Harry Potter sorting hat cupcakes

Kids and adults alike will love these Sorting Hat cupcakes. Bite into a cupcake to reveal which Hogwarts house you belong to. Perfect for Halloween!

By The GH Kitchen TeamUpdated: 23 September 2022

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These are the perfect treat for Halloween. When you bite into these gooey chocolate cupcakes, that are topped with the Harry Potter sorting hat, your Hogwarts school house is revealed. Find out whether you're a Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff!

Good Housekeeping's top tips for perfect cupcakes:

• Always make sure to have your oven preheated and cupcake tin lined before beginning the recipe

• Don't forget to add the boiling water, this ensure the batter is extra gooey when baked

• Make sure to beat your batter until smooth to avoid any lumps in your cupcakes

• Stop beating your batter as soon as the ingredients are smooth so that you don't collapse all the air bubbles and end up with a dense sponge

• Beat you icing until very pale (around 3min) to ensure a deliciously fluffy result

• If you don't have a piping bag, try scraping your icing into a food bag instead and cut a hole in the corner to pipe

Find more spooktacular Good Housekeeping recipes here.

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Yields:

Prep Time:

40 mins

Cook Time:

30 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 10 mins

Cal/Serv:

528

Ingredients

For the cakes

3
medium eggs, lightly beaten
175 g
unsalted butter, softened
175 g
light soft brown sugar
125 g
self-raising flour
50 g
cocoa powder

To decorate

175 g
milk chocolate cocoform modelling paste, we used Squires Kitchen
Cocoa powder, to decorate

For the buttercream icing

200 g
butter, softened
350 g
icing sugar, sifted
Red, green, blue and yellow food colouring

Directions

1. Step 1Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cases.
2. Step 2Put all the cake ingredients into a large bowl. Add 4tbsp water from a freshly boiled kettle and beat with an electric hand whisk until smooth and combined. Divide evenly between the cases. Bake for 20min, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of one comes out clean. Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.
3. Step 3Meanwhile, make the sorting hats. Measure out 60g (21/2oz) cocoform for the hat bases and divide into 12 grape-sized pieces. Roll each piece to a circle 3mm (1/4in) thick. Stamp out with a 25mm (1in) round cutter, and bend and mould the edges gently to create a 3D rippled effect. Divide the remaining cocoform into 12 and mould between your fingers into cones. Bend the tips over slightly and cut the bottom of each cone to make a flat base. Sit a cone on each circular base and press together to seal. Carve a face into each hat with a toothpick and set aside.
4. Step 4Make the buttercream icing. Beat the butter and icing sugar together until pale and fluffy. Fill a piping bag, fitted with a fluted nozzle, with 3/4 of the icing. Divide the remaining icing between four separate bowls. Add a different food colouring to each and mix well.
5. Step 5When the cakes are completely cool, carve a large hole in the top of each cupcake, reserving the sponge. Spoon coloured icing into the holes (one colour per cake) and place the reserved sponge back on top.
6. Step 6Pipe the plain icing on top of each cake and place the cocoform hats on top. Brush each hat with a little cocoa powder and serve.