Description
Deliciously rich and moist sorting hat cupcakes are the perfect treat for any witch or wizard! With a quick and easy chai spiced cupcake, 5-minute butterscotch filling, and the easiest way to make the most perfect sorting hats, these Harry Potter cupcakes are sure to tell you the perfect Hogwarts house for you!
Ingredients
Scale
Chai-Spiced Cupcakes:
- 1 cup (240 mL) vegan buttermilk , room temperature
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (130 g) vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp (15 g) vegan yogurt or vegan sour cream
- 1 3/4 cup (230 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour*
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1//4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Vegan Butterscotch Sauce:
- 1/2 cup (113 g) vegan butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (113 g) cashew butter
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch sea salt
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 batch vegan cream cheese frosting
Sorting Hats:
- 6 vegan chocolate cream sandwiches*
- 12 vegan sugar cones*
- 1 cup vegan dark chocolate, melted
- Supplies:
- 12 toothpicks
- Styrofoam or cardboard box, to dry the sorting hats
Instructions
- Prep: Measure out all ingredients for the cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350F, and line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake liners. Make sure you’ve prepared the buttermilk.
- Make the cupcake batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the vegan butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and vegan yogurt. Add in the flour, spices, baking powder, and baking soda. Pour in the vegan buttermilk, and whisk again just until the wet ingredients are combined with the dry ingredients.
- Fill the cupcake liners: Spoon the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake the cupcakes: Bake the cupcakes for 25-27 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. When baked, remove the cupcakes from the oven, and allow them to rest in the muffin tin for 10 minutes.
- Cool the cupcakes: Transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack to fully cool.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the butterscotch filling: In a bowl, whisk together all of the butterscotch ingredients. Set aside.
- Prepare the cream cheese frosting: You’ll need to reserve some frosting for piping into the sorting hats. While you’re making the sorting hats in the next step, I recommend placing the remaining frosting, which we’ll pipe on top, into the fridge so that it doesn’t soften too much at room temperature. Prepare the cream cheese frosting according to instructions. Then remove about 1 cup of frosting for the sorting hats. Place into a bowl, and place the remainder of the frosting covered and in the fridge while you make the sorting hats.
- Make the sorting hats:
- Carefully remove the filling of each sandwich cookie so that you’ll have 12 chocolate cookies in total. This will be the bottom of the hat. Then carefully score about an inch from the point of the sugar cone around the cone. Carefully use a sharp knife to slice the cone so that you have the top of the sorting hat. See the photos for reference.
- Divid the frosting into four bowls, 1/4 cup of frosting per bowl. Mix vegan red, yellow, green, and blue food coloring, one in each bowl.
- Pipe the red frosting into the mini cone that will be the top of the hat. Pipe it into 3 of the cones. Then press one of the tops of the hats onto a chocolate cookie. Repeat for the others. Now repeat for the other colors. See photos for reference.
- Place the filled sorting hats onto a plate and into the freezer to set for 15-20 minutes. While they’re chilling, make sure the chocolate is melted, and that you have the styrofoam or cardboard ready to go for after you dip the hats.
- When the hats are frozen, take one hat and press a toothpick through the bottom of it. Then dip the sorting hat into the melted chocolate. Twirl to coat evenly. Then place the sorting hat skewered into the styrofoam or cardboard to fully dry. Repeat for all of the hats.
- Place the cardboard with the sorting hats into the freezer for 5-10 minutes to set the melted chocolate.
- Once the hats, are set, you’re ready to assemble the cupcakes! Remove the remaining frosting from the fridge, and cream it again with a hand mixer or stand mixer if needed to fluff it up.
- Fill the cupcakes: Use a cupcake corer or a spoon to core about 1/2″ from each cupcake. Fill each cupcake with about 1 tbsp of the vegan butterscotch sauce.
- Pipe the frosting: Fill a piping bag with piping tip with the vegan cream cheese frosting. Pipe the frosting onto the tops of each cupcake.
- Top the cupcakes with the sorting hats: Top each cupcake with a random sorting hat- then you won’t know which house you’re choosing! Sprinkle with vegan decorative sprinkles if desired.
- Serve and enjoy! Store any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Gluten free: I recommend using King Arthur Measure for Measure flour. It’s amazing! For gluten free chocolate cookie sandwiches, you can make my homemade vegan Oreos. For gluten free ice cream cones, use the Edward & Sons gluten free sugar cones.