Sorting Hat Butterbeer Cupcakes

Sydney
Sep 3, 2020
3 min read

Sorting Hat Butterbeer Cupcakes

What’s your Hogwarts House? Find out by taking a bite from these Sorting Hat cupcakes!

These Sorting Hat cupcakes are packed with what we imagine the classic Harry Potter beverage, Butterbeer, would taste like! Butterscotch and cream soda are prominent flavors in the cupcake base and buttercream, with butterscotch chips mixed into the cupcake batter! The Sorting Hat of the cupcake is easy to make and assemble using just fudge-covered Oreos and some Hershey’s Kisses.

Servings: 16 Cupcakes

Prep Time: 1.5 Hours

Total Time: 2.5 Hours

Ingredients

Butterbeer Cupcakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 + 1/2 teaspoon imitation butter extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda
1 cup butterscotch chips

Sorting Hat

1 family size bag of dark chocolate Hershey's kisses
1 package of fudge covered dark Oreos
Red, green, blue, yellow, gold, silver, and black sprinkles
Gold star sprinkles

Butterbeer Buttercream

1 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
2 tablespoon butterscotch topping
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon cream soda
6 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two cupcake tins with 16 liners.
Cupcakes: In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
Cupcakes: Add 3 large eggs, ½ cup vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 + 1/2 teaspoon butter extract, and ½ cup buttermilk. Beat on medium speed until completely combined.
Cupcakes: Add ½ of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until well-combined. Add ¼ cup of cream soda and beat until well-combined. Repeat until all ingredients are incorporated.
Cupcakes: Toss the butterscotch chips in some flour and then fold the butterscotch chips to the batter.
Cupcakes: Fill the cupcake liners ¾ of the way full with batter and bake for 20 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). Allow to completely cool.
Sorting Hat: Using a knife, cut through the center of each of the fudge Oreos. Scrape out the excess cream from each cookie so you are left with only the cookie covered in fudge.
Sorting Hat: Set aside as many Hershey’s kisses as you have cupcakes. Melt the remaining Hershey’s kisses in the microwave in 20 second increments. Once melted, allow to slightly cool and then fill a piping bag or bottle.
Sorting Hat: Pipe a tall dollop of melted chocolate on the fudge surface of each Oreo. Then gingerly press a Hershey’s kiss on top of the chocolate. You want the melted chocolate portion of the hat to retain some volume, so do not press down hard. Set the hats aside to cool.
Buttercream: In a large bowl, beat 1 cup of salted butter until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla extract, butter extract, butterscotch topping, heavy whipping cream, and cream soda. Beat until well-combined and smooth.
Buttercream: Add 6 cups of powdered sugar in 2 cup increments until the desired consistency is reached. If the buttercream is still too creamy, place in the fridge for 5 minutes prior to piping.
Assembly: In four small bowls, pour sprinkles and mix together for each house. You'll need a bowl for each of the following color combinations: gold and red, silver and green, silver and blue, yellow and black.
Assembly: Using a small knife, carve out the center of each cupcake. I like to cut off the top of each cupcake core to use to cover the filling.
Assembly: With 16 completed cupcakes, fill 4 cupcakes with each of the sprinkle combinations so you end up with an even distribution of houses.
Assembly: Pipe a double donut on top of each cupcake with the buttercream. Sprinkle gold star sprinkles along the sides of the buttercream. Top each cupcake with a sorting hat.
Enjoy!