Post: 9/24/21
I’m sharing the cake that Hagrid makes for Harry Potter’s 11th birthday. It is not from scratch, but I make it my own by adding freeze dried raspberries to the frosting (tastes great and makes it pink) and helping to enhance the chocolate flavor with some expresso powder (you can’t taste the coffee, it just brings out the chocolate flavor). In the book, the cake is described as "a large, sticky chocolate cake with 'Happy Birthday Harry' written on it in green icing." The film added some pink frosting and some interesting spelling choices from Hagrid, and now we have the epic birthday cake.
Happy birthday Harry Potter [does best English accent]!! I read all of the Harry potter books and watched the movies as they came out. MULTIPLE times. Harry Potter and I share the same birthday – happy birthday to us! So, this is an extra special cake for me too.
Click here for the full video step by step that will be posted 9/15/2021: https://youtu.be/Va41r-ZYSIY
What pairs well with chocolate cake?
· Jam, Tea and/or coffee pair perfectly!
· If you want to jazz up the filling, it’d be great with fresh raspberries or strawberries IMO.
Decorating time: 35 minutes
Cook time: varies
Tools:
· Bowl
· Whisk
· Parchment paper
· 8” cake pans
· Cake board
· Angled spatula
· Piping bag
· Number 5 piping tip (optional)
· Knife or skewer
Ingredients:
o Your favorite chocolate boxed cake mix (I use Simple Mills)
o 2 teaspoons of express coffee
o 2 containers of vanilla frosting, 1 container of chocolate frosting (or 1 batch of my Swiss meringue buttercream)
o 3 tablespoons of crushed freeze dried raspberries
o Green food color
Cake decorating instructions:
Step 1 – make a box of chocolate cake mix. Line your pans. Bake according to the recipe. Let cakes cool.
How to assemble Harry Potter’s birthday cake
Step 2 – prep frosting. Whip the frosting with a stand or hand mixer for about 5-7 minutes to help lighten the pre-made frosting. Take out about a cup a color and color it green for the text. Add freeze dried raspberries to the remaining frosting and whip until incorporated. The frosting is lightly speckled and natural. Add the green frosting to a piping bag with a 5 piping tip or cut a small hole.
Step 3. To assemble the cake, place 1 cake layer on a cake board and adhere with buttercream. Add frosting to the layer as filling and use an angled spatula to spread the filling. Top with the second cake layer.
· Tip: Make sure the cake is completely cooled before assembling.
· Tip: Pressing gently when each cake layer added helps ensure the cake is secure.
Step 4. Crumb coat the cake. This is a thin layer of frosting that catches the loose crumbs and helps keep in moisture. Then place in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes to help the buttercream firm. Then frost the cake with the frosting. Use an angled spatula to tighten the frosting and use a cake scraper to smooth out the frosting.
· Tip: The cake is fresh for three days and can be kept in the fridge. Allow to get to room temperature before serving for best flavor.
· Tip: Once you’ve sliced the cake, if you place plastic wrap where the slice is removed, it keeps the cake fresher and prevents drying.
Step 5 – add text and cracks. Form the first crack down the cake with a skewer or knife. Then pre-write the text “Happee Birthdae Harry” on the cake. Then write it out with the frosting!
Hagrid’s Harry Potter’s 11th birthday cake success!!
Roxie
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