Harry Potter Graduation Cake
Graduation cake - but make it not boring! Make this Harry Potter graduation cake for your graduating Harry Potter fan!
Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 780kcal
Equipment
- Baker's floured cooking spray (optional, but I prefer this spray to parchment rounds)
- 1 10 inch cardboard cake circle (or 8-inch circle; I just found it easier to move the cake on a 10" circle)
- 5 Cake dowels or large plastic straws (+ ruler for spacing dowels)
- small piping bag + star tip (I used a small star tip to decorate between the tiers)
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake layers
- 4 ⅞ cups all-purpose flour
- 4 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter (3 sticks, room temperature)
- 9 eggs
- 2 ¼ cups buttermilk (room temperature)
- 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- 12 ounces cream cheese (1 1/2 packages, softened)
- 1 1/2 cups butter (three sticks, softened)
- 9 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 Tablespoons whipping/heavy cream (if needed)
- 1 ½ Tablespoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
- 4-5 large drops Navy blue gel food coloring
Decorations
- 8 ounces Gum paste or fondant (for lettering & Snitch - I used SatinIce’s gum paste since it can be rolled thinner and still hold its shape)
- 1 Edible Harry Potter icing sheet (linked is the sheet I used in the video)
- Airbrush kit and silver spray, or silver edible decorating spray (Here’s a link to the airbrush kit I use – it’s easy to use and works great; I was thrilled to find it for under $90! Silver edible decorating spray will work as well.)
- 1 sheet Parchment paper + scissors
- Gold edible decorating spray to make the Snitch + or white or gold cardstock (or you can use a Ferrero Rocher chocolate and buy the wings on Amazon!)
- 3 Skewers or straws + 3 key chain rings + hot glue (or whatever you want to use to make Quidditch hoops! I've looked everywhere and can't find an equivalent online)
Instructions
Vanilla Cake layers
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch cake pans and two 6-inch cake pans with baker's floured cooking spray, or grease and line with parchment rounds.
- Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle until fully combined. Mix chunks of room-temperature butter slowly into the dry mix, on a low speed. Continue to mix until no large chunks of butter remain, and the mixture becomes crumbly.
- Pour in eggs and mix on low until just incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk on a low speed. Add vanilla extract and oil, and mix at a low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
- Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part – I had about 675g in my large pans and about 450 in my smaller ones). This guarantees your layers will bake to be the same height.
- Bake for 34-37 minutes, (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans . Cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
- Once the layers have fully cooled, they can be leveled and any caramelized bits can be trimmed from the sides / top of the cake using a serrated knife if desired. Be sure the layers are completely cooled or chilled before trimming. If you try to trim the layers while they’re still warm, they will crumble apart. (While you’re waiting…make your frosting!)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with flavor extract and whipping cream until frosting reaches a spreadable / pipeable consistency. Add salt if needed and beat until well combined. (You'll use less gel color if you only use colored icing for the outer layer (not the filling and crumb-coat).)
Assembly
- Place a smear of frosting on your large cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding) and center your large first cake layer in the center of the circle.
- Spread the layer with frosting, and center the next layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining 8” cake layers.
- Next, repeat the same process with your smaller cardboard circle and cake layers. Of note – if your circles aren’t pre-center-punched, be sure to grab a dowel or straw and make your own hole in the exact center of the circle! This will allow you to center the tier on the base tier later on.
- Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of both tiers to keep crumbs out of your final layers.
- Once your crumb coats have set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add gel food coloring to remaining frosting (if you haven't colored it already) and add final layers of frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part. I struggled a bit at first getting the sides smooth on my smaller one, but trimming my smaller cake layers slightly smaller than my cake circle and using the cardboard as a guide worked well!
Decorating (base tier)
- Once your base tier is frosted you’re ready to add stripes! I cut eight 1” and eight 1/2” strips of parchment paper and placed them in an alternating pattern around the cake. Once they’re well-adhered to the frosting, use your airbrush or an edible cake spray to spray on silver stripes! I recommend allowing the spray to dry for 10-15 minutes so it doesn’t smear or drip as you remove the parchment paper. (Unless you're more coordinated than me - which is likely! ;) )
- I added my niece’s initials in gum paste lettering – I used this Harry Potter font and printed the letter the size I wanted on printer paper, then traced and cut them out of gum paste.
Okaaaay. The stacking process!
- I watched a few tutorials before I started, but ‘How to Make a Tiered Cake’ by Chelsweets was my favorite. To place cake dowels (to ensure the top tier doesn't crush the lower one, as well as keep it centered), it helps to have a ruler handy!
- Push dowels/straws down into the base tier just over one inch from the cake edge, placing them evenly at quarter intervals around the cake. Place your last, tallest straw or dowel into the exact center of the cake, making sure to keep it vertical and centered as you press down.
- Now you’re ready – center the hole in the bottom of your top tier cake circle over the tallest dowel and let the top tier gently down onto the base tier. The dowel will poke into the center of the top tier to hold it in place.
- Pat yourself on the back; you did it! I found that my cardboard cake circle showed more than I was happy with, so I piped some extra frosting with a small star tip onto the base of the top tier to hide it.
Decorating (top tier)
- Cut your edible icing sheet to size – I cut off the ‘Draco Dormiens nunquam titillandus' logo from the bottom to add to the back of the base tier, and obviously cut off the ‘happy birthday.’ It fit perfectly on my top cake tier!
- Make the snitch by forming a ball of gum paste and spraying it with cake spray, and cut/feather paper wings to press into the sides. A toothpick helps to get the ends of the wings into the gum paste.
- Hot glue key rings to the top of three skewers to make your Quidditch hoops, and spray them with the airbrush or cake spray you used on the stripes.
- Add your decorations to the top of the cake – and find someone to give you a high-five! (Shoot me a DM on Instagram if you can’t find anyone right away!)
Video
Notes
Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate. Nutrition information does not include gum paste.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 780kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 38g