Are you looking for a fun cupcake idea for a Harry Potter party? These sorting hat cupcakes are perfect because they have a surprise element of revealing which Hogwarts House you belong to!
Just imagine kids or adults picking a cupcake off of a platter and biting into it to see which house the Sorting Hat has put them into. Everyone will be laughing and talking about which Harry Potter House cupcake they got!
These sorting hat cupcakes start with pre-made cupcakes and frosting. Or make a dozen cupcakes using an easy boxed mix.
The frosting is what makes these cupcakes so unique. So you don’t have to worry about baking!
Along with these cupcakes, make our Sorting Hat cookies and Harry Potter broomsticks for magically themed party treats.
You might also like these Butterbeer party foods and drinks:
- Easy Butterbeer Recipe
- Harry Potter Birthday Cake from Hagrid
- Hot Butterbeer
- Butterbeer Cupcakes
- Butterbeer Mason Jar Cakes
Harry Potter Sorting Hat Cupcakes Recipe
Equipment
- Piping tip 1M
- Piping tip 12 (optional for the hat)
- 5 piping bags or zip-top bags
Ingredients
- 12 pre-baked cupcakes
- 6 chocolate sandwich cookies
- Pre-made white or vanilla icing
- 2 cups vanilla buttercream
- 1 cup brown candy melts or chocolate chips
- Harry Potter sprinkles
- Red, blue, green, and yellow food coloring (I used gel food coloring)
Instructions
Step One
Bake cupcakes from a box mix. Or buy unfrosted cupcakes at a bakery.
Make or purchase buttercream (not frosting).
Step Two
To make the hats, split the chocolate cookies in half and remove the inside cream filling.
Arrange the cookies with the frosting side ups on a plate.
Step Three
Using 1 cup of the buttercream, add it to four different bowls. (About 1/4 cup in each bowl.)
Dye each bowl of buttercream the color of the corresponding house:
- Red – Gryffindor
- Yellow – Hufflepuff
- Green – Slytherin
- Blue – Ravenclaw
Step Four
If using piping tips for the hats, fit each bag with a tip 4A or tip 12. Then fill the piping bag with the colored buttercream.
You can also do this without a tip using a small plastic bag with the corner cut off.
Pipe the buttercream onto the chocolate cookies to create a witch’s hat. Pipe a wider layer on the bottom of the cookie and continue swirling the buttercream into a hat shape, with the narrow tip on the top.
Put the cookies in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
Step Five
Scoop out the core of the center of the cupcakes with a pairing knife or spoon. Pierce the cupcake with either the knife or spoon and then run it around in a circle to create a cone to remove. Don’t start too close to the edge of the cupcakes, otherwise it will fall apart.
Fill the center of the cupcakes with the colored buttercream. You should get three cupcakes per color.
Replace the top of the cupcake over the frosting as best as you can. It helps if you keep each core next the cupcake you removed it from. That way it will go back in more easily.
Chances are, the top of the cupcake is going to look like a hot mess. Don’t worry about it too much. We’ll cover it up in the next step.
Helpful Tip: Place the cupcakes on a sheet of parchment paper. Write the color of the frosting beside each cupcake so you can match up the same color of frosting with the cupcakes and hats. You will probably need to do this with the hats as they are in the freezer, as well.
Step Six
Add the rest of the un-colored buttercream into a piping bag with a tip 1M.
Make a swirl around the top of the cupcakes with the buttercream, being sure to cover the cored out top of the cupcake.
Add Harry Potter sprinkles immediately on top and then set aside.
Step Seven
Melt the candy melts in a bowl. Heat in increments of 30 seconds, stirring after each until smooth.
If you are using chocolate chips instead of candy melts, add a little coconut oil to the chips to help thin it out while heating.
Remove the cookie hats from the freezer. Dip each hat into the melted chocolate, fully covering the frosting with the chocolate. Let set.
If you can still see the colored frosting through the chocolate, then put the hats in the refrigerator for 20 mins to harden the chocolate. Then dip the hats in the chocolate again.
Once that hats have set, add the corresponding color of frosting hat to the same frosting color cupcake. Remember that you won’t be able to see the color of frosting in the cupcake or under the hat at this point. So be sure that you have labeled each as you are making them.
These Harry Potter Sorting Hat cupcakes will definitely be popular at your party! We have even more Harry Potter-inspired recipes, including Harry Potter Cakesicles and Pumpkin Pasties.