Sorting Hat Cupcakes

Have you ever wondered which Hogwarts House you would be sorted into? Admit it, how many times have you done a Sorting Hat quiz? I have more times than I can count, and it’s never consistent for me. I always waiver between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and have gotten the occasional Hufflepuff.

Wonder no more, because these cupcakes can help you get sorted while enjoying a sweet dessert at the same time! I’ve seen parents-to-be, including my sister and her husband, get cakes or cupcakes made with either pink or blue frosting inside to reveal if they are having a boy or girl. So I thought I would try something similar, but hide red, blue, yellow, or green frosting inside the cakes.

For those who aren’t as savvy when it comes to Harry Potter, the houses and colors are as follows:

Gryffindor: Scarlet and Gold
Ravenclaw: Blue and Bronze
Hufflepuff: Yellow and Black
Slytherin: Green and Silver

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heast,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuff are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.

-Sorting Hat’s song in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Step by Step

To make my Sorting Hat cupcakes, I used a recipe found here for a regular white cake. I’ve made a chocolate cake and yellow cake many times, but never a white cake. I wanted to make sure the colors were very noticeable in the cupcakes.

For the frosting, I used a recipe that I was given by a friend many years ago for a buttercream frosting. I divided that into 5 bowls and colored them with red, green, blue, yellow, and a brown one to go on the top (same color as the Sorting Hat).

The cake recipe is pretty straightforward and similar to most cake recipes. Start by preheating the oven to 350F, then line a cupcake pan with liners. I like to use silicone cupcake holders to not waste so much paper or foil.

In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. You can do this with an electric hand mixer, or use a stand mixer like I use for just about everything in the kitchen. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract.

Then add the flour and baking soda until it forms a cake batter. Scrape the sides of the bowl while mixing to make sure everything gets mixed in properly.

Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cupcakes turn golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool completely. While they are cooling, make your frosting by mixing the vegetable shortening and butter until they are light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar. Make sure to scrape the sides as you mix. The frosting will appear dry, so slowly add in the milk, one tablespoon at a time, until you have your desired consistency.

Separate the frosting into 5 bowls, and add a couple of drops of food coloring. I always use the Wilton gel colors because they give a better color and are easier to work with. The ones I used are called Moss Green (Slytherin), Lemon Yellow (Hufflepuff), Sky Blue (Ravenclaw), Christmas Red (Gryffindor), and Brown (for the Sorting Hat).

Once the cupcakes are cool, use a small melon-baller to dig out a bit of each cupcake from the top. Make sure you don’t go too deep, you don’t want to go through the bottom of the cupcakes.

Use a piping bag or tool and fill it with one of the colors. Pipe some frosting into 1/4 of the cupcakes, and repeat with each color. Don’t put too much in, you want to make sure you can cover it so the frosting should be level with the top of the cake.

Use the brown frosting to cover the tops of the cupcakes. I found piping this worked well because that doesn’t risk spreading any of the house colors with the frosting on the top. The put a Hershey’s Kiss on top to represent the pointed hat.

Serve these to family and friends and have fun biting into them to see which house you have been sorted into!

Recipe

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