes, there’s no churning in this recipe.
What's In The Post
What Equipment Will You Need To Make The Harry Potter Birthday Cake?
- 8″ Round Cake Pans lined with Parchment Paper – You’ll need three of the cake pans to make the cake. It’s going to have layers, like ogres (oops! Wrong movie reference.)
- Large Bowl, Medium Bowl, and Small Bowl – You need the bowls for mixing things. I have mentioned in the recipe below what sized bowl goes where. Don’t worry.
- Stand Mixer – The stand mixer helps you make the batter and the frosting. You should thank it, it saves you from a lot of labor.
- Oven – Let the oven be the mouth of the fire-breathing dragon where you bake your cakes. This is the only analogy that can make it interesting.
- Piping Bag and Spatula – The piping will help you write down the wishes and the spatula will help frost the cake and scrape down and mix the ingredients.
How Much Time Will You Need To MakeThe Harry Potter Birthday Cake?
| Preparation Time | Cooking Time | Assembly Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Minutes | 20 Minutes | 20 Minutes | 1 Hour |
What Ingredients Will You Need To Make The Harry Potter Birthday Cake?
For The Cake
- All-Purpose Flour – You need flour to make the cake’s body. The magic ingredients come later.
- Cocoa Powder – We are making a chocolate cake so cocoa powder is necessary.
- Granulated Sugar – Sugar is important to sweeten the cake. So, that goes into the list too.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder – These are leavenings to help the cake rise. A bit of both, yes.
- Salt – A pinch of salt to balance all the flavors.
- Eggs, Buttermilk, and Oil – These make the cake rich in taste. They also make it fluffy and moist.
- Vanilla Extract – This makes the cake smell heavenly.
- Warm Coffee – This is here to add caffeine to the cake (not really). It adds delicious bitter notes to the cake.
For The Frosting
- Butter – Butter is the main ingredient in the icing. You know, ‘cause it is buttercream. You should use salted butter because that way you don’t have to add any extra salt.
- Powdered Sugar – Add powdered sugar to make the frosting sweet. We are using the powdered one because it mixes better and easily.
- Heavy Cream – Add heavy cream to make the frosting creamy and smooth. Also, it adds volume to the frosting.
- Vanilla Extract – This is the most crucial ingredient for anything, let alone this frosting (too dramatic? Guess, I am reading too much classic literature these days).
- Pink and Green Food Gel Coloring – Well, a little color never hurt anyone. Also, it will help you stay authentic to the recipe we are copycatting.
Steps To Make The Harry Potter Birthday Cake
1. Baking and Caking
First, the cake, then the icing, and then the decorating. So starting with the cake, take a medium bowl and add flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda to it. Mix it and keep it aside. The usual drill, mixing the dry ingredients.
Then, in a stand mixer, cream sugar and eggs together and keep beating them until they become fluffy (like a beautiful, sweet cloud). After that, add oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract to it and mix to combine.
Then, add half of the dry mixture into the stand mixer and mix. Add the remaining half of the mixture and mix. Lastly, add the coffee to it and mix until you get a smooth batter.
Pour the batter equally into the 3 round pans. Place the pans into the oven that has been preheated to 350℉. I should’ve mentioned this earlier but I am taking a leap here. Bake the cakes for about 20 minutes. If you don’t trust me, insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, your cake is baked. If not, well start again or just bake it for a few more minutes. After that, take them out and let them cool for about 15 minutes.
2. The Beautiful Buttercream
Take a stand mixer and add the softened butter to it. Mix it until it becomes smooth.
When the butter has become smooth, add the sugar to it, one cup at a time, and mix. Lastly, add the cream and the vanilla and keep beating for 5 minutes (I mean in the mixer. Leave the poor cream alone). Stop when the cream is fluffy.
Transfer the buttercream to a large bowl and set half a cup of the cream aside in a small bowl.
Add a little pink food gel to the big bowl of frosting and a drop of green food gel to the small bowl. I love how Hagrid doesn’t assign genders to colors. Way to go Hagrid.
3. For Harry’s 11th Birthdae
Place one of the cakes on a cake plate and add some frosting on top. Spread it out and place the 2nd cake on top of it. Spread some frosting over it as well and top with the third cake.
Now, put the frosting all over the cake and spread it. Then, smoothen it out. Well, you can leave it a little rough, like the one in the movie.
Put the green frosting in a piping bag and write the birthday wish on the cake. If you want the authentic message, it’s “Happee Birthdae Harry”.
Your delicious Harry Potter birthday cake is ready! Blow the candles and make a wish. I’ll wish about being a wizard (without the dangers of the magical world of course).
Nutritional Information
| Calories | 330 kcal |
| Fat | 17 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Trans Fat | 2.5 g |
| Cholesterol | 30 mg |
| Sodium | 310 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 43 g |
| Sugar | 30 g |
| Fiber | 0.5 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
How Will The Harry Potter Birthday Cake Look And Taste Like?
If you followed my words to the last alphabet, you might have a cake that resembles the one in the movie pretty closely. I even mentioned the spellings twice. Talking about the taste, it is a fluffy and moist chocolate cake with a sweet taste and notes of vanilla and coffee. The frosting is fluffy and rich with strong notes of vanilla and smoothness of butter. In simple words, it is delicious!
Recipe Card
Harry Potter Birthday Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 3-8" Round Cake Pans lined with Parchment Paper
- Large Bowl, Medium Bowl and Small Bowl
- Stand Mixer
- Oven
- Piping Bag
- Spatula
Ingredients
For The Cake
- 1 ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
- ¾ cup Cocoa Powder
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- ¾ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 3 large Eggs
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- ½ cup Oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Warm Coffee
For The Frosting
- 2 cups Butter (softened)
- 6 cups Powdered Sugar
- 6 tablespoons Heavy Cream
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Making The Cake
- Take a medium bowl and add flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda to it. Mix it and keep it aside.
- Then, in a stand mixer, cream sugar and eggs together and keep beating them until they become fluffy. After that, add oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract to it and mix to combine.
- Then, add half of the dry mixture into the stand mixer and mix. Add the remaining half of the mixture and mix. Lastly, add the coffee to it and mix until you get a smooth batter.
- Pour the batter equally into the 3 round pans. Place the pans into the oven that has been preheated to 350℉. Bake the cakes for 20 minutes.
- After that, take them out and let them cool for about 15 minutes.
Making The Frosting
- Take a stand mixer and add the softened butter to it. Mix it until it becomes smooth.
- When the butter has become smooth, add the sugar to it, one cup at a time, and mix.
- Lastly, add the cream and the vanilla and keep beating for 5 minutes. Stop when the cream is fluffy.
- Transfer the buttercream to a large bowl and set half a cup of the cream aside in a small bowl.
- Add a little pink food gel to the big bowl of frosting and a drop of green food gel to the small bowl.
Decorating The Cake
- Place one of the cakes on a cake plate and add some frosting on top. Spread it out and place the 2nd cake on top of it. Spread some frosting over it as well and top with the third cake.
- Now, put the frosting all over the cake and spread it. Then, smoothen it out.
- Put the green frosting in a piping bag and write the birthday wish on the cake.
- Your delicious Harry Potter birthday cake is ready!
Video
Nutrition
This was all about the recipe for the Harry Potter birthday cake. I hope you like this recipe as much as I do. If you do, let me know in the comments how much. See you next time, fellow Potterheads.
This is a great recipe! I made it for my son’s birthday and everyone loved it!