Harry Potter Birthday Cake
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This homemade Harry Potter Birthday Cake is the perfect cake for Harry Potter fans. Covered in a vibrant pink buttercream frosting with a bright green birthday message, you’ll think this delicious treat came straight from Hagrid himself.
Harry Potter’s Birthday Cake
If you’re a huge fan of the Harry Potter series, you probably recognize this cake right away. It’s from the iconic scene in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” where, on Harry’s 11th birthday, Rubeus Hagrid breaks the door down and hands Harry a cake that he made himself.
Don’t let Hagrid’s less than perfect cake design fool you though because this is one seriously scrumptious dessert. Two layers of rich and decadent buttermilk chocolate cake are frosted with a sweet homemade vanilla butter cream for a delicious cake that little wizards or muggles will love!
It’s the perfect treat for a Harry Potter themed birthday party, family movie night or any other special occasion. You can even serve it with some yummy drinks like this easy Harry Potter Butterbeer recipe or some tasty Pumpkin Juice or check out my full list of butterbeer inspired recipes!
💖 Why We Love This Recipe
- It’s the perfect themed cake for a Harry Potter movie marathon, birthday party, or just a sweet treat to celebrate Harry’s birthday on July 31st.
- This cake has a delightfully messy design that resembles how Hagrid made it in the first Harry Potter movie.
- Even without the cute writing, you’ll have a super delicious, homemade buttermilk chocolate cake with decadent creamy frosting.
🥄 Recommended Tools
- Electric mixer
- Large mixing bowl
- Small bowl
- Offset spatula
- 8-inch round cake pans (2)
- 8-inch parchment paper rounds (or a sheet of parchment paper)
- Piping bag
🛒 Ingredients
For the “Sticky Chocolate Cake”
- All purpose flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Buttermilk
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla
- Hot water
For the Pink and Green Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Butter, softened
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Heavy cream
- Green gel food coloring
- Pink gel food coloring (additional red food coloring-optional)
👩🏼🍳How to Make Hagrid’s Harry Potter Cake
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and place a parchment paper round in the bottoms of each pan. Spray the top of the parchment paper with non-stick spray. Set aside.
Note: If you don’t have rounds, you can just cut them out of a roll of parchment paper instead. Just make sure they don’t extend above the top of the side of the pan.
To Make the Cake
Step 1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Step 2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until well combined and fluffy.
Step 3. Add buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and hot water. Whisk to combine.
Step 4. Slowly start adding the dry ingredients mixture to the wet ingredients, whisking well between each addition.
Step 5. Once all of the dry mixture has been incorporated, pour the cake batter evenly between the two round cake pans.
Step 6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
To Prepare the Frosting
Step 1. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the softened butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.
Step 2. Add vanilla and mix again. Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and mix until incorporated. If needed, add another tablespoon at a time until you reach the perfect consistency for your frosting. It should be spreadable, but stiff.
Step 3. Scoop out about a cup of frosting from the bowl and set it aside in a small bowl (you are going to use this later for the green lettering).
Step 4. To the bigger bowl of frosting, add a generous amount of pink food coloring to the bigger bowl of frosting. Mix until well combined.
Note: If needed, add several drops of red food coloring to get a darker pink color. You can adjust the color to your preference.
Step 5. Remove the cakes from their pans and peel the parchment paper from the bottoms. Place one cake round onto your cake plate or stand.
Step 6. To frost the cake, start by adding a layer of pink frosting to the top of the cake using an offset spatula. You’ll want a pretty good layer so you can see it in between the layers when the cake is cut.
Step 7. Once you have that layer finished, place the second cake layer on top as evenly as you can.
Step 8. Use the remainder of the pink frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake.
Step 9. Add a generous amount of green food coloring to the frosting you set aside earlier. Mix well and add more color if needed.
Step 10. Fill a piping bag with the green frosting and snip just the very end of the tip off (or use a cake tip).
Step 11. Now write “Happee Birthdae Harry” on the cake and you’re good to go!
Enjoy, and refrigerate any leftovers.
Tips For Making Hagrid’s Cake
- Make sure you allow all your ingredients to sit out until they’re at room temperature This helps the wet ingredients mix better with the dry ingredients, giving the cake a more consistent texture.
- Avoid overbeating the batter. Mix the ingredients just until you no longer see any pockets of the dry mixture remaining in the batter.
- Make sure your frosting is thick enough. Because you’ll be frosting the sides of the layer cake, it needs to be thick enough that it doesn’t run. If you need to make it a little thicker, just add more powdered sugar.
- Have fun with it. The frosting job is not supposed to be perfect. It should look just like the cake Hagrid decorated, messy and with lots of charm!
You only add hot water to chocolate cake recipes because the warmth from the water blooms the cocoa powder and helps it to dissolve. It also helps to bring out a richer and deeper chocolate flavor.
Can You Freeze this Chocolate Cake?
This chocolate cake freezes really well. Wrap leftovers well in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.
Can You Use a Different Frosting to Make Hagrid’s Cake?
Absolutely… this is your cake, so add your favorite frosting. The book doesn’t go into detail on the actual frosting, so you can also use cream cheese frosting, Swiss meringue buttercream or even just use store-bought vanilla frosting in the can. Just add the same amount of pink food coloring.
What Color is Harry Potter’s Birthday Cake?
The cake Hagrid made is described in the first book as a large, sticky chocolate cake with the birthday greeting written on it with green icing. Though the book doesn’t say what color the overall cake was, in the movie, it was bright pink frosting with green lettering on top.
Want more options? Check out these amazing Harry Potter cake ideas!
Want More Harry Potter Themed Treats?
- Butterbeer Frosting Board
- Butterbeer Jello Shots
- Harry Potter Acid Pops
- Butterbeer Ice Cream
- Butterbeer Cupcakes
- Harry Potter Treacle Tart
- Butterbeer Poke Cake
- Chocolate Frogs
Harry Potter Birthday Cake
Equipment
- 8" parchment paper rounds or regular parchment paper (optional)
- Hand mixer if not using stand mixer
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
For The Cake
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. Baking soda
- ½ tsp. Baking powder
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot water
For the frosting-
- 1 ½ cups butter softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbsp. heavy cream
- green gel food coloring
- pink gel food coloring + a few drops of regular red food coloring (optional)
Instructions
For The Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and place a parchment paper round into the bottoms of each pan. Spray the top of the parchment paper with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.2 cups all purpose flour, ¾ cup cocoa powder, 2 tsp. Baking soda, ½ tsp. Baking powder, 1 tsp. Salt
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until well combined and fluffy.3 large eggs
- Add buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and hot water. Whisk to combine.
- Slowly start adding the dry ingredients mixture to the wet ingredients, whisking well between each addition.
- Once all of the dry mixture has been incorporated, pour the cake batter evenly between the two round cake pans.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
For The Frosting
- Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the softened butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.
- Add vanilla and mix again. Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and mix until incorporated. If needed, add another tablespoon at a time until you reach the perfect consistency for your frosting. It should be spreadable, but stiff.
- Scoop out about a cup of frosting from the bowl and set it aside in a small bowl (you are going to use this later for the green lettering).
- To the bigger bowl of frosting, add a generous amount of pink food coloring to the bigger bowl of frosting. Mix until well combined. If needed, you can add a few drops of red food coloring to get a darker pink color.
- Remove the cakes from their pans and peel the parchment paper from the bottoms. Place one cake round onto your cake plate or stand.
- To frost the cake, start by adding a layer of pink frosting to the top of the cake using an offset spatula. You’ll want a pretty good layer so you can see it in between the layers when the cake is cut.
- Once you have that layer finished, place the second cake layer on top as evenly as you can.
- Use the remainder of the pink frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake.
- Add a generous amount of green food coloring to the frosting you set aside earlier. Mix well and add more color if needed.
- Fill a piping bag with the green frosting and snip just the very end of the tip off (or use a cake tip).
- Now write Happee Birthdae Harry on the cake and you’re good to go!
Notes
- If you don’t have parchment rounds, you can just cut some out of parchment paper instead. Just be sure they don’t extend above the top of the side of the pan.
- Short on time? You can used a boxed chocolate cake mix and follow the instructions for decorating.
Nutrition
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