Harry Potter Cupcakes
So about a week ago, I fractured my pinky and had to take a few days off from work. During this time, my best friend and I decided to make some Harry Potter themed cupcakes. We will again make them for the premier of the last film and our mini Harry Potter party.
What you'll need:
-2 boxes of white cake mix [we were a bit lazy...]
-Cake mixes differ, so be sure to also get whatever the instructions say on the back of the box for extra stuff for the batter like eggs, water, oil, ect.
-Large mixing bowl
-Hand mixer, stand mixer, or a spoon and some elbow grease!
-2 tubs of white frosting
-Wilton icing coloring [we bought an 8 pack box that included all of these colors plus pink]
-black
-red
-yellow
-orange
-green
-blue
-purple
-Small bowls for coloring
-Wilton decorating sparkle gel [we're girls, we like sparkle]
-Cupcake wrappers
-Cupcake pan or cupcake maker [yes, it is a real machine, we used one!]
I apologize for not having pictures of absolutely everything. We forgot about the camera until we had one batch of cupcakes completely finished!
What you'll need:
-2 boxes of white cake mix [we were a bit lazy...]
-Cake mixes differ, so be sure to also get whatever the instructions say on the back of the box for extra stuff for the batter like eggs, water, oil, ect.
-Large mixing bowl
-Hand mixer, stand mixer, or a spoon and some elbow grease!
-2 tubs of white frosting
-Wilton icing coloring [we bought an 8 pack box that included all of these colors plus pink]
-black
-red
-yellow
-orange
-green
-blue
-purple
-Small bowls for coloring
-Wilton decorating sparkle gel [we're girls, we like sparkle]
-Cupcake wrappers
-Cupcake pan or cupcake maker [yes, it is a real machine, we used one!]
I apologize for not having pictures of absolutely everything. We forgot about the camera until we had one batch of cupcakes completely finished!
Mix Your Batter
Whether you're using Great-Grandma Edna's famous recipe or Betty Crocker's box mix, you must of course make your batter before you can bake it. Make sure you're using white cake mix though, it is absolutely essential for the next steps!
Now is also the time to preheat your oven or plug in your cupcake maker.
Now is also the time to preheat your oven or plug in your cupcake maker.
Coloring Time!
Gather about 6 cereal sized bowls for coloring the cake mix. Yes. We are coloring the cake mix itself.
The Wilton colors are fabulous for coloring the cake mix. It has a pasty-gel-like texture, so you'll need to dig it out. Use only a very very small amount though, because it is incredibly strong. [and stains incredibly fast!]
-Pour [or like we did, ladle] cake batter into each of 7 bowls. Leave some of the plain white in the main mixing bowl though.
-Add a couple drops/incredibly tiny scoops of coloring and mix thoroughly. Scrape the edges of the bowls, all around them, to get all of the white colored.
-Add small amounts of color until it is at your liking.
"But what colors are you talking about?" you may be asking... Well never fear! We have creatively named our colors for the wizarding world. This is also how we colored each batch.
-Red: Gryffindor Red
-Blue: Ravenclaw Blue
-Green: Slytherin Green
-Yellow [with a touch of orange]: Hufflepuff Yellow
-Black: Dementor Black
-Purple: Professor Quirrell's Turban Purple
-Pink [originally our red, but not mixed well enough]: Umbridge Pink
-White [no coloring added]: Dumbledore's Beard White
The Wilton colors are fabulous for coloring the cake mix. It has a pasty-gel-like texture, so you'll need to dig it out. Use only a very very small amount though, because it is incredibly strong. [and stains incredibly fast!]
-Pour [or like we did, ladle] cake batter into each of 7 bowls. Leave some of the plain white in the main mixing bowl though.
-Add a couple drops/incredibly tiny scoops of coloring and mix thoroughly. Scrape the edges of the bowls, all around them, to get all of the white colored.
-Add small amounts of color until it is at your liking.
"But what colors are you talking about?" you may be asking... Well never fear! We have creatively named our colors for the wizarding world. This is also how we colored each batch.
-Red: Gryffindor Red
-Blue: Ravenclaw Blue
-Green: Slytherin Green
-Yellow [with a touch of orange]: Hufflepuff Yellow
-Black: Dementor Black
-Purple: Professor Quirrell's Turban Purple
-Pink [originally our red, but not mixed well enough]: Umbridge Pink
-White [no coloring added]: Dumbledore's Beard White
Time to Bake
Or put in the cupcake maker like we did!
-Place cupcake wrappers in cupcake pan/cupcake maker.
-Fill about 2/3 full.
-Bake according to recipe or leave in cupcake maker, lid down, for about ten minutes.
-Double check with a toothpick to be sure that they are done. [Toothpick should come out clean. If messy, it's not ready.]
-If using cupcake maker, carefully get the cupcakes out and onto a cooling surface. [We used a couple of forks and cookie sheets for this.]
-If traditionally baking, let the pans cool before removing the cupcakes.
"I still have some batter leftover from some of the colors, but it's not enough for a whole cupcake, and the rest are full enough already. What do I do?" Rainbow cupcakes! Or mutants, as we called them. It is all white cake after all. The coloring won't change the taste.
-Place cupcake wrappers in cupcake pan/cupcake maker.
-Fill about 2/3 full.
-Bake according to recipe or leave in cupcake maker, lid down, for about ten minutes.
-Double check with a toothpick to be sure that they are done. [Toothpick should come out clean. If messy, it's not ready.]
-If using cupcake maker, carefully get the cupcakes out and onto a cooling surface. [We used a couple of forks and cookie sheets for this.]
-If traditionally baking, let the pans cool before removing the cupcakes.
"I still have some batter leftover from some of the colors, but it's not enough for a whole cupcake, and the rest are full enough already. What do I do?" Rainbow cupcakes! Or mutants, as we called them. It is all white cake after all. The coloring won't change the taste.
Let Them All Just Chill for a Bit
You should probably start rinsing the batter bowls and cleaning up your area while you wait for delicious Harry Potter Cupcakes.
Frosting Time
We opted to just keep our white frosting white since we both had things to do shortly after, however feel free to color your frosting to match the cupcakes!
Decorating!
The step we couldn't wait for. Decoration time! We aren't artists, and I have a fractured finger, so don't judge our decorations.
Here are some ideas to use:
-Hogwarts crest [top left is Gryffindor, top left is Slytherin, bottom left is Ravenclaw, bottom right is Hufflepuff]
-The Deathly Hallows Symbol
-HP
-Lightning bolt
-Harry's glasses
-House names
-Wands
-Character names
-Golden Snitch
-Quidditch posts
-Express your love of Harry Potter!
Here are some ideas to use:
-Hogwarts crest [top left is Gryffindor, top left is Slytherin, bottom left is Ravenclaw, bottom right is Hufflepuff]
-The Deathly Hallows Symbol
-HP
-Lightning bolt
-Harry's glasses
-House names
-Wands
-Character names
-Golden Snitch
-Quidditch posts
-Express your love of Harry Potter!
And Last But Not Least...
Enjoy! You worked hard making these cupcakes. You deserve one. Go ahead. Eat it!