Harry Potter Sorting Hat Cupcakes

"You could be great, you know. It's all here in your head."

- Sorting Hat

Thank goodness I have friends who love Harry Potter as much as I do! We recently had a HP marathon broken up over the course of a few weeks. We watched two movies at a time and upon this event being organized, I knew I wanted to make these sorting hat cupcakes. I have seen a few variations of this type of dessert but I was very pleased with how these turned out!

I used a vanilla-almond cake recipe for the cupcakes so that the colors of the houses would be nicely contrasted. I have been using this one, originally posted by Megan McGarry, (I found the recipe through Buttercream Blondie). I paired a creamy cream cheese frosting on top with smaller batches which were dyed (red, blue, yellow, and green) and piped into the center of the cupcake. When bitten into, viola! You are sorted into your appropriate Hogwarts house!

Although the image above shows red frosting, when I shared in the festivities with my friends, the cupcake I chose sorted me into Hufflepuff.

These tasty treats were a lot of fun to make! The cupcake and frosting recipe are fool-proof. The fondant sorting hat on top may require some more patience, but it was fun shaping each one and creating the facial features!

If you are interested in making these cute desserts, keep scrolling!

Vanilla-Almond Cupcake Recipe

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup white sugar

• 4 egg whites

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup whole milk

*Makes 12 cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy

3. Add the egg whites, one at a time and mix until well combined

4. Add the vanilla and almond extracts

5. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt.

6. Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture alternating with milk. (Start and end with dry ingredients)

7. Line cupcake tin with desired liners.

8. Fill 1/2-3/4 of the way with batter.

9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

10. Let cool completely before frosting!

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 4-6 cups of powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Gel food colors: red, yellow, blue, and green

1. Cream the cream cheese and butter together until well combined

2. Add vanilla extract

3. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until desired texture and taste

4. Divide batter, approximately 1 cup per color and the remaining amount for the top of the cupcakes

5. Using a piping tip or core-tool, create a shallow hole on the top of each cupcake (see below)

6. Pipe each colored frosting in the center

7. Pipe remaining white frosting on top, covering the colored frosting

8. Top with a sorting hat!

Core the cupcake

Fill with colored frosting

Top with white frosting

Fondant Sorting Hats

• 2 lbs. chocolate fondant

• Food color pen in black

• Fondant modeling sticks

See pictures below for directions:

What You'll Need

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Enjoy! Happy Sorting!