Hagrid’s Birthday Cake | Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

This is a very exciting recipe for me… it is the first of my Harry Potter series of bakes! I’m a full on Potterhead, I won’t dance around it. I have merch on merch when it comes to Hazza P, and I have re-read the books countless times. Not to mention my annual movie marathon that starts every September 1st. My rendition of Hagrid’s birthday cake from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the perfect iconic treat for any Potterhead.

Contents

• The Bake
• Top Tips
• The Recipe
• The Film
• Recipe Card

The Bake

I pondered over what to make for my Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone bake. I even toyed with the idea of making actual Philosopher’s stones out of hard candies but when it came down to it, there was only one sweet treat that I wanted to make to celebrate this film.

And thus, my recipe for Hagrid’s birthday cake was created. 

One of my close friends actually bought me an official Harry Potter themed baking book by Joanna Farrow, which is brilliant. It’s a wonderful book full of amazingly creative recipes. She also has a recipe for this cake in it, but it’s vegetable based and is vegan.

I chose to go with a chocolate fudge cake with a white chocolate frosting for this cake.

Not only is it the softest, most indulgent chocolate fudge cake EVER, it also feels really appropriate. 

I don’t know what it is, but Hagrid just feels like the kind of chap that would go all in with a homemade cake and make it super chocolatey and fudgy. 

I adapted my sponge recipe for my Grogu celebration cake to comfortably fit into two eight-inch tins for Hagrid’s birthday cake. The cake in the film looks to be two layers and no more, which makes sense as it’s the standard homemade cake structure. It’s also smothered in pink buttercream and topped with green handwriting.

It’s such an endearing cake, even more so because it was slightly squashed from the journey. That, and the fact that there are misspellings in the writing. The fact that Hagrid made Harry a birthday cake at all is just so sweet. 

The great thing about Hagrid’s birthday cake, besides the delicious taste, is the simplicity of it.

It’s homely and isn’t meant to look perfect! Hagrid did sit on it, after all. Smother that buttercream on lavishly and pipe the lettering as accurately to the film’s version as you can: haphazardly. Don’t forget the creases!

Top Tips

• I said it in my Grogu cake recipe, but the coffee listed in the recipe isn’t mandatory, it just brings out the chocolate flavour that much more. It makes it taste richer and more indulgent. You can’t taste the coffee in the cake at all, so don’t worry about that.
• Add the boiling water whether you mix coffee in it or not, otherwise it’ll affect the chemical structure of the cake itself.
• As always, the higher the percentage and quality of the dark chocolate that you use, the richer and better tasting your bake will be. I usually stick to around 85% for dark chocolate, but 70% or higher is ideal.
• Swap out Harry’s name for the recipient’s name if making this cake for someone!
• Remember, Hagrid’s cake was homemade. Do not aim for a perfectly smooth buttercream application!

I hope you have so much fun making this cake. If you’re making it for someone else, then you can definitely swap out Harry’s name for the recipient’s name. This recipe for Hagrid’s birthday cake from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is so delectable – I am so excited for you to make it! Have a magical time.

Happy baking, happy eating!

The Recipe

Ingredients

Hagrid’s birthday cake:

• 180g [6.25 oz] dark chocolate (70% or higher)
• 180g [6.25 oz] unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp instant coffee
• 80ml [2.75 oz] boiled water
• 160g [1 cup] plain [all-purpose] flour
• 25g [3 tbsp + 2 tsp] cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda [baking soda]
• 200g [1 cup] light brown sugar
• 180g [¾ cup + 2 tbsp] caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 60ml [2.5 oz] buttermilk

Decoration:

• 150g [5.25 oz] unsalted butter
• 300g [2 cups + 1 tbsp] icing [confectioners] sugar
• 2 tbsp white chocolate  melted
• Pink food colouring  oil based
• Green food colouring  oil based

Serves: 10+

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Baking time: 30 – 35 minutes

Decorating time: 20 minutes

Method

Hagrid’s birthday cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C [320°F] or 140°C fan. Grease and line two 8-inch (20 cm) tins and set aside.
2. Melt the dark chocolate and butter either in a microwaveable bowl in 20 second bursts until melted, or in a bain marie (bowl over a pot of simmering water), stirring until melted.
3. Add the coffee to the freshly boiled water (from the kettle) and mix until dissolved.
4. Add the coffee water to the melted chocolate and butter and mix until fully incorporated. Leave to cool.
5. In another large bowl, mix together the flour, both sugars, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda until evenly combined. Set aside.
6. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk until pale and airy. 
7. Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate and coffee mix and stir well until completely incorporated.
8. Add the whisked eggs and buttermilk, and fold in gently with a spatula until fully incorporated. Be patient as this may take a few minutes.
9. Split the cake mixture evenly into the two lined cake tins. It will be quite thin and wet – it’s meant to be!
10. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes. This will depend on how hot your oven runs. Check after 30 minutes.
11. Your sponges will be ready when nicely risen; a skewer comes out clean and you hear little to no crackling/bubbling when you listen to them.
12. Once baked, leave to cool in the tins for 10 or so minutes before transferring to a wire rack upside down to cool completely.
13. While your cakes are cooling, make your frosting. 

Decoration:

1. Melt the white chocolate in a microwaveable bowl, in the microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring in between.
2. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. If needed, add a splash of milk to loosen and bring together the mix.
3. Take a couple of tbsp of the buttercream and put it in a separate bowl. This will be your green writing.
4. Add a few drops of pink food colouring and beat into the remaining buttercream. Start with a little amount and build up the colour if necessary. 
5. Do the same with the green food colouring to the small bowl of buttercream and mix in until an even colour is achieved.
6. When completely cool, place the first sponge on a plate/cake board/cake stand and smother generously with the pink buttercream.
7. Place the other sponge on the top and smother the remaining pink buttercream over the entire cake. Do not aim for perfection, it’s meant to look homely!
8. Carve the characteristic creases into the buttercream.
9. Spoon the green buttercream into a piping bag or sandwich bag with the end cut off. You want it to be a small hole so that the writing is relatively thin.
10. Pipe the lettering on using the green buttercream, writing either ‘Harry’ or another name to finish.

This magically wholesome recipe for Hagrid’s birthday cake will last for at least 4 days in an airtight container/cake stand/cake box. The sponges can be baked and kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Enjoy!

The Film

Naturally, we are starting this bake series with the first instalment of the series: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone to my fellow Potterheads across the pond). Released in 2001 and based on the 1997 book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone takes us to Little Whinging, where we find an orphaned boy with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. 

In his tiny room in the cupboard under the stairs, this boy, Harry, is completely unaware of his wizarding heritage and powers. Thanks to his maternal aunt and uncle, Harry has grown up believing that he is nothing more than a nuisance and a servant for his mother’s sister and brother-in-law. 

It’s only when seemingly peculiar things start to happen, followed by a half-giant showing up to take Harry back to the world that he belongs in, does Harry finally begin to find out the truth: that he’s a wizard.

Then, it’s off to Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Harry goes… and so the magic truly begins.

That’s a super basic summary of this first instalment, but most people know the story whether they’ve seen the film or not. It has been twenty-two years since the film was released so if you haven’t seen it then… I don’t really know what to say. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea so no judgement here. 

I’m assuming that if you’re reading this, you’ve seen the film and you’re a fan. Or, you’re looking to make this cake for someone who is! Either way, I shall continue.

The title character, Harry, was played famously by Daniel Radcliffe.

Alongside him as Hermione Granger was Emma Watson, as well as Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley. These guys formed the golden trio of the wizarding world. 

They were supported by a whole host of British and Irish acting royalty, including the likes of Julie Walters; Mark Williams, Richard Harris, Dame Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Fiona Shaw, Richard Griffiths, John Hurt, Warwick Davis and more. 

There are so many crucial members of the Harry Potter casts that I genuinely can’t list them all. That’s not to mention the masses of costume designers, set designers, make-up artists, storyboard artists, editors, assistant directors and more that have played such valuable parts in making these films what they are. 

Over twenty years later and they’re still film favourites across the globe. 

Chris Columbus was the first soul brave enough to adapt the books for the big screen. He was at the director’s helm for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and helped give it the nostalgic warmth that we all know so well. It was Steve Kloves that wrote the screenplay for this book to screen adaptation.

I watch Harry Potter at least once a year and I’ve been to the studio tour in Watford seven times (and counting). It makes me feel so cosy and so warm. Many of my friends start their Hazza P marathons in December because it makes them feel festive. I can completely understand this, but the school year at Hogwarts starts on 1st September, so that’s the reason behind my usual start date.

My marathon starts this week and let me tell you, I am READY for it.

Recipe Card