Hedwig Owl Cake from Harry Potter
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 cups sugar
- 9 eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¾ cups buttermilk
Buttercream
- 3 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 7 cups confectioner’s sugar
- black and yellow food colouring
- 2 cups white candy melts melted
- 1 cup black candy melts melted
Instructions
Bake the cake:
- Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and eggs one a time, mixing with each addition.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Add this to the batter in 2 additions, alternating with the buttermilk.
- Divide the batter between 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. The cakes may deflate slightly after coming out of the oven, but don’t worry!
Make the buttercream:
- Beat the butter with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time, then beat for 3-5 minutes until fluffy.
Assembly:
- Stack the cakes on top of each other, spreading some buttercream between each layer.
- Carve the cake into an owl shape. Cover the entire surface of the cake in a thin layer of buttercream, catching the crumbs in the buttercream. Place the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until the buttercream is firm. Then coat the cake in a generous layer of buttercream.
- Place small dollops of black and white candy melts onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use a clean paintbrush or a knife to smudge the dollops and create brushstrokes. Create a small black feather and a variety of sizes of white feathers.
- Transfer the entire baking sheet to the freezer until the candy melts have fully hardened, about 20 minutes.
- Stick the brushstrokes to the cake to create Hedwig’s wings, tail and chest feathers. If necessary, use extra buttercream as a glue to attach the brushstrokes.
- Dye some buttercream black and yellow, place in piping bags fitted with small, round piping tips and draw the eyes and beak. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
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