Niffler Cake

I freaking. Love. the. Niffler! 

So if you haven’t seen the movie “Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them” (set in the Harry Potter world of J.K. Rowling), then let me catch you up 😉 Otherwise this Niffler cake will make NO sense to you.

'Fantastic Beasts' begins with the arrival of the wizard Newt Scamander in New York with a briefcase containing many magic creatures (‘fantastic beasts’). Though he can hide them from the eyes of anyone looking in the briefcase, one creature – the niffler, a small black furry creature attracted to shiny things – manages to escape into a bank. Later on, Newt catches the niffler attempting to raid a jewelry store as well – nifflers love collecting huge piles of shiny things. 😉  

….sometimes the thing that *makes* the movie for me is a random side character. Anybody else? 😉 Buuuut I digress.

When I found a store near me that was selling chocolate ‘gold coins’ in bulk…. I *couldn’t* resist. I HAD to do it. 😉 I borrowed a stuffed Niffler from my sister, and – this cake!  Pretty sure my husband was laughing at me yelling “THIS MAKES MY GEEK HEART SOOOOO HAPPY!!!!” from the kitchen.  I was SO excited when this cake came together!

Recipe below!

One quick note on the black cocoa frosting

Frosting’s color will deepen several shades if left to sit for several hours or overnight – this lets you get a deeper color with less gel food coloring! It's a great idea to make the frosting a day ahead if you'd rather use less gel food coloring. (Or you can even leave it out all together! 

(Disclosure: As an Amazon associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, and my posts often contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you!) 

Don't forget to pin for later!

Niffler Cake pinterest pin
Niffler Cake (from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)

Niffler Cake

Inspired by the little furry creature from Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them - here's how to make an adorable Niffler Cake!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Decorating time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16 servings
Calories 795 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Cake layers

  • 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (350g)
  • 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar (450g)
  • 1 ¼ cup cocoa powder (100g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda (5g)
  • ¾ teaspoon salt (4g)
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks/250g; softened)
  • 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk (350mL)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Black Cocoa frosting

Black Chocolate Ganache drip

Decorations

Instructions
 

Cake layers

  • Preheat an oven to 350℉ (180℃). Grease 3 8-inch cake pans with baker's floured spray and/or line pans with parchment rounds.
  • Mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle (or hand mixer or whisk) until well combined. Add in bits of softened butter, mixing until no lumps of butter are visible and the mixture looks crumbly.
  • Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 20 seconds.
  • Fill the three pans evenly - I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part, and each of mine weighed out to about 550g. Bake for 30-35 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans, and cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.

Black Cocoa frosting

  • Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with cocoa powder and milk until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency. Add vanilla, food color, and salt if needed and beat until well combined.

Assembly

  • Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed/desired). This can be done with a cake leveler or a large serrated knife and a ruler.
  • Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle. Spread the layer with frosting. (I added some gold/silver sprinkles, but they weren't really visible when the cake was cut). Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.
  • Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like - a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer.
  • Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. I use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part. Once your cake is covered, place it into the fridge or freezer to set the frosting.

Black Chocolate Ganache drip

  • Place chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. Add whipping cream and microwave on half power in 30-second intervals, stirring in between until fully melted and smooth. Add gel food color and stir until fully combined.
  • Allow to cool to a moderate temperature - it should still be liquid but feel only slightly warm - and transfer to a squeeze bottle or piping bag. (A spoon will work; you'll just have a bit less control over the drips.)
  • Slowly drizzle ganache around the upper edge of your cake, pausing every inch or so to let more ganache fall in a drip down the side of the cake. Return cake to the fridge or freezer to set the drips. You can also cover the top of the cake in ganache, but it won’t show under the decorations so that’s up to you!

Decorating

  • (This step is optional (and a bit time-consuming) but if you’d like to color your ganache drip – once the drips are firmly set, mix a teaspoon of luster dust with a teaspoon of vanilla extract or vodka and carefully paint the drips with a food-safe paintbrush.)
  • To decorate the cake, place the niffler on top of the cake (on top of a small cup or parchment paper to keep the fur off the cake top).
  • Transfer remaining frosting to a piping bag, and pipe small swirls of frosting around the cake top to hold gold coins / chocolates in place. (This should also help hide the cup or paper under the Niffler).
  • Decorate the top of the cake with allllll the gold/silver/shiny coins/candies/sprinkles/decorations you’d like – I added a few around the base of the cake as well wherever they fit around the drips.
  • Take a picture and send it to all your geek friends!! Yelling to whoever might be listening about how excited you are about your cake from the kitchen as you finish it is optional, but I definitely did and highly recommend it! ;) Enjoy!

Video

Notes

(Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate. Counts will be lower in all fields if entire batch of frosting (or ganache) is not used.) 

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 795kcalCarbohydrates: 102gProtein: 9gFat: 39g
Keyword Fantastic Beasts Cake, Harry Potter Birthday Cake, Harry Potter Cake, Harry Potter Niffler Cake, Niffler Cake
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Mentioned in post: Black Cocoa Cream Cheese Buttercream

Did you make this Niffler Cake? 

Let me know how it went - or find me on Pinterest or on Instagram and tag @IntensiveCakeUnit in your photo!

You can also add a comment or a recipe rating at the bottom of the page! 🙂

Other recipes you may love…

(Click / tap the photos to be taken to the recipe pages!)

1 thought on “Niffler Cake

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating